Page 101 of A Perfect Match
I grab my phone from the nightstand and dial Bella before I can second-guess myself.She answers on the second ring, her voice bright.
"Pipe Cleaner!Everything okay?You’re lucky I’m up this early.”
“Oh my god.”I slap my forehead.“I totally forgot you and Jackson are back in LA!”
“It’s fine.I was just about to start stretching while Jackson goes for a run.I’m still on eastern time for now.What’s up?”
"I need to tell you something."I take a deep breath, wondering where to begin."Kru told me he loves me last night."
She gasps.“Kru?You mean the guy you told me it wasn’t serious with?”
“Yes, him.”
“The one who’s first name you didn’t know because that’s how not-serious it was?”she goes on.
“Yes, Bella.And I know his first name now, just so you understand how serious it is.”
“Once you know your boyfriend’s first name, it’s only a hop, skip, and a jump to marriage,” she cracks.
I tell her everything—the barn, the exhaustion, nearly hitting my head on the floor.And then I tell her about the conversation afterward, the one I wasn't supposed to hear.
"He stood up to Griffin," I finish."He defended me.He said he couldn’t tell if Griffin was my brother or my bully.I can’t believe it.I was just waiting for Griffin to get mad and start punching him but I…I think he listened."
"Piper."Bella's voice is soft with amazement."Do you realize what this means?"
"That I fell in love with a man who’s about to move away?"
"No, silly.It means you hit the jackpot.Kru is a perfect match for you.He’s an entrepreneur, motivated, and down to go along with big ideas like the barn.He’ll take a punch from your brotherandput them in their place.I’d say you need to find out this man’s middle name and marry him immediately."She laughs, and then her voice softens.“This just reminded me of something.”
My body is buzzing with feels."What is it?"
“Do you remember when you called me after the Cleveland night?”She sounds breathless.“The night when you first met Kru.”
I think back.Bella was the first person I’d called after that whirlwind hookup.I’d been floating, soaring, and blissed out, completely high on the life-changing hookup that I knew had to stay only that.
“Vaguely,” I say.“I was completely high on Uncle Lobster so my memory is a little fuzzy.”
“The first thing you said when I picked up the phone was that you had met your soul mate,” she said.“And look at what’s happened since then, even when you tried to stop it.Three-months-ago you would have never brought a man to game night.The old Piper would have kept him a secret forever instead of risking your brothers’ judgment."
The truth of her words hits me like a gentle slap.She's right.Kru coming into my life started a chain reaction of change.
"You’re on the cusp of something big," Bella continues."And it's exciting, isn't it?Scary as hell, but exciting."
"Yeah," I whisper."It is.But what if he leaves?I would never stop him from chasing his own dreams and his own changes.”
"You support him.And you love him.And you trust that your paths will unfold exactly as they’re meant to.Look at how you two have come together already.I don’t think this is the end of the road.Bayshore is only a few hours away from Columbus and besides…” She laughs.“Even if he tries to walk away from what’s growing, like I did with Jackson, I’m pretty sure he’ll coming running back in a month because he realizes what a mistake he made.”
A few tears escape my eyes.My heart feels so full.“Yeah.You did leave a famous rock star behind so you could move to Australia, didn’t you?”
“Luckily he didn’t hold it against me.Because he didn’t want to hold me back.Jackson wants me to soar.Like Kru wants you to.”
After we hang up, I find myself smiling as I get dressed.The house is quiet—too quiet for a Sunday morning with Griffin home.I pad to the kitchen and find a note on the counter in his messy handwriting:
Had to run some errands.Left you some coffee & hoping you will talk to me someday soon.-G
Before I can wonder what errands require leaving this early on a Sunday, my phone buzzes with a text from Kru.
KRU: Hey BagPiper.You have an appointment at Serenity Spa at noon.My treat.You need a self-care day after all that hard work.
