Back To Us (Shore Secrets 3)

by Christi Barth

  Damn it. Yeah, if he came at it from that direction, it all added up for him. Sort of. It explained her side of why she’d be annoyed. It didn’t explain the total shutdown of communications.

  “Got any advice on what I should do now?”

  “Huh-uh. I told you, I’m not picking sides.”

  He didn’t want the secrets to all womankind. Just a heads-up on how to get his girlfriend to freaking listen to him. Ward tugged at the bottom of her braid. “C’mon, Casey. I thought you wanted us to be happy. Clearly Piper and I would both need a GPS to even get close to the neighborhood of happy right now.”

  “Are you manipulating me?”

  “Depends on if it’s working or not.”

  “Rats. I do want you guys happy, and you know it. Here’s the deal, though: you can’t let on that I told you anything.”

  “Done.” He knew Casey would come through for him. “So how do I get Piper to listen to me?”

  “Easy. You don’t give her a choice.”

  Advice that simple sounded like a smartass, tossed-off answer. Until Ward realized it would work because it was so simple. “Can you and Zane finishing setting up here?”

  She nodded. “Go.”

  Ward dropped a kiss on the top of her head, and then strode off. He didn’t bother to wave hello at the other vendors he passed. No time to be friendly or shoot the breeze. He was a man on a mission. So he kept his head down as he traversed the length of the festival. Even without looking up, it was easy to know once he hit the Morrissey Vineyard booth. It was three times as long as everyone else’s and tented. At the first sight of a tent pole he veered back, past shoulder-high stacks of Cabernet boxes. And stopped at the pair of shiny brown leather boots with high heels that only a masochist—or a fashion-obsessed woman—would wear to stand and work in all day.

  Lifting his head, he asked, “Are you ready to talk to me yet?”

  Piper stared daggers back. Nothing more.

  “Fine. You don’t have to talk. I just need you to listen.” Ward hinged forward, put his shoulder against her belly and lifted. He banded one arm around her thighs and clamped a hand on her ass. Then he walked into the grove of trees behind the tent. She didn’t kick. Didn’t swear. Probably didn’t want to make any more of a spectacle. He’d been counting on that.

  Once they were out of earshot, he set her down. “Just. Listen,” he repeated.

  Piper didn’t look like she planned to bolt. Still, he kept his hand tight around her wrists to make sure of it.

  “I’ve been thinking. Had some time on my hands to do that, what with my girlfriend not speaking to me. It occurred to me that we need a signal.”

  Ward could almost see her stubbornness and curiosity warring behind her fierce blue eyes. Curiosity won.

  “What are you talking about?” she finally asked in a clipped tone.

  “You know, when a couple goes to a party and they arrange a signal in case they need a rescue from a boring person? We need one of those. A signal that the situation calls for a time out so we can get on the same page.” Ward rubbed a silky strand of her hair between his fingers. Couldn’t help himself. “If we had a signal, then one of us could’ve used it on Friday. You could’ve pulled me aside and told me that you didn’t want me to talk to Hiromi, for instance. I could’ve used it to ask why you kept pushing me at him.”

  Piper looked down at the ground. Bit her lower lip, glossy and orange today to match her pumpkin-colored sweater. “I wanted you to talk to him.”

  “Okay. Means I read that signal right.” Which was a load off of his mind. The woman had been his best friend for more than a decade. It seemed impossible that he’d read her so wrong. “So what’s with the two days of radio silence?” Ward shifted his grip to slowly stroke his thumb across the sensitive skin on the inside of her wrist. “If you wanted me to talk to him, Piper, why am I in the doghouse?”

  “Does it matter?”

  “Yeah. This cold shoulder of yours is high-school bullshit. Or what you’d pull if we were still sniping at each other every five minutes. Didn’t you promise to give this—us—your best shot?”

  Her head jerked up. Her eyes blazed. “Giving it my best shot doesn’t mean giving you a free pass for being an idiot.”

