by Amy Vastine
Sawyer and Josie jumped up to help clear the table for dessert. After dropping some bowls in the kitchen, Sawyer went into the front room, where Matthew was resting on the couch.
“How are we doing out here?” he asked. Piper turned to face him. Her eyes were watery.
“He’ll be fine. He needs a few minutes for the headache to pass.”
“Can I get you anything?”
“A cure for epilepsy?”
Sawyer didn’t think about how he was supposed to act or what a devoted fiancé would do. He did what felt natural. He put his arms around Piper and pulled her close.
“You are a really good sister.”
She linked her hands behind his back and pressed her cheek to his chest. “I pay all this money for doctors and medicines and nothing helps. It’s so frustrating.” She lowered her voice. “My mom wants to get him into this experimental medication study she found in Pennsylvania. It’s going to cost more than I’d planned to get them out there and set them up with a place to live while he’s in treatment.”
Everything Piper had been saying about why she needed to protect her image was making perfect sense when Sawyer saw her brother’s illness up close and personal. There was no room to wiggle out of this fake engagement. Piper’s reputation needed protecting so Matthew could get the treatment he needed. Maybe she cared so much about her image because of the people she loved after all. Sawyer just wasn’t one of them.
“I’m here for you,” he said, but she stiffened and pulled back.
“We’ve got this. Don’t worry about me.”
Sawyer couldn’t hide his confusion. She had this way of running away from him even when they were in the same room.
“Come help me get started on the dishes,” Harriet said to Sawyer from the doorway. If he wasn’t needed here, there was no reason to stay.
“Thanks for helping out,” he said as they began sorting through the dirty dishes. “Piper was worried that he might get triggered.”
“It’s a shame what that young man has to deal with. His family is wonderful, though.”
“Piper and her mom are great.” Sawyer wasn’t about to give Heath any credit.
“I could see how hard it was for his dad to watch that. It’s no wonder he’s so focused on Piper. At least he feels he can do some good there.”
“Focused is a nice way to put it. I usually call that level of interest an obsession.”
“You know, it’s pretty normal for there to be friction between a man and his father-in-law, especially when the woman is the dad’s only daughter. Your grandfather used to give your father a heck of a time.”
“What?” Sawyer had never met his maternal grandfather, who had passed away before he was born. “Dad never mentioned that. He always spoke well of Grandpa.”
Harriet laughed and bent over to retrieve the dishwashing liquid from under the sink. “Oh, my, your mother used to tell me stories!”
“Like what? What was Grandpa’s issue?”
“Well, he thought they were too young to get married. Your father didn’t have a college degree yet, and your mother...” She paused for a long beat. “Your mother had never committed herself to anything, let alone anyone, in her entire life. He thought it was a big mistake.”
Sawyer really couldn’t argue with that. “I guess he was sort of right.”
“What?” Harriet shrieked. “Because of that marriage, you and your sister were born. I don’t think your parents would ever call that a mistake. I know I wouldn’t.”
“I know Dad never would have said that. He loved us. He wanted us. Mom, on the other hand—she clearly thought it was all a very big mistake.”
“Is that what you think?”
“That’s what I know. She left, Harriet. Never came back. Never called. Never cared. She’s no one to me.”
Harriet frowned and sighed. “I love you and I love your mom. I don’t know why Gretchen thought her leaving was best for you all, but I have to believe she did it because she thought it was.”
“I love you, too, but you cannot convince me that my mom left her amazing husband and two little kids because she thought it was better for them. If you said she left because she thought it was better for her, then I would believe you.”
Sawyer could feel his blood beginning to boil. If there was someone who got under his skin worse than Heath Starling, it was Gretchen Stratton.
“How’d we get on the subject of your mother anyway? I thought we agreed not to go there.”
Sawyer and Harriet had a long-standing agreement not to talk about his mother, because they were destined to disagree. There was nothing Harriet could say that would make him think Gretchen was anything other than selfish.
“You were supposed to be giving me some insight into my future father-in-law. Did Grandpa come around? He must have eventually figured out that Dad was a stand-up guy.”
“He sure did. As soon as Faith was born. When he saw what kind of father your dad was, he came around. Your dad loved your mom and his kids with everything he was. So, if you’re worried about Mr. Starling, my suggestion is just love your wife—and someday your children—with all your heart. Make it undeniable and he’ll come around.”
This felt a lot like the speech Boone had given him a couple weeks ago. Love, love, love. Would his father have loved his mother so much if he had known she was going to run away? Would he have tried so hard to give her everything she wanted if he had known their family would never be enough for her?
Piper wanted to be famous. To provide for her family by doing as she was told. She would always bend to her father’s interpretation of what was right for her, because taking care of her family was the most important thing. Sawyer could love her with all his heart and in the end, Piper could still walk away. The fake engagement was about pleasing the masses. As soon as they lost interest, so could Piper.
Sawyer would not fall blindly in love like his dad did, trusting that someone would put him first, only to be disappointed. Love like that was a risk Sawyer wouldn’t take, but he would emulate his father in another way.
