Page 6 of Christmas Wedding
“Yep, is it working?” She froze beneath him as if deciding what her next move would be.
She sighed. “Yeah, it’s working.” She wrapped her body around him and pulled him down for another kiss. Sawyer could get used to this new, easily distracted Lorna.
Joe stood outside the address that he found for Piper Flynn, now Piper Harrison. He wasn’t told that she recently got married or that she moved. Her very attractive Aunt Lorna now lived in the house with an oversized goon who was obviously in love with her. Still, he couldn’t stay in this godforsaken town forever. He needed to get back to New York and back to work. Jobs were hard to come by when you had a record. Most places saw that box checked on his application, and they automatically turned him down. He took two weeks' leave from work, but it took him a week to drive to Colorado and find Harvest Ridge. He needed to get on with his plan and get back to his life. When he met Lorna, he thought that she was Piper. The picture that he was given was kind of blurry; the twowomen must look alike. Still, the plan was to find Piper, not her aunt, and he couldn’t go back home without finding the person responsible for putting him and his brothers away. So, he would just have to find her and do what he set out to do. He owed that to his brothers. Joe shivered in the cold wind that felt like it blew straight through him. It started snowing, and he wished that things went more smoothly. Now he needed to find a motel to stay in. Tomorrow, he would go on this little date with Lorna, and one way or the other, he would find where Piper was living. He would have his meeting with her and finish what he came to do. It was the only way his family could have some peace. After all, there were only six weeks until Christmas, the season of miracles and new beginnings. He was due for both. Joe’s phone chimed with a new text. He exchanged numbers with Lorna just before leaving earlier.
Hey Joe, I just don’t think that I’m going to be able to make our date tomorrow. Family emergency. I hope you have a safe trip back home to the Big Apple.
So, the big goon boyfriend found a way to convince innocent little Lorna to cancel their date. Joe sighed. He would just need to find another way to get to Piper. His stay would have to be extended indefinitely because he didn’t come all this way for nothing. Going home empty-handed wasn’t an option.
CHAPTER FOUR
Lorna loved that everyone agreed to have Thanksgiving dinner at her and Sawyer’s house. It still felt strange thinking of the house as theirs. Heck, she was still trying to get used to them as a couple. Piper was ecstatic about Lorna’s news. Her niece was plotting to push them together since they met in New York. She couldn’t say that she was angry with Piper—honestly, she owed her for hiring Sawyer and bringing him to Colorado. She felt almost foolish that in such a short amount of time, she fell completely in love with him. Although they never really talked about love, she hoped that Sawyer felt the same way about her. They spent every night together, usually in her room, since she had the master bath attached. He came home from work every night at around six so that they could have dinner together. The whole scene became very domestic, and she had to admit, it felt right.
Now, they were planning on hosting Thanksgiving dinner in just two days. When Piper was little, she tried to make sure that she had all the traditions that her sister and brother-in-law would have given her. She wanted Pipe to have a normal, happy childhood, although she was afraid that her lack of culinary skillsoften led to epic failures. Thank God Sawyer could cook since he was overseeing most of the meal. Sunny was bringing desserts, and Piper and Tag were bringing appetizers. She just needed to figure out how to safely defrost a turkey, and then she was going to crack open a bottle of wine, sit back, and enjoy the sight of Sawyer working in the kitchen.
She was getting ready to close the ice-cream shop for the long weekend when Piper came storming in. She could see from Pipe’s expression that she was just next door visiting Sunny. The closer she got to her due date, the more irritable Sunny became. Piper seemed to feed off her best friend’s hostility, especially when someone broached the subject of Aaron leaving town without a single word home in months. Tag tried to reach him a few times. Aaron changed his number or lost his phone. Tag even tried calling the station that he was teaching at, only to be told that he was out in the field. They were all starting to feel like Aaron was avoiding them, and poor Sunny was never going to get to tell him that he was going to be a father. The baby would be here after the new year, and Sunny was going to have to face being a new parent alone. Lorna felt awful for her, but she knew that with all her friends and family rallying around her, Sunny would find a way to get by.
“Hey, honey, how’s my favorite girl today?” Lorna asked. Piper growled in frustration, took a deep breath, and exhaled. She smiled back at Lorna, trying to put on a happy face. Lorna appreciated her efforts, although she couldn’t help but laugh at the sour expression that remained on Piper’s face.
“I’m good, Lorna. How are you?” Piper asked, putting on an apron and rounding the counter. “I need a banana split and then I’ll be perfect,” Piper admitted. Lorna barked out her laugh. Ice cream always made Piper feel better. It was a wonder her niece was so thin with all the ice cream she could pack away.