  “‘’Course not. And right back at ya.” That drained some of the fire from her. Enough that she dug the toe of her boot into the grass. Classic Piper stall-to-think tactic. He’d seen it a million times over the years. Just never aimed at him. Weird that she’d have to think carefully instead of spitting out the first thing that came into her brain. Maybe she was giving this a real shot after all.

  “Yes. Of course I wanted your distillery to get a mention in the magazine. I did want you to talk to Hiromi. I...I just didn’t want you to keep me from talking to him.”

  He let go and took a step back. Gave her space. Gave himself some breathing room, too. Because talking through shit was hard. “Fair enough. But can you see how that’d be confusing for me? That I thought you were giving me the green light?”

  “Maybe.” Piper scrunched up her face like the time he’d tricked her into sniffing a barrel full of rye. “But Ward, you took off with him. You took—stole, really—the only time Hiromi had allocated and used it all up on yourself.” She twisted her wrists. Interlaced her fingers. Rocked back and forth on her heels a bit. And then looked him straight in the eyes. No more fidgeting. Just a clear pronouncement. “It feels a lot like you cheated on me. Again.”

  Now they’d gotten to the heart of it. Ward still didn’t agree about how she got there. But he did understand why. God, were they going to keep getting sucked into rehashing their past? That was a speed hump their relationship didn’t need. One dumb mistake shouldn’t define him to Piper. He got that it made her cautious. Still—how many other adults were judged by the idiotic choices made at nineteen?

  Ward tamped down his frustration. Letting it out wouldn’t help the situation any. This time. He refused to let her keep wielding that particular bat at him anymore after today. Slowly, carefully choosing his words, he said, “I’m sorry he’s not doing your feature right away. I’m sorry if I played any part in that. But you’ve got to believe I didn’t do it intentionally.”

  After a couple of beats, Piper gave a short nod. Let her hands fall to her sides. “Okay.” And lifted one eyebrow in a way that had always driven him nuts. “You were just being a clueless man?”

  Back to normal. Just like that. Well, two days of a silent snit, carrying her off bodily to deal with it, one apology, and they were back on track. “I’m not going to let you tar and feather all men like that. Not unless I get to call you a temperamental redhead.”

  “Don’t you dare.”

  “Don’t you pull that crap, then.” He took two steps forward to tower over her. To force her to tilt her head back to look at him. “Don’t shut me out. And I don’t just mean during this thirty-day experiment. Dating or friends, we can’t solve anything if you don’t even try. If you don’t let me try. Would you throw out a batch of wine without tasting it?”

  “No. But I was seething. Pouting a little, too. I didn’t want to talk to you.”

  “Christ, Piper, you know I hate hashing shit out. I’d rather have the forward for the New York Rangers bash out my wisdom teeth with his hockey stick. You think I want to be standing here doing this?”

  A wan smile flitted across her face. “No. In fact, I’m quite sure you don’t. So you propose we take comfort in suffering together?”

  “Something like that.” He waved his hand, palm-up, in an ‘anything else’ gesture. “Are we good now? Air all cleared?”

  “Almost.”

  Ward barely managed to keep from groaning. “Now what?”

  Piper held out her hand, and when he took it, started walking back toward the festival. “I accept that you didn�
��t mean to hurt me. Nevertheless, you did.”

  “And I apologized.”

  “True. But I don’t think that’s enough. Who knows when WWLL will come back to do a feature on me, if ever? That’s a huge disappointment. You’ve got some penance to do.”

  “Like what?” He scrambled to think of options. “Want me to wash your car? Or better yet, how about I play out a sexual fantasy of yours? Any one you want. Sky’s the limit.”

  “Nice try. Can’t really bargain with sexual favors until we’ve had sex. How do I know you’ll be good enough to make them worthwhile?”

  “Babe, good enough doesn’t come close to the truth of it. I’ll be the best you ever had.” Ward felt her hand spasm around his at his words, as though she couldn’t help it. Looked over to notice that her lips had parted. And despite the fact that they were on the fringes of the gathering crowd, he pushed a little harder. “You trying to pick a fight? Start something so I throw you down on the grass and make you eat your words right here, right now?”