The baby had already won his heart. Sawyer had no idea what Heath had in mind. Maybe he planned to have Piper raise the baby without Sawyer. Maybe Heath would encourage Piper to turn custody over to Sawyer once he saw what kind of father he could be.
When the baby was born, new rules would have to be established. Sawyer wouldn’t lie to his child—or make his child live a lie. He certainly wouldn’t walk away from the baby, no matter what Heath or Piper thought was best for her career. This was a conversation he and Piper needed to have, and soon.
CHAPTER TEN
“OH, PLEASE DON’T CRY!”
Piper threw her arms around the teenage girl who had dissolved into tears when it was her turn to meet the country singer. The girl could barely speak. Her equally emotional friend joined in the hug. It was the opening night of Piper’s tour. The holidays were over and January was in full swing.
Performing and recording music were all Piper had wanted to do since she was knee-high. What she hadn’t expected was the loneliness that would come hand in hand with celebrity.
Thankfully, the meet and greets backstage before the show gave her a chance to connect with her fans on a personal level. That was something she couldn’t get when she was onstage in front of tens of thousands of them.
“We just love you so much. We can’t believe we’re here,” the first girl said.
More tears. More hugging. Piper thanked them for coming to the show and for supporting her new album. Sawyer hung back, seemingly a bit afraid of the overwrought teenagers.
“I’m so happy for you two,” the second girl said. “Hannah wanted you to marry Boone Williams, but I think he’s too old for you. You and Sawyer are perfect.”
“Oh my gosh, Sabrina! I do not want her to marry Boone! I said a long t
ime ago that it would be cool if she got to marry her idol, but I’ve wanted Piper and Sawyer to get together since their song came out,” Hannah defended herself. “You’re adorable together.”
“Well, thank you. It would have been very cool to marry Boone as well, but he is madly in love with someone else, so I am stuck with this guy,” Piper joked, trying to ease the girl’s embarrassment and her own.
There was one more round of hugging before Piper and Sawyer signed the girls’ backstage passes. They posed for a picture, and Piper hoped this was a day the girls would never forget.
“Be sure to stop at the candy bar over there and fill up a bag with all the sugar you can handle.”
The candy bar had been Piper’s idea. Glass jars filled with every colorful candy imaginable were lined up on tables along the back wall. Lollipops were displayed in huge, floral-like bouquets, and there was enough chocolate to make every man, woman and child backstage happy. Something sweet from America’s sweetheart.
“You do a good job of making this moment magical,” Sawyer said, leaning close. “I’m taking notes.”
The smell of his cologne brought back memories of being in his arms. Memories Piper wished she could forget. His brown eyes melted her insides. She wondered if he knew how unfair it was for a man to have such beautiful eyelashes. She turned her gaze on the next fan waiting to meet them, wishing all these feelings Sawyer stirred in her would go far, far away.
Pretending to be in love was messing with her head. The pregnancy hormones weren’t helping, either. Besides this new desire for something real to happen between her and Sawyer, Piper could easily eat every piece of milk chocolate on the back table. Resisting all forms of temptation when they were right in front of her was torture.
Last up at the meet and greet was a family brought backstage by the Wish Upon a Star charity group. Piper had been prepped ahead of time. Liam was a six-year-old with Stage IV neuroblastoma. The cancer that had started in the nerve tissue of his abdomen had spread to his lymph nodes and was now in his liver. His parents had told WUAS that Piper’s music was the one thing that brought him comfort in the hospital when he went in for treatments and surgeries. He knew every word to every song.
He also only had a few months to live. Piper swallowed the lump in her throat as the brave little boy confidently strode up to them.
“I have a bone to pick with you, mister,” he said, shaking a finger at Sawyer. His bald head was covered by a Carolina Panthers baseball cap, and his WUAS T-shirt was too big for his tiny frame.
Sawyer put his hands up like he was surrendering. “What did I do?”
“I was supposed to marry Piper when I get big and you stole her away.” He folded his arms across his chest and glared at Sawyer.
Sawyer was quick to apologize. “I’m so sorry, man. I didn’t know you were interested. She probably only said yes to me because I asked first.”
“Liam actually wrote her a letter a year ago asking if she would marry him,” his mother said.
“See? You stole her.” Liam threw his hands up.
“Piper, we need to talk. You did not mention you were waiting for someone to get bigger when I asked you to marry me.”
“Oh, Liam. This is all my fault,” Piper said, getting down on one knee to be at his level. “I was so worried you would find a nice girl your own age that I accepted Sawyer’s proposal instead.”
“It’s okay. Waiting for me to get big is gonna take a long time.” Liam placed a hand on her shoulder. “You deserve to be happy, babe.”
“Did he just call her babe?” Sawyer asked Liam’s mom with a laugh.
“He’s always had personality to spare,” she replied.
Piper loved this kid. “You are too much. Can we be friends at least?”
“Friends.” Liam offered to shake her hand, but she opened her arms for a hug instead. He wrapped his little arms around Piper and hugged her with everything he had.
Piper cleared her throat and wiped her eyes discreetly as she stood back up.
“I have a couple questions for you,” Liam said, pulling a piece of paper out of his front pocket. “I’m writing a blog post about meeting you, and I need some facts.”
