by A. M. Myers
He stares at her for a second before nodding. “Is that all?”
“Yes,” she whispers, dropping her gaze to the floor. Blaze walks out of the office and as soon as he sees Tawny, his eyes narrow into a glare.
“What the fuck did I tell you would happen if I ever saw you in my clubhouse again?”
Tawny takes a step back, holding her hands up in surrender. “I’m leaving.”
“Get, then. And don’t let me catch you around here again. You are not welcome.”
She turns and practically runs from the building and when the door shuts behind her, everyone lets out a breath. Blaze sighs as he turns to Moose and slaps his shoulder.
“You all right?”
“Yeah,” Moose says with a nod before nodding his head to the closed door Tawny just disappeared behind. “Ready to finally put that mistake behind me though.”
“You have, brother,” Chance tells him as he slides back into his chair and crosses his legs. “You got your old lady now.”
Moose nods, fighting back a smile. “Yeah, I do.”
“You fuckers disgust me,” I growl, rolling my eyes as I turn toward the bar and down half of my beer, jealousy ripping through my gut.
“Speaking of which,” Moose continues, ignoring me. “I have some news. Juliette is pregnant.”
A huge grin splits his face as Chance and Storm jump up to run over and congratulate him as bitterness twists through me and I finish off the rest of my beer. Shit, I’ve got to be the worst fucking brother to these guys because all their good news only reminds me of everything I don’t have and no matter how hard I try, I can’t force the jealousy down. As everyone disperses after giving Moose a slap on the back, I slip into a bar stool and grit my teeth. Moose sits down next to me and looks up at the TV as a rerun of a football game plays on the screen.
“You all right, brother?” he asks and I nod, reaching over the bar to throw my beer bottle away.
“I’m good.”
He nods for a minute before turning to me. “You know we’re not fucking idiots, right? We can all see that you’re going through something.”
“Don’t worry. I really am working on it,” I tell him, my mind drifting to my date in a couple hours before going back to Tawny’s confession and apology. Something about it nags at me but I can’t figure out what it is. “Hey, let me ask you something…”
“What?”
“Who do you think that guy was that Tawny met at the bar?”
Moose stares up at the TV for a second before shrugging and glancing over at me. “Who fucking knows? If I had to guess, I would say it was Gavin but, at this point, I’ve got better things to focus on.”
“Yeah, I suppose you do. Congrats, by the way,” I tell him and he nods.
“Thanks. I’m just glad Juliette wasn’t here when Tawny walked in,” he replies, his eyes widening as he blows out a breath and I laugh.
“Your girl got a jealous streak?”
He scoffs. “No, more like protective and someone would have had to hold her back.”
“Sounds like a good problem to have.”
“I suppose,” he answers with a laugh. “Just not while she’s got my baby in her belly.”
I nod, my gaze drifting back to the TV. “Good point.”
“How are the cases looking?”
“Good,” I answer, nodding my head as I continue staring up at the TV, my mind consumed with thoughts of what it would be like to finally have all the things in my life that I’ve been looking for. The guys in this club have always been good men, the kind of guys you know you can always count on but after they each met their women, there was this peace that settled over them and I feel like a caged tiger every damn day as I watch their happiness play out in front of me.
“You got any leads?”
I nod. “Maybe. I’ve got Streak looking something for me so we’ll see.”
“Fuzz… are you really okay?” he asks and when I turn back to him, he’s studying me with concern on his face. I release a breath as I nod and slip off my bar stool, slapping him on his shoulder.
“Yeah, brother. I’m good.”
I can feel his eyes on me as I walk out of the clubhouse and into the parking lot where my bike is waiting for me. I swing my leg over and brace my hands on my thighs, thinking about my date this afternoon. Jesus, I need this to go better than the last two and I hope like hell, the next time I tell someone I’m good, I’ll really mean it.
