Page 25 of Captivated

“She’s something else, Cash. Don’t let that one slip away if you feel more,” he says and then grabs Birdie’s hand as they glide out of the craft room, leaving just a few more people and Piper behind.

Turning back to find her, I notice her stacking paint bottles back in the cupboard stationed in the corner of the room.

“Here, let me help you.” I stride up next to her a little too enthusiastically, but I flash her my best panty-melting grin as I grab a few bottles and line them up by color the way she already started.

“Uh, thanks.” She shoots me an inquisitive look and then continues to clean up. The last few members exit the room, leaving the two of us alone.

“You did great, tonight. I’ve never done that before, but I definitely enjoyed it. You’re a natural,” I offer, hoping a compliment not laced with flirtation will help me here.

“Oh. Thank you. I used to volunteer back home and taught painting, but it had been a while. I was actually quite nervous,” she says as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, smoothing blue paint that was left on her finger over the chunk of hair.

“Shit. You just got paint in your hair,” I chuckle, reaching for a napkin and then stroking the strands in an attempt to remove the glob, effectively giving her a dye job in the process. The blue hue covers her strands as I wipe, making her look more like a Smurf, but the bulk of the paint is gone.

“Crap. Well, I tried to make it better.”

Piper brushes my hand away. “It’s fine, it will wash out. But thank you,” she peers up at me beneath those dark lashes and her brilliant blue eyes draw me into her again for the hundredth time since I met her. All I can think about is kissing her again. Is she thinking about that too?

“No problem. Well, looks like everything’s clean. Anything else I can help you with?”

With a furrow of her brow, she cocks her head and then hits me with her concern. “What’s wrong with you? Why are you acting so nice and helping me? Shouldn’t you be mad at me for smacking you? Or better yet, shouldn’t you be rushing out to Tony’s to pick up your next conquest?”

“Well, you did give me a false diagnosis of Chlamydia, which I’m sure Misty has spread around… so the likelihood of nailing down a woman in the near future is probably pretty slim.”Besides that, the only woman who makes me hard anymore is standing right in front of me.

“Well, karma always comes back around,” she replies, clearly still pleased with her stunt she pulled last week.

“I have to admit, I was pretty impressed with your boldness. And, if it makes you feel any better, you made me feel like an ass.”

“Yes, that actually does make me feel better.”

“Look, I don’t usually go out with women based on a bet. It was a stupid thing that Cooper and I did in the moment months ago, but it’s not my normal behavior, okay?”

Piper shoots me a lift of her eyebrow. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you don’t like the fact that I call you on your bullshit. Why do you care what I think of you, anyway?”

I sigh. “I’ve been asking myself that same question for weeks. Look, all I know is that I want to start over. We’ve clearly gotten off on the wrong foot, and you think one way of me. But I assure you, that’s not the only version of me there is.”

“Does this have something to do with what Birdie said to you earlier? Who, by the way, is one of the sweetest old women I’ve ever met.”

I can’t help the nostalgic smile that graces my lips when I hear Piper talk about Birdie. “Yeah, Birdie is the best.”

“She said you were her son… and I’m not gonna lie, I’m kind of confused,” she chuckles.

“Well, obviously she’s not my biological mother. But that woman is my mom in every other sense of the word.”

I watch a piece of Piper’s armor fall away as I start to open up to her, offering her a piece of me that no one else knows about—not even Cooper.

“Well, I feel like there’s definitely a story there,” she says, reaching down for her canvas bag and hoisting it up on her shoulder.

“Yes, there is… maybe one we could talk about more over dinner some day?” Am I actually asking this woman out right now? Fuck, I think I am and I want her to say yes more than makes me feel comfortable to admit.

“Whoa there, Deputy. Let’s not jump in with both feet so fast. You may be surprising me right now with how nonabrasive you’re being and helping me clean up, but being a decent human being for five minutes is not enough for me to agree to a date with you.”

“Man, denying me again, huh? I think that’s twice now you’ve stabbed me in the heart, Piper,” I joke, using my humor to deflect the letdown I feel. “But I do know that when I kissed you the other night, you kissed me back, so you obviously don’t hate me as much as you want me to believe you do.”

She pats me playfully on the chest as she passes by, headed for the door. “I think you’ll be alright. You can find someone else to build your ego back up for now.”

“I don’t want anyone else to repair it. I think if you’re doing the damage, it should be you doing the healing too. You do have magical healing powers, you know, being a nurse and all.”

Her only response is a laugh as I watch her ass while she walks away from me.

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