“How about you sit, and I’ll make it for you?” Lorna pushed Piper towards a counter stool and took her apron off. “So, I take it there is still no word from Aaron? I thought for sure he would come home for Thanksgiving,” Lorna questioned. Piper took a spoon and scooped out some rocky road straight from the carton, shoving it into her mouth.
“Nope,” she said around the spoonful of ice cream. “Aaron is still MIA and radio silent.”
Lorna laughed at Piper as she squirted whipped cream onto her sundae and passed it over the counter.
“I think you have been spending too much time with Sawyer talking like that. It sounds like something he would say.” Piper laughed around another spoonful of vanilla ice cream.
“Well, he has been spending extra time up at the cabin. Either he or Tag seems to follow me everywhere.” Piper turned and nodded to the front sidewalk where Sawyer stood guard. Tag decided that there was no need to tell Piper about Joe snooping around. After Lorna sent him a text breaking their dinner date, he seemed to just disappear. Lorna hoped that they wouldn’t hear from him again, but she also feared that he was just biding his time, waiting for them to drop their guard. Still, she agreed with Tag. There was no reason to ruin Piper’s first Thanksgiving and Christmas with her new husband. She had so many bad breaks that she was due some real happiness.
“I’m sure that they are just being extra careful about your safety. Maybe the holiday season brings out the reporters.” Lorna snuck a spoonful of strawberry ice cream from Piper’s sundae and peeked out the front window to find Sawyer watching her. The man made her crazy with desire, the way he was always looking at her like he never saw another woman in his life. He made her feel beautiful and wanted like no man ever had.
“Geez, you two need to get a room or something.” Piper laughed at her joke, but Lorna found her less amusing.
“We have a room next door, but we are both working right now.” Lorna started cleaning up and jumped when Piper threw an envelope onto the counter. It had her name on it in big, black letters. “What’s this?” Lorna picked up the envelope and peeked inside. It looked like legal papers, so she slid them back in and laid the envelope next to Piper.
“They are for you, Lorna. I figured that I don’t have the time to run this place. So, I’m giving it to you. It turns a pretty good profit since people in this town always seem to want ice cream. I have also included the deed to the house. I want you to have them both.” Lorna shook her head. It was all too much. “Now, before you go and tell me no, I think that this is the right thing for all of us. I don’t need the house anymore since I have the cabin with Tag. And you would be doing me a favor by taking the shop. I just don’t have the time anymore with school and my charity work. I’m a very rich woman now, thanks to my grandmother. I can afford to do this for you, so let me,” Piper said.
“But this is your shop and your house. Your parents left both to you, Pipe.” Lorna rounded the counter and sat next to Piper.
“Yes, they left me everything, and you took care of it all while raising me. The least I can do is give you something back. You did give up your entire life for me.” Lorna could feel the tears fill her eyes as she pulled Piper in for a tight hug.
“I gave up nothing to raise you, and I gained the most wonderful daughter in the entire world. Thank you, Pipe,” Lorna said.
“Okay, let’s not get all mushy. You’ll make my sundae soggy. Besides, Sawyer can see how upset you are, and now the giant caveman is on his way in here.” Lorna laughed at Piper’sdescription of Sawyer, and sure enough, her protective caveman was standing behind her, pulling her into his arms.
“Honey, tell me what’s wrong.” Sawyer practically ignored Piper’s existence, although he never stopped watching out for her. He was always on the job protecting her girl, and now her.
“Nothing is wrong, I just can’t stop being so damned overly emotional. I feel like I cry at the drop of a hat these days,” Lorna said. Piper nodded and ate another spoonful of ice cream.
“Falling in love does that to a woman,” Piper said. Both Lorna and Sawyer froze, which must have been quite comical, judging by the way Piper almost choked to death while laughing around a spoonful of sundae.
“Um, I see you two haven’t gotten to that part of your relationship yet, but I’m sure you’ll figure it all out sooner or later.” Tag walked in the door to the shop, causing the little bell to ding. “Oh, look, saved by the bell. Tag can take it from here—thanks, Sawyer. I’ll see you in the morning.” Piper slapped Sawyer on the shoulder and kissed Lorna’s cheek on her way out the door. Poor Sawyer didn’t seem to know what to do or say. He just stood there with a blank stare, watching Lorna.
“I um, well—” Sawyer rambled. Lorna couldn’t take any more of his fumbling. She thought it was cute the way he was caught off guard; she didn’t get to see him this way often. Most of the time, Sawyer was calm, cool, and collected. Right now, he seemed hot and bothered.
“It’s okay, Jonathan. We don’t have to profess our undying love for each other today. I’m sure we can figure this all out as we go. Besides, Piper isn’t always right, even though she likes to think that she is.” Lorna went up on her tiptoes to kiss his mouth, and all poor Sawyer could do was nod. “Help me close up so we can get home. I have a bird to fight with and a bottle of wine with my name on it.”
