by Tara Wyatt
Twelve
Piper was in complete and utter shock.
Her mind was reeling, her heart pounding, and she couldn’t seem to wipe the grin off of her face.
Everything—well, almost everything—she’d ever wanted, ever worked for, ever dreamed of was finally happening.
She sank down on her couch, staring unfocused out the window as bright afternoon sunshine spilled across the floor. Then she blinked and looked around the apartment, at the shabby chic furniture, the cute little place she’d called home for two years now. The cute little place she’d be putting in her rearview mirror very, very soon.
That morning, Aerin Prescott-Flores, the agent Beau had put her in contact with, had called her, saying she had something very important to discuss with her. A time sensitive offer that was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. Piper had gone to the meeting, curious what it could possibly be about.
It was nothing major, in the end. Just a multi-year contract with one of the biggest broadcast networks in America to be a health and fitness correspondent on America Today, the most watched syndicated morning talk show in the country as well as the opportunity to be a mentor on a new reality show where people underwent health and lifestyle makeovers.
This was it. Her big break. It came with a juicy paycheck, and she could still continue to develop her app and host her podcast. She’d probably have to retire from making YouTube videos, but that was okay. When she was being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, she could afford to take something off of her plate.
There was a knock at her door and she jumped. She’d been so lost in her spinning, excited thoughts that she’d forgotten that Beau had asked if he could stop by, saying he needed to talk to her about something.
Brushing her hands over her skirt, she strode to the door and opened it, her heart doing the same happy little flutter it always did when she first laid eyes on him. But that flutter turned into a heavy thud as she drank him in, reality hitting her like a smack in the face. This was it. This might be the last time she ever saw him.
“Hey,” he said, leaning down and giving her a quick kiss. “You look fancy.”
She nodded and stepped back, letting him inside. “I had a meeting with Aerin.”
His eyebrows rose as he followed her into the living room, sitting down on her couch. “Oh?”
“Yeah. Actually, I have some pretty exciting news to share.” She felt suddenly nervous to tell him, mostly because she knew what this meant for them.
“Do tell.”
She sank down onto the couch beside him, twisting her fingers together. “I’ve been offered a job as a health and fitness correspondent on America Today as well as the chance to be a mentor on a new reality show.”
His eyes went wide. “Holy shit. Piper, that’s amazing!” He pulled her in for a hug, and she wrapped her arms around him, soaking him up.
She pulled back, steeling herself to deliver the bad news. “It is. But it means I have to leave Dallas. I’ll be moving to New York.”
The smile dropped from his face, vanishing completely. He took a breath, his shoulders slumping. “You’re leaving.”
She swallowed thickly, her stomach heaving. Nausea crested over her and she forced a small smile to her lips. “Yeah. But, I mean. So are you, at the end of the season, right? We both knew this was coming.” But just because they’d known it didn’t make it hurt any less.
He nodded, his eyes on the floor. “Right. Yeah.” He snorted out a soft laugh, but there was no mirth in it. “You’re leaving.” She could hear the pain in his voice and she reached out, laying a hand over his.
“I’m sorry. I know this sucks, but we knew it was inevitable, right? You were always going to leave Dallas for Seattle. Now I guess I’m leaving, too.”
His eyes met hers, bright with emotion. “When?”
She winced. “They want me in Manhattan this weekend.”
Beau scrubbed a hand over his face. “Shit. I leave for a road trip tomorrow and I’m not back until next week.”
“I know.” She sighed, sadness pulling at her. “I’m really going to miss you.” Emotions churned through her as she wove their fingers together. Her eyes burned and her throat clogged. God, this was harder than she’d thought it was going to be. She’d known saying goodbye to Beau was going to suck, but she hadn’t expected to feel as though her heart was collapsing in on itself. “This has been fun,” she said, trying to lighten the mood.
Beau’s features were drawn, and he nodded slowly. “Fun. Yeah.”
She hated that this hurt, but this was always how it was going to end, wasn’t it? With one of them leaving and saying goodbye, moving to a new city. She just hadn’t expected it to be her. Both of them were getting exactly what they’d wanted, what they’d worked for for so long. He was getting a massive contract with a good team, and she was a rising star in the fitness world.
“We always knew this was temporary,” she said softly, the words cold comfort. She blinked, and a tear slipped free, falling down over her cheek. “I really care about you, and I’m happy for you about Seattle. Truly. You’re gonna kill it out there.”
He sucked in a ragged breath. “And I know everyone’s going to love you. You’re amazing at what you do, and you deserve this. You’ve worked hard for this. I just…Fuck. I didn’t expect that today would the last time I’d get to see you.”
She leaned forward and kissed him, soft and gentle. He swayed into her and the kiss quickly morphed into something hot and needy. Something desperate. The chance to connect, one last time.
He pulled her onto his lap, her skirt riding up as she straddled him. Tears slid down her face as they kissed, heat and desperate urgency spreading between them like an electrical current. She tugged at his shirt as he slid his hands up under her skirt, filling his palms with her ass. Everything inside her ached, and she wished there were a way to follow her dreams and keep her heart at the same time. But maybe that was asking too much. Maybe that was being greedy.
