Page 77 of More Than Promises

We refuse, stewing in silence.

“Come on. Dig deep, deep down if you have to,” she says. “You do want me to mark you as compatible, don’t you?”

I sit back with an aggravated huff. This was supposed to be about putting Rowan in the hot seat, but my traitorous best friend has gone rogue, and I have no idea what she has planned when she looks at us expectantly.

After a beat of silence, Rowan sighs. “Molly’s hardworking. She’s resilient, too, and despite her abundant, entirely too easy to read emotions, I… appreciate her thoughtfulness.”

My shoulders gradually relax, and I lower my arms to my lap.

He won’t look at me, but I stare at him, surprised. Is this his way of making up for losing his temper, or simply saying what he thinks I want to hear?

“Molly. What do you appreciate about Rowan?”

“I suppose he’s charming,” I eventually relent, “and sometimes he’s funny, when he’s not being annoyingly abrasive.”

“And?” she prods.

“And even though he’s chronically grouchy, I like his company,” I grumble.

That earns me a suspicious side eye, but at least he’s looking at me again.

“Very good.” I’d laugh at how seriously she’s taking this if I wasn’t so on edge. “Tell me where you think your relationship could use some work?”

“For starters, every time I try to get to know him better, he shows me an ounce of kindness before slamming a door in my face.”

Rowan sits upright with a start. “That’s rich coming from the woman who’s literally slammed a door in my face.”

Piper balks theatrically. “Molly. Care to explain?”

My mouth pops open to defend myself, but damn him, it’s true. I had slammed that door after running inside from the pool house that day.

“He was ogling me while I was swimming, in private.” I point at him, agitated all over again. “And he shouted at me after I played him a song on the piano.”

My mouth clamps shut when her eyes dart to mine.

Oops.

“You… played a song for him?”

Rowan charges on, not catching the stunned look on her face. “I shouted because you were snooping where I specifically told you not to.”

“I told you where I found it, Rowan. I would never intentionally break your trust like that.” My throat tightens as I try to rein in my emotions. “God forbid I do something nice for you. I thought you’d like hearing a song your mother wrote.”

His fists flex, and not appreciating the arched brow Piper gives, I fire one right back.

“All righty then. I’ll mark communication down as a big fat zero,” Piper mutters. “What about your sex life?”

We both shift uncomfortably, and—damn her—she snickers. “I see. Well, at least that’s one thing I can mark as healthy.”

I whip my head to her. “We’re not having sex.”

Her lips quirk at the corner. “No sexual encounters of any kind?”

“What are you doing?” I mouth at her while Rowan’s not looking.

She bites the corner of her lip impishly. “It’s a perfectly healthy way to blow off steam, Molly. I suggest you try it next time.”

“I appreciate the tip,” I say through a tight smile, “but I prefer to settle arguments with space. Lots of it.”

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