Page 32 of Perfect (mis)Match

Wondering if one of us would be brave enough to do the thing we both wanted.

But what if I was misreading the situation? We had too much on the line right now to potentially throw everything away for a romance that could quickly go off the rails.

“So how about those croissants?” I finally asked, breaking the spell.

“Yes, croissants!” Piper sounded relieved. “This way.”

She expertly threaded through the crowd, and I followed behind her. I wasn’t shocked at how many heads she turned as she made her way to the bakery stand.

Piper was stunning, even bare-faced and in couch clothes.

“Okay,” she said with a flourish as she stopped in front of a booth. “Croissants of every flavor. Don’t even think of buying just one because you’ll regret it the moment you eat the last bite.”

“I’m not a big sweets guy, but the Nutella version looks dangerous.”

“It is. You can just do a few dozen extra pushups and sit-ups as penance,” she poked me in the stomach.

“Oof,” I pretend-flinched. “It had better be worth it.”

Piper rolled her eyes. “Please. I bet you’re at the gym every single day. A couple of croissants won’t make a difference to your mountain of muscle.”

I bit back a grin at her backhanded compliment. “What about you? How do you, uh, stay in shape?”

I realized too late that I couldn’t come right out and ask how she maintained her absolute smoke-show of a body.

“Number one? I don’t stress out about what I eat. I enjoy good food and worry about the consequences later.” She paused as she considered her croissant options before her. “And I do yoga. We can’t forget about that, since you and your father will be joining me.”

“Don’t remind me,” I frowned. “I’m sort of dreading it.”

“You mean youdon’twant to be more flexible?” Piper tilted her head. “You like being all…” she balled her hands into fists and raised her shoulders up to her ears.

I laughed. “That’s how you see me?”

She giggled. “A little, yeah. It’s not like I blame you; you’ve got a lot on your plate. That’s why yoga will be good for you. Get that mind and body balance thing going. And if you keep at it, maybe someday you’ll be able to do the splits, like me.”

She turned back to make her selection while I did everything in my power to keep from imagining my fake girlfriend sliding into the splits right on top of me.

10

VINCENT

“Sweetheart, you need to stop worrying about me,” Nana Dee chastised gently over the phone. “I’mfine. Good as new, actually. Like I spent a few days at a spa, that’s all.”

“I can’t think of a single spa that offers hourly blood pressure checks and glucose monitoring,” I replied.

“Let’s call it a med spa then,” she laughed. “Maybe I can sneak in a facelift as well?”

Nana Dee was finally out of the hospital but not out of the woods, because I knew for a fact that she still wasn’t back to her old self. I could hear it in her voice. It was softer, weary.

Yeah, I was still worried. I paced around my office, trying to come up with ways to take the reins. To fix everything.

“Do you have follow-up appointments scheduled?” I asked. “I can have that arranged for you if not. I can get in-home care if that’s your preference. Just tell me what you need.”

She sighed. “Sweetheart, what Ineedyou to do is give me all the gossip about the young lady you brought to dinner withyour father. He told me she’s an absolute delight! I want all the details, then we’re going to figure out a weekend for the two of you to come visit me.”

My dad and Nana Dee had forged their own relationship years ago, and now it felt like they were related to one another as well.

I’d meant it when I’d told Piper that Nana Dee would love her…but introducing the two of them would add a wrinkle I hadn’t considered yet. Her one goal in life was seeing every one of the Lost Boys wifed-up and happy, and I could only imagine how hard her campaigning would become once she met and fell in love with Piper.

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