Chapter Eight
Piper
Drawing a nervous breath into my lungs, I yank down the visor and check my reflection in the mirror before climbing out of my car. As I look up at the restaurant, I smooth my hands over the short little skirt Eden forced me to wear to my date and mentally prep myself for this. It’s not like I haven’t dated since leaving Wyatt but I still don’t have a ton of experience and when you add in the fact that I have no idea who I’m meeting, it makes it even more nerve-wracking.
I can’t believe I agreed to this.
After Eden agreed to not contact Wyatt, she sat next to me for nearly two hours flicking through endless guys on her dating app and forced me to choose three that I could see myself going on a date with. Then, she skipped off to the back of the studio and told me not to stress my pretty little head, that she would handle everything. I spent all morning peppering her with questions but all she would tell me is that my date would meet me at our favorite table at Mama Adele’s - a cute little comfort place that Eden and I absolutely love - and the mischievous little smirk on her face as she sent me off an hour ago only made my nerves worse.
Shaking my head, I push off the car and hold my head up high as I walk through the parking lot toward the front door. You know, it’s not even whatever guy is waiting for me on that other side of the door that I have a problem with. It’s that I’m almost thirty damn years old and I don’t want to date anymore. This isn’t what was supposed to happen with my life and even from the time I was a little girl, I always knew what I wanted and then… one night changed everything and I still haven’t recovered. Sighing, I reach up and run the tips of my fingers over the raised skin of the scar running down the side of my neck as a shiver works its way down my spine. I shake my head, pushing the unpleasant memories from my mind. That is the very last thing I need to be thinking about before I go on a date with a man I’ve never met before.
As I walk alongside the building, I turn my head and gaze in the big picture windows, trying to get a look at our table and my mystery guest. I stumble as my gaze lands on the man sitting there. I press a shaking hand to my chest as my heart starts racing and my stomach flips. Every thought in my head screeches to a halt and all I can see is him.
Oh, God.
She didn’t…
“No,” I hiss as he turns in my direction and hoping to everything that is holy that he won’t see me as I race back to my car as fast as I can in the four inch heels Eden insisted I wear.
I’m going to kill her.
Pulling my phone out of my purse, I slip behind the wheel and slam the door shut before dialing her number and putting it on speakerphone. My heart thunders out of control and I can’t keep my eyes off of the restaurant as the phone rings. Jesus Christ. What the hell was Eden thinking? My body is in chaos, conflicting emotions waging war in my chest and tears sting my eyes as I lean my head back against the headrest and suck in a stuttered breath.
“Yes?” she answers, her voice bright and cheery and I clench my fist. Oh, she’s been waiting for this damn call since I left the studio. I swear to God, I could strangle her with my bare hands right now.
“What have you done?!”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Pip-Squeak.”
“The hell you don’t,” I growl, glancing up at the restaurant again. “What kind of game are you playing? What happened to the three other guys I picked?”
“You were never going to go out with any of them,” she scoffs like it was obvious and I should have known better. “
You and Wyatt belong together but the two of you just needed a little push so… I pushed.”
“This isn’t a game, Eden,” I snap, pinching the bridge of my nose as I try to slow my heart rate. How could she think this was a good idea? She knows about everything that happened between Wyatt and me so I just can’t understand why she would think that her plan would work. She scoffs.
“I never said it was.”
“What the hell am I supposed to do?”
She sighs. “Go on the date, Piper. It’s not that hard to figure out.”
“I can’t go in there!” I screech, gesturing wildly to the restaurant. A few people walk by my car and flash me a look before looking away.
“Are you really going to stand your husband up?” she asks, her voice full of faux shock and I grit my teeth. This is insane. She has lost her ever-lovin’ mind if she thinks I’m going to go in there and have a date with Wyatt.
“What would I even say to him, Eden? The last time he saw me was before he was deployed and now I’m just supposed to show up and go ‘hey’ like the last ten years didn’t happen?”
