Page 52 of Captivated

I throw a side glance to Cash and then fixate back on Cooper. “He’s not too bad.”

“Yeah, plus I’ve got a big dick, so she can’t leave me now,” Cash says as my eyes widen like they’re about to pop out of the sockets.

“Cash!” Both Clara and I shout, and I swear, I can feel my cheeks turn bright red.

“Oh, babe. You’re going to have to get used to talk like that if you’re going to hang around this crowd. It’s fine, really. Everyone knows about my cock.”

Cooper nods. “It’s true. I’ve seen it. Mazel tov, Piper. You’re a lucky lady.”

And now I look like a tomato.

“Boys, stop embarrassing, Piper. Come on, hun. Come in the kitchen with me and let’s get you a drink,” Clara reaches for my arm, but not before smacking both Cash and Cooper upside the head, making me laugh gratefully.

“So, Piper. I heard you are a nurse at the hospital,” Clara says while handing me a glass of white wine.

“Yes. I love it.”

“How long have you been doing that?”

“Oh, just a few months. It’s actually my first full-time job.”

“Where are you from? You didn’t work back home?”

“Uh, I’m from Charleston, and no. I moved out here before my license was finalized, so this was the first place I could find employment.”

“Nice. What brought you to Emerson Falls then?” She asks, moving around her kitchen with ease.

“Just needed a change. Wanted to spread my wings, you know… all those classic clichés.”

Clara gives me a calculated look that instantly makes my guilt rise. “Understandable. So how long have you and Cash been seeing each other?”

“Officially? Only about a week. But I met him for the first time shortly after I moved here when he pulled me over.”

Clara laughs loudly. “Oh boy, I feel like I need to hear this story.”

So I fill her in on the general details of how Cash and I met, what lead to the slap in the bar, and how we started dating.

“I’m not going to lie, seeing Cash with one person is surprising. You’re aware of his reputation, obviously. But I always knew it would just take the right woman for him to settle down.”

Thinking about Cash fondly in that moment, I can’t help the smile that stretches across my lips. “I’m not naïve about who he was before, but he’s different with me. I’ve seen so many sides to him I don’t think he truly shares with others. I like him… a lot.”

“Well, he needs someone to keep him in line. And I truly think you’re good for him, Piper. Welcome to the group,” she gives me a satisfactory nod.

Before the conversation can continue, the doorbell rings, drawing Clara from the kitchen so I feel like I can finally breathe. Cooper and Cash are outside where Cooper is smoking some kind of meat, so it was just Clara and me in the kitchen talking.

“Piper, this is Liv, Cooper’s sister and my best friend, and Kane, her fiancé. Liv, Kane… this is Piper, Cash’s…”

“Girlfriend,” I finish for her, realizing right then and there it’s the first time I’ve used that label out loud. All three of them raise their eyebrows in shock before Clara grins.

“Wow. Cash has a girlfriend?” Liv says before reaching down to a car seat on the floor, extracting a beautiful baby girl with dark hair in a blush-pink outfit that sparkles and shines in the light.

“She needs a diaper change. Can you take her?” She turns to Kane, who intercepts his daughter willingly.

“Sure thing, babe. Be right back.” He leans in to kiss her on the cheek as Clara hands Olivia a glass of wine.

“Thank you. I need this. Evelyn has been teething the past few nights and then fought a nap this afternoon when I picked her up from daycare, so she’s been a handful,” she declares before taking a sip. “Going back to work and not getting a good night’s rest is killing me. Are you gonna have a glass?” She asks Clara.

“Oh. No, not right now. Maybe with dinner,” Clara answers as she pulls something from the oven.

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