Page 65 of Tell Me No Lies

I leave her lounging and go back downstairs. While I'm in the kitchen collecting ice, I also fill her favorite insulated cup with water and grab her cell phone and charger, bringing them up with me. When I walk into the room, she's let her hair down and is shaking it out with her left foot propped up on a pillow. When my gaze falls to her ankle, she rolls her eyes. “I knew you were gonna want me to prop it up, so I went ahead and did it so you wouldn’t get your dick in a twist.”

I pass off her drink and her phone, crouching down to plug the charger in before setting the ice on her ankle. “You know me well.”

“I should. I’ve spent the last I don't even know how many hours with you, and it seems like I'm gonna just keep on doing it.” Her lips twitch as she tries to look serious. “Which would probably be an issue if I didn't love you back.”

I move to collect the extra items I brought up with the bubble bath. “Seems like you kinda dodged a bullet then.”

“Seems like.” Piper takes a long draw from her cup and thumbs through her phone. “What kind of flooring do you want to put downstairs?” She taps her screen a few times before turning it toward me. “I was thinking maybe something like this.”

I give it a quick glance, but it doesn't really matter what it looks like. “Perfect.”

Piper laughs. “You barely glanced at it.”

I settle onto the bottom of the bed, propping her right foot up on my knee. “I looked at it. It's tile.” I grab the first of the three small bottles in my lap and twist off the top. “Black-and-white tile.”

Piper groans. “Fine. You looked. You just didn't look long.”

I carefully remove the excess liquid from the brush before gently grasping her big toe. “And how long exactly do I need to look?”

“A minimum of five seconds.” Piper leans toward me. “What in the heck are you doing?”

I stay focused on my task. “I'm polishing your toenails.” I carefully lay a stripe of base coat down the center of her nail. “It probably won't be as nice as the professionals can do, but I figure if I can paint a car, I can paint a toe.”

While I painstakingly put her fully back the way she was before we went to Arkansas, Piper scrolls through her phone, occasionally showing me pictures as we talk about our plans for the house. It makes me glad I was so fucking stubborn and so set in my ways. If I’d finished my house three years ago, I would have simply let Christian pick everything out and it would be just like his. The kind of house that would remind Piper of a shitty part of her life and the jackass I plan to hunt down.

And then I’d have to burn the whole thing down and start over.

But now we get to finish it together. We get to make it the home neither of us had.

By the time Piper’s nails are dry, she’s yawning hard every few minutes. I switch off the light and tuck her in before going to shower. Then I come back and slide in behind her, curling my body around hers, one arm at her waist, listening to her soft breaths as I fall asleep.

I JOLT AWAKE to a familiar sound echoing down the hall. I’m up and moving, racing into the master bedroom as Piper retches again. She struggled with the drive to and from Canada, so hearing her throw up is nothing new.

But we’re not driving right now.

The door’s ajar so I push it the rest of the way open and drop down to the tile next to where she’s kneeling in front of the toilet. Her dark hair is everywhere, so I carefully work it away from her face as she takes gasping breaths. “Slower, Sugar. Gotta get that air all the way in.”

I look around for the hair tie she had last night, finding it hooked around her wrist. Sliding it free, I wrap it around the haphazard ponytail I collected before lowering my hand to make slow circles on her back.

“I feel terrible.” Piper drops back to her ass then lays back against the cool tile floor, slinging one arm across her eyes. “If I could just throw up it would get better.”

I glance into the bowl. “You didn’t throw anything up?”

She shakes her head, whole arm moving with the action. “Just dry heaves.”

I take in her pale skin and sweaty brow, my gaze swinging to the empty toilet and then back to her again.

“I think that food we had on the way home last night was bad.” She licks her lips as her nostrils flare. “I think it gave me food poisoning.”

I swallow hard, ignoring the sensation unfurling in my gut. “Piper, I’m gonna ask you a question, and I need you to think about it before you answer.” My breathing picks up until I’m panting almost as hard as she is. But while hers is from sickness, mine is from something else.

Excitement.

I know I shouldn’t be feeling it, but hell if I can stop it.

She moves her arm just enough so she can peek out at me. “What?”

I reach out to smooth back her hair, unable to keep myself from touching her in this moment. “When are you supposed to get your period?”

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