Page 88 of Perfect (mis)Match

“Dude, you chose your business over her. She was handing you her heart, and you drop kicked it,” Paul said.

“If you want to make things right, you’re going to have to pull out all the stops to convince Piper you mean it,” Chloe added. “But…”

“But?”

“Don’t even bother unless you can commit to working at your relationship,” Paul finished for her.

I fell back against the couch and stared at the ceiling. Being with Paul always brought me back to who I used to be, before I turned into the mess I was now. He could call me out like no one else.

No one but Piper. I snorted softly at the thought. Yeah, she was one-of-a-kind when it came to speaking her mind, and man, I missed it.

“I bet she likes jewelry,” Paul suggested. “Veritique has quite a selection.”

Chloe immediately shook her head, cutting him off. “Jewelry’s nice, but I don’t think that’s what’ll get through to Piper. If you want to win her back, you need to do something withheart.”

“Like what?” I asked.

She shrugged as she sat down beside Paul again. “That’s up to you. Think about special times you shared. Things that remind you of each other. Inside jokes. Something that shows she’s more than just the woman of the moment.”

There were so many things that reminded me of Piper, from a crushed bumper to sunset in Hawaii.

“Yeah, make her believe what you feel is real,” Paul added.

The problem was that I didn’tknowwhat I was feeling. Nothing I’d ever experienced before had ever come close to it. For now, it was easier to move past it and focus on what I could control.

“Hold on,” I threw my hands up in front of me. “Look, I’m not sure what I need to do. You don’t have to convince me that Piper is amazing, I already know that. And it’s clear I was a total dick to her at the party—you don’t need to prove that to me, either. The truth is, I’m just not sure I can be who she needs me to be.”

“Well, you need to figure that out, and soon,” Paul said.

“Agreed,” Chloe said. She pulled her phone out of her pocket to check the time. “It’s lunch, and you need to fatten up. We havetakeout, more than the two of us can eat, so join us. You’re the boss, so you can take a long lunch if you want.”

I laughed. “Fine, okay. I’ll join you.”

As the two of them bustled around the kitchen, joking and sniping at each other, a sense of loss washed over me.

I’d shared that sort of playfulness with Piper. And I missed it so much.

I couldn’t stop seeing her wounded expression every time I closed my eyes. I’d fucked up, and now I was paying the price.

But then again, I should be used to it by now. It was my legacy.

27

VINCENT

“Your father is in the hospital.”

The call from Piper was unexpected, and the reason for it was even more shocking.

“What do you mean?” I asked as my heart dropped to my feet. “Is he okay? And why are you there?”

“He’s fine, just get over here, and I’ll explain everything.”

She gave me the address and hung up before I could ask more questions. When I dialed my father’s cell, it went straight to voicemail. Let’s just say I put the defensive driving tactics I’d learned at a racetrack in Monaco to work on the way to the hospital.

Seeing him in the bed all wired up to a bunch of machines was a wake-up call I wasn’t expecting. He looked frail for the first time ever, and I wasn’t at all prepared for the change in him. And the fact that Piper was sitting beside him made the whole scenario almost impossible to process. An ache shot through my body at the sight of her.

Damn it, I missed her too much.

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