Page 38 of Tell Me No Lies

“Makes sense.” I wiggle my paint free toes as he closes up the can and takes it and the towel back into the bathroom. When he comes out his expression is thoughtful.

“Can I ask you a question?”

Now it’s my turn to be hesitant. “Sure.”

Tate’s gaze darkens as it moves over where I sit in his bed. “What do you sleep in?”

Guess we’re both asking unexpected questions tonight.

“Usually nothing. But,” I give him a grin as I smooth down the shirt he put on me, “I think I might sleep in this from now on.”

15

THE IMPORTANCE OF GRILLED CHEESE

TATE

AS MUCH AS I like the thought of lying in bed next to a naked Piper, I have to admit, I like seeing her curled up in something of mine even more. Especially if it’s my bed she’s curled up in.

“I should—”

“Eat something.” I cut her off. I know what she was about to say. She tried to suggest leaving earlier, and I’m still not quite ready to let that happen. “Come downstairs and I’ll make you dinner.”

“I’ve already had dinner.” She checks her watch. “And it’s after midnight.”

“Guess we’ll have to call it breakfast then.”

Christian has made jokes about my kitchen being unfit to make a woman breakfast more times than I can count. He must not have been paying attention if he thought I was in the habit of letting them hang around long enough to eat breakfast.

For a long time, I went to great lengths to keep myself from getting too close to any of the women I spent time with. Then I decided I wanted more and faced a new issue—finding someone I wanted more from.

For years I thought I’d never find her. That what I wanted didn’t exist. Little did I know when she finally crossed my path I’d fuck myself by hiring her.

Piper seems to mull over my offer, and it makes me worry I’ve got yet another night alone in my future. So I decide to sweeten the deal. “And maybe you can pick out a few paint colors for when we get back from Arkansas.”

Even though the trip will give me lots of time with Piper, there are parts of it I’m not looking forward to. I don’t want to step back in time, suffer through being surrounded by men who are too much like my father. I also don’t want to lose time working on my house.

Now that I’ve finally started on it, it’s almost become an obsession. I stay up working on it until I’m falling over from exhaustion. When I’m not working on it, I’m thinking about working on it. Imagining what it will be like when it’s finally finished. How long it will take me to convince Piper to share it with me.

“Do you think you’ll be ready to paint that soon?” When she scoots to the end of the bed and rises without trying to put her own clothes back on, I know I have her.

“I was finishing up the last coat of mud when you came over. Once it’s dry, I’ll give it a light sand, and then we can prime and paint.” I wait for her to reach my side. “We should probably start thinking about flooring too.”

“You’re saying we an awful lot.” Piper lifts her brows. “Almost like you’re expecting me to do manual labor.”

Fuck. That’s not at all where I was going with that. “I didn’t mean—”

Piper laughs, the sound light and easy. “I’m just giving you shit.” She moves out into the hall, her limp a little more pronounced tonight than it was during the day. “I don’t mind helping.” Her eyes roam the walls as we move down the stairs. “It might be kinda fun. I enjoyed painting furniture.” Her eyes slide my way. “And working on my car.” She shrugs one shoulder. “I wouldn’t mind learning how to do more stuff.”

“We might be learning together, because I’m sure as hell not a professional.” I can do a lot of shit, but I’ve never laid flooring or tiled a backsplash. “I could probably ask Christian to help us.”

“I thought you said you can learn just about anything on YouTube?” Piper reaches the bottom of the steps, pausing to lean most of her weight on her good foot. “I like Christian and all, but I feel like he would be neurotic about shit being perfect.”

I would laugh at her accurate assessment if it wasn’t for the pinched look of pain tightening her features. “He is a perfectionist when it comes to this kind of thing.” I move closer as I shift the conversation. “Your foot hurts.”

Piper blows out a breath, her shoulders dropping as it rushes free. “My foot always hurts.” She takes a step, wincing. “They told me I might end up with arthritis in the area, but I expected that to be years down the road.” Her lips press into a frown. “I really thought once the cast came off I’d be back to normal. I guess that was just wishful thinking.”

“I would have expected the same thing.”

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