Page 60 of The Wrong Date Deal

He pulled his key out of the door and stepped fully inside. He was trying unsuccessfully to stifle his amused expression. “Yeah, sorry. Guess I should have texted. I just didn’t expect—”

“This is my friend Piper,” August said, gesturing between the two of them. “Piper, this is my brother Ford.”

“Piper? Oh.” Ford frowned but stepped forward to shake Piper’s hand when she offered her own.

“Nice to meet you, Ford. Heard a lot about you,” she said with a smile.

“I’ve… heard a lot about you too.” He shook his head. “Sorry, I didn’t think August was seeing you tonight.”

“She wasn’t,” Piper said, and August was astounded by how quickly she had recovered, how casual and relaxed she sounded. “Rough date, and, you know, we kind of—”

“Call each other when you have a bad date. Yeah, I heard.”

“Exactly.” Piper beamed at Ford, and August watched her, more than a little confused about how she was the one least at home in her own apartment.

“Sorry about the bad date,” Ford said, a little pointedly. He was clearly looking for an explanation for how August had gotten from a bad date with someone else to dancing in a barely lit living room with Piper.

August breathed in as deeply as she could. If everyone else was being normal, she could be too. “Yeah, you know how it is. You show up and some random woman starts dragging you off somewhere.”

“Shit. August, are you okay?” he asked, stepping closer to her.

She waved him off. “I’m totally fine. Turns out it was all above board. I just… panicked a little and sent Piper my location.”

“Understandable.” His eyes ran over August’s face to check that she was physically intact before he looked back at Piper. “Thank you for being there.”

Piper shrugged. “Of course. That’s what friends are for.”

Ford smirked. “Right. That and living room dance sessions in the dark.”

“It’s not dark in here,” August insisted a little too quickly.

“Absolutely,” Piper laughed. “Well, you know, just because the date was rough, doesn’t mean you have to let the dance lesson go to waste.”

Ford frowned. “You went to a dance class.”

August nodded, feeling a little like the weight of the world was suddenly crashing down on her—tonight had been a roller coaster. “It’s a long story.”

Piper grinned, looking at August with too many emotions still swirling in her expression. “One which I will leave you to explain. I should probably head home now that I know you’re all good.”

August nodded reluctantly, biting her lip. “I can drive you home.”

“No need. I’m all good, I promise.”

“You don’t have to leave on my account,” Ford said, his voice full of far too much mischief for August’s liking.

Piper shot him a look like she knew exactly what he was doing. “How generous. But it’s getting late and I’ve got work tomorrow.” She moved to stand in front of Ford, holding a hand out again. “Nice to finally meet you, Ford. You’d be welcome to join us all on Friday for drinks—meet everyone, hang out. You in?”

“Absolutely. Looking forward to it far more than you know.”

August was going to murder him. And maybe Piper. And maybe herself.

Piper laughed, nodded, and turned to the door, pulling her coat back on. “August, I’m glad you’re okay and that you texted me.”

August hummed, shooting Ford a look as she stepped away from him with Piper, forming their own little bubble by the door. But Ford was annoying. He was probably listening anyway.

“Thank you for coming,” August said sincerely, feeling the way her face was burning.

Piper smiled. “Thank you for the dance.”

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