His shirt hit the floor as his fingers kept travelling upward, slipping inside her panties and stroking her with the tips of his fingers.
“I need you,” she whispered against his mouth. “One last time, Beau. Please.”
He made a strangled sound and tumbled her down to the couch, spreading her out beneath him. He reached into his pants for his wallet, pulled out a condom, and then undid them, discarding them on the floor. As he did that, she hurriedly undressed, tossing her blouse and skirt aside, her bra landing on the coffee table, her panties hitting the floor in record time.
Beau rolled on the condom and then came down on top of her, his mouth closing over her nipple as his hand traveled between them, stroking her clit, fucking her with first one and then two fingers until she was wet and breathless, aching and desperate for him.
And then he pushed inside her for the last time. She closed her eyes, wanting to imprint this moment on her memory. The scent of his skin, the solid weight of him above her, his thick cock stretching and filling her so perfectly. The beat of his heart against hers.
“Beau,” she whispered, pulling him down for a long, deep kiss as he started to move inside her, angling his hips so the base of his cock slid against her throbbing clit with each deep thrust.
I love you.
The words beat through her brain, but she couldn’t bring herself to say them. Even though they were true, they wouldn’t change anything. They wouldn’t alter the fact that life was taking them in very different directions. But she did love him. It was why she knew she had to let him go, let him be free to pursue the deal of a lifetime. She loved him enough to refuse to hold him back from what he wanted.
He gripped her thigh, urging her leg up over his hips as he thrust, hard and fast and deep, and she could see the same emotions threatening to overwhelm her written on his face. The regret that this couldn’t be more. The sadness that it was over. The desperate panic at the impending loss. She felt all of it, too.
B
ut she’d always known and had tried to accept that he wasn’t hers to keep, no matter how she felt about him. Beau Beckett wasn’t a forever kind of guy. He’d told her that. She’d known that.
Losing him still hurt, though. More than she’d expected.
She let out a sob, and he kissed her. “I know, Piper. I know.” His voice was hoarse as he moved inside her. “I know, baby. I’m right there with you.” He blinked, and she felt something wet hit her shoulder. Opening her eyes, she reached up and cupped his face, brushing away the track the single tear had left on his stubbled cheek.
When they came, they fell apart together, holding each other. Clinging to what was slipping through their fingers. They dressed in silence, and then she walked him to the door.
He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head, holding her tight.
“I’m happy for you, Piper. I know this is what you wanted.”
“And I’m happy for you. I guess everything worked out, huh?” She tried and failed to hide the tremor in her voice.
He pulled back, a sad smile pulling up his lips, his eyes so bright they were like emerald pools. “Yeah. I guess so.”
“I have a present for you, before you go.”
“Oh, uh, I didn’t—” He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, but she shook her head.
“It’s just something small. Hang on.” She opened the front closet and pulled out an already opened Amazon box. He smiled softly when she handed it to him.
“Peanut M&Ms,” he said, his voice hoarse. The box was filled with dozens of bags of them. More than enough to get him through the rest of the season. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. Can’t mess with tradition, right?” She’d bought the gift before she’d found out about New York, and now she hoped it was something he’d remember her by.
“Right.” He swallowed thickly. “Well. Goodbye, Piper. Good luck in New York.”
“Bye, Beau,” she managed, her voice cracking. “Good luck in Seattle.”
He hefted the box under his arm, kissed her one last time, and then he was gone. With her back pressed to the door, she sank to the floor and cried, feeling as though her heart had just walked right out the door.
Two weeks later, Beau sat on his couch, his chest aching as he stared at the TV screen in front of him. It was just after six in the morning, and he sipped his coffee, even though it tasted like Styrofoam. Ever since Piper had left, he felt as though everything good had been sucked out of his life. Food had lost its taste, he couldn’t sleep, and no matter how well he played on the field, he couldn’t bring himself to give a shit. It all felt hollow and empty without her. He felt hollow and empty without her.
For the first time in his life since his mom had died, Beau was nursing a broken heart, and he didn’t know what to do with himself.
“What are you doing up so early?” asked his grandfather, making his way slowly down the stairs from the upper level in Beau’s penthouse. He pulled the old purple and green bathrobe he’d had ever since Beau was a kid around himself, tying the belt loosely around his middle. He ran a hand over the wispy hair on top of his head and then stroked his fingers over his short white beard. Eyes the same shade of green as Beau’s shone out at him from behind a pair of glasses.
When Beau didn’t answer, Norman glanced at the screen and nodded. “Ah. Torturing yourself I see.” He padded into the kitchen to help himself to the coffee, and Beau returned his attention to the TV, where Piper was on the screen doing a segment on meditation for beginners. She looked absolutely beautiful, bright and shiny with her hair falling around her shoulders in loose waves, her skin glowing, dressed in a black and white polka dot dress.
She looked happy.
And he was happy for her. He was. He wanted nothing more for her than for all of her dreams to come true. It was why, after she’d told him about the amazing, life changing opportunity in New York, he hadn’t asked her to come to Seattle with him. How could he?
No, he’d had to let her go. He’d had to let her leave.
