Page 11 of Worth the Risk

She sighs and looks away then back to me. “It was supposed to be one night. I thought it was easier that way. Sorry if I didn’t follow procedure, but fucking a man old enough to be my father who turns out to be the godfather of my best friend doesn’t exactly have a playbook…” Her last word drags for a second, and she seems to be considering something, then she laughs softly, and I’m adoring her all over again. “Now I get it. Foul. You chose the safe word.”

I tip my glass to her. “Ding, ding.”

She shakes her head but can’t suppress a smile. “Clever.”

“Is it?” There’s doubt in my tone. “You didn’t find me after. Could have easily done a quick search on the internet. Handsome guy, Hudson, killer tongue, Chicago, and I’m sure I would have been the first name to come up.”

“And you could have done the same. Gorgeous, Piper, lingerie, Chicago, and I’m sure your world would have been blown,” she chides but in a playful way.

This back-and-forth on my level is what has me drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

Taking a sip of my drink, I highlight a point. “You made the message clear that you wanted to forget that night.”

Right? That’s what it means when someone leaves without saying goodbye, or is it just how kids these days are playing the game?

“It’s not that, it’s just…” She chokes on her words. “I’d never done something like that. I thought it would be easier, and trust me when I say it wasn’t something to forget.”

That is exactly what I wanted to hear, because it means her departure has nothing to do with our connection.

Stepping dangerously closer to her, I lean in which causes the scent of peppermint to hit me. I know it’s her shampoo because I had a fistful of her hair at one point that evening.

“It’s okay. I didn’t look for you, but that doesn’t mean I forgot. On the contrary, you’re on repeat in my head far more than I would like to admit.” I hear the heat in my tone, and as I step back, I see her slightly trembling as her lips part open.

But this conversation is going to have to take a pause because I see my sister waving at me from the other side of the room and motioning for me to come to her.

“Go grab yourself a drink, a verydirtymartini, Piper. It may be a long night,” I suggest before I walk away.

* * *

I arriveat the corner where my sister—well, technically half-sister, but family is family—Catherine, watches the room. I can tell she’s not herself tonight. That makes two of us.

I pass her a glass of wine that I picked up on my way over and hand it to her. Catherine is thirteen years my senior and works as a lawyer. Her mother was married to our father before they divorced, and he then married my mother. Despite our age difference, we’re close enough, as proven by the fact she asked me to be April’s godfather. My guess is that since Catherine and April have a different last name than me, theirs is Morris. These missing pieces of the puzzle made it possible for Piper and me to remain a mystery to one another. Especially as I’ve rarely seen April in the last few years.

“You think there are enough bruschetta plates?” my sister asks as she tugs on her earring. Ah, she’s nervous that everything is right for the party.

“Trust me, I think people are more occupied with drinking tonight.”

My sister snaps her eyes into my direction. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

I shake off my comment and scan the room to find Piper, with no luck. “Nothing. Everyone is having a grand ole time.”

“Should your publicist be worried?” She has a closed-mouth smile at her reference. “Use those NDA forms I gave you.”

I shake my head. “Absolutely not.” If I make a woman sign some form, then I’ll never have a chance to find someone. “I’ll take my chances, and besides, it just means that I need to be on good behavior at all times.”

“Oh joy, you’re thinking wisely.” She mocks me the way siblings do. “You’ve done a damn good job at maintaining a positive image in the press on a personal level. That article on you giving kids a tour of the stadium was golden. In fact, you have been in the good books… which causes me to worry, because I know you, and you’re my brother. Something must be up. You seem different.” She waves a finger at me.

Looking to my sister, I can see she is hinting to something. “As in?”

She shrugs a shoulder before drinking her white wine. “All this wedding stuff getting to you? I mean April, and also Drew.”

Now I proudly smile. My son is getting married. The son I didn’t even know I had until a year ago, yet we’ve been trying to bond to make up for lost time. “I guess that’s what happens when kids grow up.”

“Except you never got to see him as a kid, you haven’t experienced the childhood years. All of his firsts. Nor have you found a woman to tame you.” She tips her head at me and flashes me knowing eyes.

Fair points on all counts.

Even though Catherine went into motherhood of her own will, she later found a man to call husband, but he only entered April’s life when she was already an adult and they’re not so close. Me? I’ve never been married, and as fun as the glorified bachelor title has been, I would like to shake it off at some point.

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