Page 6 of Falling Fast

“Well, them too.” Piper sat up and gestured impatiently at the screen. “So? Can you stomach any of these?”

“This one’s not bad,” she said, pointing to the third one. The wedding was still a solid six months away, so there was no huge rush but by now she was more than used to Piper’s penchant for being ultra-organized and ahead of the game. “What’s Austen wearing?” Her eldest brother Wyatt’s soon-to-be wife was the other bridesmaid.

In fact, all the Colebrook siblings except Charlie were getting married this year, and she was just fine with that. As the youngest sibling and only girl raised in an overprotective household of military alpha males, she was too busy savoring her freedom and independence since finally moving out on her own a couple years ago and had no plans to settle down anytime soon.

“Whichever she likes of the remaining two dresses, but as maid of honor you get first pick. Now come on.”

“What about this one in a vivid blue?” Charlie tapped the third dress.

“Done.” Beaming, Piper shot off a quick email to the dress boutique owner, then faced Charlie again. “Okay, let’s talk bachelorette party. I don’t want it to be a big shindig or anything. And I don’t want to go clubbing all night, either.”

That was just plain wrong. “Please, it’s your last celebration as a single woman. You have to go clubbing. It’s a rule.”

Now Piper was the one who made a face. “All right, one club. But no sewing candies all over my shirt for strange guys to suck off me. Eww. And before the club, something more relaxing. A massage and pedicure or something like that, then a nice dinner together, with wine.”

“You didn’t always used to be this boring,” Charlie teased with a grin.

“Ha, well I’ve had more than my share of excitement in the form of ridiculous, reality-show-worthy drama over the past few years. So trust me, I love being boring. Boring’s where it’s at.”

Her grin faded. She hadn’t meant to make Piper think of all that again. “I know you have. And you know I love you no matter what, and that I’ve always got your back.” Piper had dealt with everything really well and had seemed to bounce back to her old self after burying her ex-husband. Easton was really proud of her.

Piper’s whole face softened as she smiled. “Yes, and I love you too. I always wanted you to be my real sister, and now you finally will be.”

“You were always like a sister to me.” Piper had been part of the family since Charlie was a kid. “You marrying Easton just makes it official.” But enough of this mushy stuff for the time being, because it was starting to make her squirmy. “So, what else is there to decide on today?”

“Tabs three through seven,” Piper answered, patting the organized binder she’d set next to the laptop.

Charlie suppressed a groan. She’d taken a rare day off to go over all the wedding stuff with Piper because Piper had the day off from her teaching job. “Can we grab dinner first? I’m starving.”

“Yes, totally. Let’s go.” She shut the laptop and got up.

As Charlie followed Piper to the door, her cell rang. Pulling it from her purse, she saw her boss’s number.

For a moment she nearly answered, then thought better of it. She never took time off and if she answered now, he’d just call her in about something and she didn’t feel like pulling an all-nighter. So she hit mute and tucked the phone back into her purse. Whatever he wanted could wait until she got back into the office tomorrow morning.

They’d no sooner stepped into the hallway than her phone vibrated. This time it was Easton calling. And the new voicemail showing on screen had to be from her boss.

“Nope, sorry. Busy,” she murmured to her brother, feeling only a twinge of guilt as she shoved it back into her purse. Of all her brothers, she was closest to Easton, maybe because they were nearest in age.

That still wasn’t enough reason to make her want to talk to him right now, even if he’d just gotten back from another four-month-long rotation in Afghanistan with his team.

Two steps from the elevator at the end of the hall, Piper’s phone rang. Her face lit up when she looked at the screen. “It’s Easton. Hey, handsome,” she answered, all smiles.

Charlie waved her hands to get Piper’s attention, whispering, “If he asks, don’t tell him I’m—”

“Yeah, she’s right here. You wanna talk to her?”

Charlie huffed out a sigh and leveled a hard look at Piper. “Seriously?” she muttered, taking the phone Piper offered. “My one day off in forever, and suddenly everybody wants a piece of me.” She put the phone to her ear. “Hi.”

“Something important just came up at work.” Easton’s uncharacteristically serious tone jarred her. “You need to come in for a meeting right away. How soon can you be at headquarters?”

A burst of alarm hit her. Nothing like this had ever happened in the two-plus years she’d been with the DEA. “Why, what’s going on?”

“Can’t say over the phone. So, how soon?”

Had to be important, for them to call her in like this. Her gut said it must be something to do with the undercover case her boss had spoken to her about the other day. “I’ll be there in half an hour.”

“Okay. See you soon. Give Piper a hug from me.”

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