As she scoffs again, I can almost picture her rolling her eyes at me. “Oh, I’m sure you guys will have lots to talk about and then, you know, ask him if he wants to have a baby with you.”
“What? No!”
“Oh my God, stop with the dramatics and trust me when I say that I have a good feeling about this.”
I shake my head. “You went too far this time, Eden.”
“No,” she murmurs. “I think I went just far enough and look, if this doesn’t work out, if the two of you don’t end up in wedded bliss again, I’ll never push you to go on another date.”
“Really?”
“Yep. Now, get your butt out of the car and into the restaurant. You don’t want to leave your man waiting.”
I scowl as I glance up at the restaurant. “I just want you to know that I’m still really pissed at you.”
“I can live with that. Bye, now.” She hangs up before I can say another word and my stomach flips as I turn to the restaurant. I hide my face in my hand and let out a little growl. I can’t believe I am about to march in there and come face-to-face with Wyatt for the first time in ten years.
Oh, God, I’m going to throw up.
My hands shake as I reach for the door and open it, stepping out into the dense Louisiana heat. Closing the door behind me, I lean back against the car and press my hand to my chest as I stare up at the restaurant, trying to come up with something to say to him that won’t sound callous or flippant after everything we’ve been through. I mean, I can’t just walk up to him and say “hi”, can I? There is so much to say, so much to apologize for but I’m not sure that I’m ready to tell him any of it. The things that happened back then… I don’t want him to know any of it. I don’t want him to see me that way but what else can I say?
When I left him, I told him that I had found someone new but that couldn’t have been further from the truth. There’s never been anyone else for me and even the few guys I’ve dated since leaving him haven’t been able to breach the barrier around my heart that is Wyatt Landry. He has owned me since we were two little kids, too naive to know how special and meaningful our love was. Truth be told, it took leaving Wyatt and spending the last ten years without him to truly understand the magnitude of our relationship and the love I have for him. I wish I could say I had a plan when I left but I didn’t. At that point, I wasn’t thinking clearly and by the time things did become clear, too much time had passed for me to just run back to him. The damage was done and I had to live with it. Pushing off the car, my heart thunders against my ribs and my legs feel like Jell-O as I make my way across the parking lot.
“You can do this,” I whisper to myself as tears sting my eyes and a memory from the first time I met Wyatt flashes through my mind. Aunt Myra was guiding me up the steps to her house after picking me up in Shreveport and Wyatt was running through his yard next door with one of his friends. Right in the middle of their game, he stopped and stared at me before flashing me a half smile and waving. It was such a simple gesture but after all of the horror I had just been through, it was… everything and I can’t help but picture what it’s going to be like when I get in that restaurant and he sees me again. Anger, maybe? Shock? I can’t imagine that any part of him will be happy to come face-to-face with me again but ever since Eden brought it up, I’ve been wondering why the hell he never signed the divorce papers I sent him. At the time, I thought I was doing him a favor but now, I don’t know.
When I reach the front door, I pull it open with trembling hands and step inside as my head screams at me to turn and run back to the safety of my car. But it’s not really safety, is it? It’s cowardliness. And weakness because every cell in my body is urging me forward, pushing me to close the distance between Wyatt and me like it knows where it belongs even if my head can’t get on board. I glance up from the entryway and suck in a breath. Oh, God, there he is… He’s looking down at his phone with a scowl and my belly flips as my heart races and the memory of his kiss tingles on my lips. It’s been so long since I have seen him and the years have certainly been kind but guys always get all the luck with that kind of thing. His hair is longer, falling into his face and he brushes it back. My fingers itch to run my fingers through it like I used to when we were younger and my chest aches as memories flood my mind, barely giving me a chance to recognize one before the next is invading my thoughts.