The fact that she’d left stung. More than stung. But he understood that she hadn’t left him. He was starting to understand that his mom hadn’t truly left him, either. Not in any deliberate sense. Some things were beyond control—anyone’s control—and that was life. It was shitty and unfair and that was just the way it worked out sometimes.
He hadn’t made her any promises because he’d been scared, but now he wished he had. Maybe things would’ve worked out differently if he hadn’t let his past fuck up his future so badly. If he hadn’t let it interfere with the best thing that had happened to him in a long time. It had started out as pretend, but along the way, he’d fallen madly in love with Piper Rhodes.
Norman sat down beside him on the couch, a steaming cup of black coffee in his hand. “She’s beautiful,” he said casually, taking a tentative sip, then blowing over the surface of his mug. “I can see why you’re all twisted up over her.”
“I’m not twisted up.” Beau didn’t want to talk about this. He was barely keeping it together, and he knew if he started talking, something was going to rip open inside him. Something he didn’t think he’d be able to repair.
“Sure you are. You’re like a damn pretzel. You don’t sleep, you barely eat. You sit here every morning watching her.” He shrugged. “You should’ve asked her.”
Beau shook his head, turning to face his grandfather. “How could I? She’d just gotten the opportunity of a lifetime. What kind of selfish asshole would I be if I asked her to pick me over something she’s been working towards for years? I couldn’t do it. Besides. We knew this thing had an end date. It just came sooner than I anticipated.”
Norman scratched at his beard. “Fair enough. You want me to clear out? Go stay in a hotel so you can pick up a chick to help you forget all about little miss fitness?”
“No!” Beau hadn’t meant his answer to sound so vehemently angry, but the idea of even touching another woman made him feel sick. He didn’t want anyone else. He didn’t want to forget about Piper.
“Alright, alright. Just a thought.” Norman sipped his coffee, then laughed at a joke Piper had just made. “Too bad I didn’t get to meet her. She seems great.”
“She is.”
Norman just nodded again. “So you’re really gonna do it? You’re gonna take the Seattle deal?”
Beau sank back against the sofa, his shoulders feeling heavy. “I’d be stupid not to.”
“Mmm.”
“What does that mean?”
“Doesn’t mean anything.”
“No, it means you think I’m wrong.”
“Does it?” He scratched at his beard again. “Well, wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Listen, you got something to say, just say it, Gramps.”
“Fine. I think you’re being an idiot. I think you’re in love with this girl and you’ll regret it for the rest of your life if you don’t find a way to be with her.” He set his coffee cup down on the table and crossed his arms. “I think you’re getting your priorities all mixed up and losing sight of what really matters in life.” He turned to look at him, peering at him through the thick lenses of his glasses. “You gonna take all those millions with you when you die alone in your mansion?”
Beau rubbed a fist over the center of his chest, the ache there intensifying as the magnitude of losing Piper, of letting her walk out of his life without a fight crested over him. “What am I supposed to do? I can’t ask her to give up her dream job.”
“That’s the only thing you’re right about here. You’d be a total jackass if you did that.” Norman gave him a long hard look and then rolled his eyes. “How many baseball teams they got in New York?”
Beau huffed out a breath. “You know there are two.”
“Mmm. Two. So you’d have options even. Don’t the Yankees have a lot of money, too? Deep pockets.”
“The Yankees aren’t looking for a shortstop.”
Norman threw up his hands.
“I give up. Be stupid and alone and miserable. Don’t use the fact that you’re having the best damn season of your entire career to go wherever you want to go. Don’t use that high powered agent of yours to get you whatever you want. It’s your choice.” He stood and picked up his coffee cup. “I’m going to have a shower and then I’m going for a walk. Use that brain of yours and do some thinking.” He met Beau’s eyes. “There’s a right answer, here. This isn’t one of them nebulous things. There’s a right answer, and I know you know what it is.”
He headed back up the stairs, leaving Beau alone in the living room with his snarled up thoughts and his broken heart.
The truth of Norman’s words sank deep as he sat and stared unseeing at the TV. He had options. Sure, other teams probably wouldn’t offer him the kind of money that the Mariners had, but money wasn’t everything. Having extra zeroes in the bank wasn’t going to make him happy in the long run. Being with Piper and seeing what they could have, what they could be—that would make him happy. That was worth more than millions of dollars or a prestigious contract.
She was worth everything. And in that moment, he knew, there was no one else for him but her. Piper. Beautiful, amazing, driven, funny, sweet, warm Piper. Who saw him and accepted him and understood him and wanted him. Who made his blood heat and his heart pound. Who made everything feel exciting and shiny and new.
“You called your agent yet?” Norman shouted down the stairs, and Beau smiled, the first real smile in weeks.
“I’m on it.”
“Good. Love you, jackass.”
“Love you too, old man.” Shaking his head, Beau picked up his phone and dialed Aerin’s number. He wasn’t surprised that she answered on the first ring.
“Are you done giving me the silent treatment?” she asked in greeting, the sounds of toddlers screaming and cartoon music coming through the phone.
He snorted. He’d refused to take her calls for several days after Piper had left. He’d blamed her for taking Piper away. Truth be told, he still did.