  “Nooooo.” She held onto the word a little too long. Long enough that Ward knew the picture he’d painted had definite merit in her eyes. He whirled around. Picked her up by the waist and tossed her in the air, high enough to make her gasp and suck down a squeal, just like she had back in high school when he did it.

  Piper’s legs locked around his waist. Her hands locked in a death grip around his neck. Funny, since she knew there was no way on earth he’d drop her. And then she threw back her head so all that glorious red hair streamed like liquid fire in the sunlight, and laughed.

  Right then and there, Ward knew he’d had the best moment of the whole day. No matter what else happened. Not even if he and the guys won the sculling race at twilight. Nothing could compare. Not if he went through every damn case in his distillery. Not even if Frank Rogers got down on his knees and begged Ward to take a loan from his bank. Her infectious laugh and undiluted happiness filled him up.

  Then she jerked her head up and twisted around. Pointed. “That’s your penance.”

  All Ward saw were the normal booths and festival vendors. “I know none of these yahoos can compete with your wine, but tasting it isn’t exactly a punishment.”

  Another gurgle of laughter. “Not the wine booths. Not the cinnamon nuts. The one in the middle. With all the people in front of it.”

  Ward surveyed the line of booths. Saw the semicircle of apron-clad vendors and tourists in front of tall, orange bars that looked like a jail cell. Oh, crap. “You want me to go in the dunk tank?”

  “I do. Very much so.” Every year it was the hit of the festival. All the heavy-hitters in town took a shift in it, from Dawn to the principal of the high school. The money went to charity. This year, according to the sign, the proceeds would go to the homeless shelter. A worthy enough cause to risk getting drenched.

  He set Piper on her feet. Probably a mistake, as she immediately tugged at him. No doubt that he’d go do it. It’d make her happy. It did seem like a fair enough price to pay for not thinking through all the angles the other day. Plus, Piper couldn’t drop a grape in a wine barrel if she stood right over it. He’d never seen someone with such bad aim. Didn’t mean he’d go without a little fight, though.

  Dragging his feet, Ward said, “I’ve got my own booth to run. Zane’s expecting me in the boat for his big race. I can’t spend the day taking hits for charity.”

  “Of course not. All I ask is five minutes. No, scratch that. Five tries. You let me take five shots at dunking you, and then we’ll be square.”

  “Fair enough.”

  The crowd parted way too quickly. And then stuck around to watch the show. Piper got him installed on the plastic bench in a matter of minutes. She had a cocky gleam in her eye. One that would disappear once he climbed down, dry as a bone.

  To help stack the odds in his favor, Ward stripped off his shirt. Catcalls and applause spread like wildfire. Piper stopped in her tracks. Dropped the softball she’d just picked up. Exactly as he’d hoped. Chuckling, Ward extended his arms to grip the clear sides of the cage. Yeah, it flexed his biceps and his pecs. Which should keep her off-balance for all five tries.

  She bent over to retrieve the ball from the grass. “Ward, are you trying to distract me?”

  “Babe, I’m not even trying. It’s just working.” That earned him a round of laughter and applause from the crowd.

  “You think...what...I’ll look at you and tremble with—”

  The yell from the bartender at the Manor’s pub cut off Piper. “Anticipation,” Dani said with a suggestive shimmy that made everyone laugh. Especially since she had three wineglasses strapped to lanyards hanging across her chest.

  “Do you not see those abs?” cut in the barber. Trent had hit on Ward the first time he’d gone in for a trim. Ward talked him into joining their pick-up basketball team instead of a date. “If Piper’s got her eyes and her hormones in working order, then she’s all a-quiver with primal animalistic need.”

  “How about you keep your eyes off my girlfriend’s quivering anything and everything?”

  “Trust me, the only thing I’m staring at is your tan line.” Trent hooked one hand around the orange bars. “Sure you don’t want to take off your pants, too? So you don’t have to stand around in wet clothes all day?”

  “Nice try, Trent. Maybe you should be the one to take my seat. Seems like you need to cool down a little.”

