Page 33 of Perfect (mis)Match

The pressure from my father was more than enough for now. And besides, Piper and I had an expiration date. There was no point in getting Nana Dee’s hopes up. On the other hand, it wasn’t like we could avoid her completely. If nothing else, we’d all be at Paul’s wedding together.

“Piper is one-of-a-kind, that’s for sure,” I admitted.

“So? Grab your calendar and let’s pick a date!”

My office door flung open, and the woman of the hour practically skipped into my office. I held up a “one moment” finger, and she responded by doing a little dance in place, grinning maniacally.

I had to look away because she was in a dress that bounced up her thighs when she hopped. Those legs werekillingme.

“Hey, I’m sorry but I need to run—I have a meeting, Nana Dee. We’ll figure everything out, okay?”

“We’d better,” she scolded. “I expect to hear from you soon, got it?”

“Of course. Take care. Love you.”

“Love you too, sweetheart,” she cooed.

I sighed as I hung up and turned my focus on Piper. “You look like you’re about to burst. What’s up?”

She punched the air triumphantly. “I did it!”

There was only one thing it could be. My pulse kicked up. “Please tell me you’re not kidding.”

“I wouldneverkid about something so important.”

“So…we’re going to Hawaii? You actually got them to agree to it?”

“Yup! They’re one hundred percent in. Let’s get those tickets booked.” She broke out into another spontaneous dance party.

I chuckled. “Tickets? Please. Piper, we’ll be taking my private plane.”

Her mouth dropped open, and she jogged a little closer to me. “Oh my gosh, seriously? This just keeps getting better and better.”

“Hey, I’m impressed you made it happen,” I said. “Congrats.”

“I told you I would,” she fired back, wagging her finger at me. “I’m a woman of my word, and now I get to hang out in paradise as part of my payment!”

“I hate to burst your bubble, but wewillbe working on this trip. There are contracts to be signed,” I cautioned.

“Yeah, um.” Piper cleared her throat. “Jean said we’ll sign on our last day there.”

Doubt kicked up inside of me. “Well, that’s odd. Why wouldn’t we just set up a meeting, tour the fields, and get everything signed right away?”

Her grin slipped. “Um, well, in order to make this happen, I had to lean into the couple aspect of our relationship pretty hard. Jean is very invested in us now. She loves the idea that we have a working partnership.” Piper hesitated. “And once I realized she liked that about us, Ireallyplayed it up. Talked about how romantic you are, and how you love to surprise me. I even made up a convincing lie about why you were such a jackass at Paul’s party.”

I frowned. “What did you tell her?”

“I said you’d planned a romantic surprise yoga retreat in India, and you’d just been notified that it was canceled.”

“Piper,” I sighed. “Why did you have to embellish?”

“Because it was how I hooked her! She’s a romantic at heart. She’ssoexcited to host us now. She’s insisting we spend the whole trip with them instead of at a resort. She even sent photos of the little bungalow we’ll be staying in.” Piper snorted. “It isnotlittle, at least not by my standards.”

Shit. We’d be rooming together? I wasn’t expecting that development. How was I going to resist her twenty-four hours a day?

“So we have to pretend to be a couple for the whole time we’re there?” I asked. “We can’t just book two rooms in a hotel and meet with them for a quick tour?”

“Nope.” She bit her lip. “If you want that contract signed, we need to deliver on what they’re expecting. You have to pretend to be utterly, head-over-heels crazy in love with me.”

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