Page 84 of Perfect (mis)Match

I planted my elbows on the table and stared at him. “Look at my face. You tell me.”

“I mean…you look like you could use a nap? But your hair looks great,” he added quickly.

I couldn’t help but laugh. Sweet Paul, always trying to see the bright side. My face was blotchy, and my eyes were still swollen from crying.

“Listen, I know Vincent is my friend, but my loyalty will always be to you,” he said. “You’re my family. Maybe we haven’t been the closest, but that’s got to change. Chloe insists.”

“And how is your lovely bride?” I asked.

He waved his hand at me. “We’ll get to all of that, first I want to talk aboutyou.”

“What’s left to tell? You know everything.”

“Yeah, about that. Do you want me to kick his ass?” Paul asked, deadly serious.

It was such a left-field thing to say that I cackled at him. “Paul, what? You’re a lover, not a fighter.”

“Hey, when it comes to you, I’m gonna step up,” he said with conviction in his voice. “Vincent’s a big guy, sure, but I’m scrappy. I can hold my own—I took Brazilian jujitsu back in college. All of those big muscles of his will slow him down. I’m nimble!” He did a duck-and-weave move. “I’m serious, Piper. Do you want me to choke him out?”

I was full-on laughing by the time he finished his tough-guy speech.

“Paul, no. Not necessary.”

He was staring into space like he was visualizing how a match with Vincent could play out. “Hold on, maybe I could tag team with Aiden? He’s the former football player—he’s got strengthandagility.”

“I’m serious. No bodily harm is necessary, but thank you,” I said as I squeezed his hand.

“I hate the way things ended up with you two,” he said as he locked onto me with worried eyes. “I know him, and he’s better than that.”

“Is he?” I asked pointedly. “You tell me—what was his history with womenbeforeme?”

He winced. “Yeah, okay. Fair point. But…I’m not trying to contradict you, I swear. All I want to say is that this isn’t the Vincent I know.”

The waiter stopped by to get our drink orders, which gave me a moment to take a breath. I didn’t want to think about the “good” side of Vincent. It was easier to focus on the asshole.

“Enough about me,” I said as I settled in. “How’s married life?”

He blew out a sigh. “It’s…a lot.”

“Already? This is supposed to be theliteralhoneymoon phase. What the hell is going on?”

“Everything blew up over an earring,” he admitted sheepishly.

I settled against the banquette. “Okay, spill it.”

He took a deep breath. “So obviously you know about the whole something old, something new tradition,” he began. “Chloe’s old thing was a pair of earrings her grandmother left her. Little diamonds with pearl drops?”

I nodded. I knew all about them.

“Well, she accidentally lost one of them in the hotel suite on our wedding night, and we didn’t realize it was missing until we came back from the honeymoon. That triggered a total breakdown. I guess I was a little, uh,dismissiveabout it, and we had a huge fight. And I left to go stay at Vincent’s.”

He looked downright sheepish.

“Paul,” I said slowly. “Did she tell you why those earrings were so important to her?”

“It’s obvious why—they’re heirlooms, and probably expensive as hell.”

“No, it’swaymore than just that. Wow, you two really need to learn how to communicate if you’re going to make this work,” I scolded lightly. “Chloe and I had a long talk the day of the elevator debacle. She told me her grandmother died of breast cancer. And then, her mom had a shadow on her last mammogram, which required a biopsy. It was all going down the week before your wedding, so it was wedding stress compounded by real-life stress.”

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