Page 50 of A Perfect Match
Piper nods slowly, then takes a bite of her bacon.“Yeah.Well said.Dad’s still around though.We keep him in an hourglass in the family room, so he can participate in game night.”
My brows draw together.“You…what?”
“His ashes,” she clarifies, then pauses.“Yeah, that still sounds pretty crazy huh?”
We eat in companionable silence for a while, the weight of our conversation hanging between us.I feel closer to Piper than ever.Iwant hermore than ever.
But something is in the way.
And I’m nothing if not persistent.
Once our bellies are full and I clear the plates, the sight of her bathed in the early morning sunlight has desire humming through me.Fuck, I want this woman.I know how good we are together—and she does too.
“So,” I begin, coming up behind her in the chair.I squeeze the tops of her shoulders, bringing my mouth closer to her ear.“How does ‘you and me’ become an option?”
Her eyes flutter shut.“Kru…I…this is why I ghosted you.It’s bad timing.”
I grunt softly, nipping at her earlobe again.“Wrong answer.”
“And now, the bad timing is even worse,” she adds.
“Fine.But don’t come looking for me at night,” I warn her.“Now give me one last kiss for the road.”
She narrows her eyes, but doesn’t protest when I dip down and claim her lips with my own.She makes a small noise in the back of her throat as our tongues meet.She’s warmth and honey and the tang of orange juice.Fuck, I want more of this woman.But I pull myself away.
“If you need anything other than kisses, a good fuck, or a boyfriend, I’m right next door.”
She rolls her lips in, covering her pink cheeks with her hands.“I know where to find you.”
I pause at the sliding glass door, looking back at her.The morning sun is climbing higher, painting her face in soft golden light.Despite the shadows under her eyes and the worry etched into her features, she's beautiful.
"Kru," she says, just as I'm stepping onto the deck."Thank you.Again.For everything."
"Anytime, Maven."
I head back to my place, hopping the fence with now practiced ease.Everything inside me wants to stay with her, to dive deeper into the warmth that opens up between us whenever we’re together for more than a minute and nobody is blocking the curb cut.
But she’s drawn the line between us.
Somehow that line is supposed to keep Piper Keegan as strictly my neighbor and rival when everything between us is begging both of us to cross it.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
PIPER
Waking up in the muscled arms of a reality TV chef inside my brother’s house was not on my bingo card for this year.
I’m pedaling to Cloud Nine, mind raking through the previous twelve hours.I can’t even think about how I might have accidentally decorated his shirt with my drool last night.Probably not the sexiest night he’s ever had with a woman—drying my tears, propping me up, keeping me from catching hypothermia on the back patio.Then cooking an impromptu bacon-and-eggs breakfast for an actual trained chef?Nerve wracking.
And that doesn’t even cover the very serious feelings I have blossoming in my chest every time I catch a glimpse of his mischievous grin or his warm, brown eyes.I’ve counted the kitchen-related scars on his forearms and biceps so many times I’m embarrassed to admit that I know exactly how many he has (twelve).
I shouldn’t know these things about my rival and landlord.
Yet I’m collecting these details about Kru like I’m gathering a wildflower bouquet.I love the way Kru's eyes crinkle when he smiles and how his voice gets all soft and rumbly when he's being gentle.I love that his restaurant is in his dad’s honor.I love the name he chose for it.I love why he does what he does.
I damn near love Kru himself.
I frown, pedaling harder, as if that might excise the thought from my head.
