Page 64 of Perfect (mis)Match

“I’m not going anywhere, we can play this game again and again,” I reassured him. “All night.”

He flipped us over as a single unit, so that I straddled on top of him.

“Your turn to drive. I wanna watch you. You’re so fucking flawless, Piper, and I can’t stop staring at you.”

I rose up onto my knees and then plunged down on top of him, over and over, and Vincent reached up to clasp my breasts as I rode him. He never took his eyes off me until the moment when he couldn’t hold back any longer, and my name ricocheted from his lips.

I collapsed against his chest, and we both breathed in sync, silent and satisfied.

Vincent reluctantly pulled away from me to take care of the condom, then quickly slid back so he could take me in his arms. He kissed the top of my head.

“You’re exquisite in every way, do you know that?”

“Sometimes I forget. It’s probably best if you remind me of that fact every day.” I swallowed a giggle.

He squeezed me closer to him. “Gladly.”

We rested snuggled up together, basking in the afterglow of a perfect day and an even better night.

“Did you have fun at the wedding?” I asked him.

“I enjoyed celebrating Paul and Chloe.”

“That doesn’t really answer my question,” I insisted.

He shrugged. “Honestly, I’m not the biggest fan of weddings.”

“I guess it skipped a generation, because your dad was the life of the party,” I rested my head against his chest.

Vincent snorted. “He’s had four of them, so I’d consider him a pro. He was probably drunk. I think it’s his way of not thinking too much.”

I raised up on my elbow. “Why? What do you mean?”

Vincent took me in for a moment before answering. “He let my mom slip away, and he’s spent the rest of his life trying to recreate what he had with her.”

He didn’t open up to me often, so I took advantage of the moment. “Why did they split up?”

“He cheated on her.”

I gasped. “Richardcheated? I never would’ve suspected that. He doesn’t seem like the type!”

“He’s not. He’s regretted it every day since.”

“Was it long-term?” I asked tentatively. “Like, an affair?”

Vincent shook his head. “It was a one-time thing on a business trip. He and my mom had been going through a rough patch, and then that happened. Cut to the divorce and years of bitterness.”

I watched pain shift across his face then disappear just as quickly. I was shocked when he kept talking.

“My dad didn’t have the best role model in his own father. I don’t know all the details, he keeps it packed away, but I think he worried he was repeating some patterns from his past with us.He wasn’t the mostpresentfather when I was young, you know? He could have gotten an even split on custody, but he chose to have me stay with Mom most of the time. But he’s clearly learned from his mistakes, because the guy can’t get enough of me now.”

“He seems to still care about your mom, too,” I said.

“Oh yeah, he sure does. The one that got away,” Vincent chuckled. “I think my mom still cares about him, but she doesn’t love the idea that he has three other exes.”

He stroked my back, and I squeezed him a little tighter, feeling more connected to him than ever.

“It sounds like he’s a romantic at heart,” I said. “He might be a little misguided about what to do with all of those feelings, but he believes in the power of love, to quote Celine Dion.”

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