Page 73 of Eleven of a Kind

“I told Piper that I loved her.” I stared straight ahead at the water.

“And?”

“She doesn’t feel the same way about me.”

“Fuck. That’s not possible,” Grayson said.

“Yeah, bro, it is. She told me to stop telling her that I loved her and asked why I had to go and ruin everything. She said she was sorry that she didn’t feel the same.”

“I’m not buying it.” He placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Do you know what it took for me to tell her?”

“I know, Gabriel, and I’m sorry. But I’m calling bullshit. I’ve seen how she looks at you and it’s not in a friendship way. We’ve all seen it.”

“Doesn’t matter. She said things, I said things, and it’s over. I told her I never wanted to see her again and to stay away from the family, including Riley.”

“Bro, you can’t do that to Riley. She loves Piper.”

“Too fucking bad!” I spoke through gritted teeth.

“Calm down.” His grip on my shoulder tightened.

“I’m so stupid for allowing myself to fall in love with her.”

“No, you aren’t. You can’t help what the heart wants, bro.”

“Never again.” I shook my head. “Dad was right, and I will always stick by what he said.” I climbed off the picnic table. “Thanks for coming out here. You better get home to Ava, or she’ll be worried. I have to get home to my daughter.”

Grayson climbed off the picnic table and hugged me tight.

“I love you, bro. I’ll be right behind you.”

“I love you too.” I broke our embrace and went to my car.

When I got home, I yelled out for Riley. She didn’t respond, so I went up to her room and flung open the door.

“Jesus, Dad. You scared me.” She took one of her air pods out of her ear.

“I was yelling for you!” I loudly spoke.

“Sorry. I didn’t hear you. What’s going on?”

I stared at her for a moment and didn’t have the heart to tell her just yet.

“Nothing. I’m sorry. I freaked out because you didn’t come down when I called you. I’m sorry, sweetheart.” I walked over and kissed the top of her head.

“Okay.” Her brows furrowed. “Stefan said he can start building the pottery studio next week, so we need to get all the equipment I’ll need. You do realize how expensive this stuff is going to be, right? I don’t want you to have a heart attack.”

“I don’t care what it costs as long as you’re doing something that you love. Do your dad a favor and get to bed at a reasonable hour tonight.”

“I will. I love you, Dad.”

“I love you too, Riley.”

I went downstairs, grabbed the bottle of scotch and a glass, and took it up to my room. After I took a shower to wash the smell of her off my body, I grabbed my phone and deleted her number—a number I never wanted to see again. I drank a few more glasses of scotch than I should have and passed out.

The following morning, I went downstairs, and Riley was sitting at the table eating a bagel and cream cheese.

---