  Word had spread through the festival. From his higher perch, Ward could see vendors streaming from their booths. Guess everyone wanted to watch Piper take her shots at him. Didn’t matter. The more people, the more noise, the more chance that all of Piper’s balls would fly wide of the mark. Plus, he was having a blast baiting her.

  Piper swung her arm in a circle a few times. Cleared her throat. Even mimed adjusting herself and spitting some chaw. Hysterical. “Are you ready for me to get you wet, Ward?”

  “You’ve got things backwards, babe. The question is, are you ready for me to get you wet?”

  Her cheeks flushed more red than her hair as whistles and laughter erupted loud enough to scare a flock of geese off the lake into a flapping, screeching vee formation low in the sky. Without any further stretching or even a little sass back at him, she winged the ball with all her might.

  Holy fuck, she did it ran through Ward’s brain as the hard plastic jerked out from below his ass. His feet scraped the bottom of the tank. Guess it was made for people shorter than six foot three. Still, cold water covered his head. One hard push with his arms brought him to the surface. Once he pulled himself up to hang on the edge, Piper was already there, grinning like crazy at him.

  Ward shook his head, sending water spraying onto her. Piper jumped backward with a squeal. “No fair. You’re the only one who gets wet. I dropped you, fair and square.”

  He boosted himself up and out. Straddling the edge, one leg still in the water, Ward couldn’t wait another second. He asked, “How did you do that?”

  Jumping from one foot to the other, Piper said, “Gray’s been teaching me to play darts. I wanted to surprise you—well, beat the pants off of you, actually—when winter rolled around and we started our annual competition. Using my new skills today is an even bigger surprise, I’m thinking.”

  “If I had a hat on, I’d take it off to you.” He bowed with a big arm flourish.

  “Take your pants off instead,” Dani yelled.

  Piper shook her head. “Oh, no.”

  “Doesn’t give a guy much hope for our next date if you’re dead set against my taking off my pants.”

  “That’s a different conversation,” she said, cheeks adorably flaming once more. “I meant that you can’t take them off yet because you’re headed straight back into the tank. I get five tries, remember?”

  Piper was just as stubborn as he was. Didn’t give an inc
h. No wonder he was crazy about this woman.

  Chapter Twelve

  Piper enjoyed getting ready for a date. The fussing, the anticipation. Pulling out her best jewelry, her sexiest outfits and glamming it up. Dancing in front of the mirror. She did not enjoy when her boyfriend-for-now showed up at her door, unannounced, on a Wednesday night when she’d already changed into her sloppy, comfortable clothes. It took away several fun aspects of the date. Plus, she looked like crap. Whereas Ward, in his tight navy tee and jeans, looked edible, as always.

  “I don’t understand how you can even call this a date. Or why you’d want to. Not when I’m in this state.” She twitched at her long grey skirt made from sweatshirt fabric. It was barely one step up from pajamas. Comfortable and cozy. And even less sexy than a shapeless satin choir robe.

  Dropping onto the couch, Ward clasped his hands behind his neck. It stretched his shirt tight across his pecs and dried out her mouth. “Piper, you look great.”

  Huh-uh. She wasn’t even in the neighborhood of good, let alone great. “Don’t lie. It’ll prevent me from believing any future compliment you may dole out.”

  “You look...real. Approachable. Like you’re comfortable with me, instead of trying to impress me.” Ward shot her the universal double-eyebrow raise of approval. “That’s hot.”

  “Great. Let me just go throw out all my garter belts and black lace lingerie, then.”

  “No need to go overboard.”

  Piper paced in front of the fireplace. Because sitting down next to him, cuddling up, felt awkward. Equal parts easy and awkward, actually. They’d jumped through a bunch of the normal dating hurdles—albeit for the second time—already. Holding hands in public. Sharing meals. The phone calls every night that lasted for hours.

  This was different. This was more than six feet of man sprawled all over her couch. Him filling the room. Shrinking it. There was an intimacy to being utterly alone with him, just a single flight of stairs from her bed, that jumpstarted their relationship up about ten levels. To a level that required carefully chosen lingerie and freshly shaved legs. Piper had shaved yesterday. For God’s sake, Ward’s three best friends in the world were female. He should know this stuff.