“Great. I love giving facts.” Which was true. Piper much preferred telling the truth.
“First, if you could be any superhero, who would you be?”
Piper had to think about it for a second. “Tough question. I’m going to go with Wonder Woman, because her costume is pretty awesome.”
Liam’s giggle made Piper smile. “You can’t pick her because of the costume!”
“I can’t? But that’s what us girls care about!” She winked.
Liam accepted her answer and moved on to Sawyer. “What about you?”
“I want to be you.”
“Me?” Liam’s brow furrowed.
“Yeah, you. I heard you’ve been very brave. Braver than any superhero I know.”
Piper and Liam’s mom exchanged a look, both clearly touched by that answer.
“Pretty good answer for a wife stealer.” Liam looked over his list of questions. “Which would you rather be, a fish or a bird?”
“Bird. Who doesn’t want to fly?” Sawyer answered first.
“Me,” Piper said. “I would be a fish. I hate flying.”
“You would make a lovely mermaid.” Sawyer made her blush when he said things like that.
“Which cookie is the best—Oreos or chocolate chip?”
“Oh, come on, peanut butter is the best! You’re not even going to make that a choice?” Piper had a peanut butter cookie obsession. They were the only thing on her tour rider that she actually ate.
“My sister makes these peanut butter and bourbon cookies for the Sundown that you would die for,” Sawyer told her. “Remind me to text her later. I’ll have her send some to one of the next stops on the tour.”
Why did he have to be so nice? He’s playing the part of the devoted fiancé, she had to remind herself.
Liam ran through the rest of his questions and then announced he had one more important one.
“Lay it on me,” Piper said.
“I know you probably give lots of money to charity, but I wanted to know if you would be willing to support my charity, the Super Liam Foundation, to fight childhood cancer?”
Piper didn’t hesitate. “Of course I would.”
“So you are a superhero. I knew it,” Sawyer said.
Liam looked like he’d won the lottery. Liam’s mom had brought several items that they planned to auction off at an event they were having for the Super Liam Foundation a couple weeks from now, and she asked Piper and Sawyer to sign them. Sawyer finished first and took Liam to fill up a candy bag.
“Thank you so much for doing this. It really does mean a lot to him,” his mom said.
“We’re happy to do it,” Piper said as she signed some CDs. “He’s awesome.”
“You and Sawyer are really good with kids. You’ll be great parents someday.”
Piper’s hand slipped and she smudged her signature. Would they? She’d spent so much time working out how they were going to convince the world their engagement was real, she hadn’t thought to talk to Sawyer about how they’d parent their child once the engagement was called off. Maybe they’d parent tag-team style, one at a time. That wasn’t very traditional.
“Hopefully,” she said, wanting to talk about anything other than babies. “We’re just looking forward to the wedding.”
“I bet. The way he looked at you when you were talking with the fans was really sweet. You can tell how much he loves you.”
Correction—Piper wanted to talk about anything other than babies or how well Sawyer was faking his feelings for her.
* * *
WHILE PIPER AND Liam’s parents chatted about what else she could do to help, Liam hit
the candy table with Sawyer.
“Piper definitely thinks I’m cuter than you,” Liam said as he filled up his bag with gummy bears, which were supposedly his little sister’s favorite.
Sawyer laughed. “You might be right.”
“But she loves you, so you’re pretty lucky.”
“Very lucky.” Sawyer scratched the nape of his neck.
“Maybe I can come to your wedding. I could be the ring boy.”
The knot in Sawyer’s stomach tightened. One, there was never going to be a wedding and two, even if there was, Liam probably wouldn’t be alive to see it.
“I don’t see why not,” Sawyer answered. He swallowed hard, trying not to think about how this kid would never grow up to be the big man he wanted to be. He wouldn’t fall in love and get that first kiss. He wouldn’t get to go to prom or marry the girl of his dreams. Or hold his own child in his arms.
Lucky. Sawyer had been lucky enough to do many of those things, but he took others for granted. He was about to become a dad. It was one of those things he’d thought he wouldn’t get to experience since he had sworn off marriage. Meeting Piper had changed all that. For the short time they’d been together, he’d started to believe marriage wasn’t the dirty word he’d built it up to be. Of course, he’d never imagined those feelings would lead to them having to pretend to take the plunge. Now, he wasn’t sure where he stood on the idea of spending his life with someone.
Liam ran back over to Piper. She was in her element tonight. She had walked into this room full of fans and lit it right up. She’d had no qualms about hugging whoever she could get her hands on.
The fans had been mildly interested in Sawyer, but they were definitely more excited to see Piper. She’d reminded him of his sister—Faith and Piper both had a way of making everyone feel welcome.
She’d had them under her spell. She was good at that. Sawyer couldn’t afford to let himself get caught in her web, though. He needed to protect his heart. Piper treated everyone like they were special, but who really was? Sawyer wasn’t about to fall for someone who held him in the same regard as she held a fan or a friend. He wanted someone who loved him back. Maybe he had more abandonment issues than he cared to admit, but he wanted someone who would choose him over everyone else. Piper wouldn’t...or maybe couldn’t do that.