Gulping in air and trying my best not to throw up as I start walking through the dining room, my heart beating so fast that I’m afraid I might pass out. A memory of the first time he kissed me pops into my mind and I shake my head, remembering how awkward it was since we were only thirteen but also, how special it was in spite of all that. We were back behind Aunt Myra’s house, hiding in the oak trees and when I looked over Wyatt was staring at me with this look on his face that I had never seen before. The next thing I knew, his lips were pressed to mine and my heart was thumping. When we pulled apart, he smiled at me and I couldn’t stop the giggle from bubbling out of my lips. The next day he asked me to be his girlfriend and that was it for us. We were no longer two separate people. We were Wyatt and Piper, one solid unit.
Something on his phone makes him smile and his full lips quirk up on one side as warmth floods my body and I fight back a smile of my own.
Oh, that smile…
It’s one of my favorite things on this earth and I forgot how much I missed it, or blocked it out in an effort to survive without him. His smile widens and he shakes his head before typing out a message and I have to force myself to keep my eyes open as the memory of those lips dragging along my skin burns its way into my memories. My skin tingles with awareness and my belly flutters with nerves as I close in on the table and will him to look up at me so I don’t have to be the first one to speak. Just as I stop by the seat across from him, he sets his phone down and glances up. Recognition flickers across his face and his eyes widen as he falls back against his chair and his lips part.
“Piper,” he breathes, staring at me like I’m a ghost or a figment of his imagination and I force a smile to my face but it feels shaky, at best, and my heart pounds in my ears.
“Hi, Wyatt.”
Chapter Nine
Wyatt
“Hi, Wyatt.” Her voice washes over me like a thunderstorm, electricity racing across my skin and my heart thundering in my chest as I stare up at her, trying to find the right words to say. One part of me wants to stand up, pull her into my arms, and kiss her until neither one of us can breathe, until I get every single second of affection I’m owed for the past ten years and the other part of me is fucking pissed, raging out of control and demanding answers to the questions that have been dogging me day and night since she left. And I have no clue which side to give into. How the fuck can she make me want to fuck her senseless and scream at her at the same time?
Fuck, she looks incredible, too.
Her dar
k red hair is longer now, hanging down her back as she stands in front of me, trying to put on a brave face but looking nervous as hell. My gaze drops down her body slowly, taking her in as I try to collect myself again and I swallow hard when I catch a glimpse of her long legs and the pink heels she’s wearing. They remind me of the lingerie she wore on our wedding night and my cock strains against my zipper as I shift in my seat and meet her gaze again. She arches a brow and I realize she’s still waiting for me to say something.
Shit.
What the hell do I say to her?
I mean, there is so much I want to say, so many fucking questions to ask her but what am I supposed to do? Just blurt them out in a crowded restaurant? When I still don’t open my dumb mouth and force words out, she pulls out the chair across from me and sits down. I remember my date with Eden and I shake my head as I glance around the restaurant. Well, this is awkward.
“I’m… uh, I’m actually meeting someone, Piper, so you can’t stay here.”
She nods as she sets her purse on the floor. “I know. You’re meeting me.”
“No,” I answer, shaking my head. “I’m meeting someone named Eden.”
“Eden is my best friend and she set this up. I didn’t even know until I got here.”
Well, fuck.
I scowl as I study her face and my gaze falls to the scar on her neck and she subtly covers it with her hand. “And why would she do that?”
“Because…” she sighs, her tongue darting out to run along her bottom lip and I bite back a groan. Fuck her for still being able to get to me like this. “Because she thinks we need to talk.”
“What could we possibly have to talk about, wife?” I growl, pissed at Eden for blindsiding both of us and hurt creeping back into my chest as the shock of seeing Piper again wears off. My memory of reading her email in that Godforsaken desert pops into my mind and pain floods my body. I remember the pain of coming home to an empty house and her wedding ring on the table, the pain of getting the divorce papers in the mail and I clench my fist on top of the table. Shit. I wish I could punch something. Her gaze flicks to my hand and she sucks in a breath before meeting my eyes again.
