“Did you and my mother ever consider settling down?” Piper didn’t often ask questions about the woman who’d birthed her. She had a name, but Piper never remembered it.
“No,” Dad answered without hesitation. “Your mother...she wasn’t like us. Having you was the best thing in my life, but it scared her. She didn’t want to stay with me.”
Piper nodded. Stories about her mother were foreign sounding as though they happened to a baby that wasn’t her. She’d have liked to grow up with a mom, but if that meant trading any part of how she’d been raised, she didn’t think she’d make that switch. Her father had doled out love and acceptance, always encouraging her to do what she wanted, go where her heart led her. They’d had bumps in the road, but that was nothing. No life was perfect.
Dad pulled the van onto the performance grounds and found a spot to park the van between big, touring busses. It was early enough she didn’t think Gideon would be here yet, but she needed to get into place.
“You still going to help out until it’s time?” Dad asked.
“Yeah, do you have work for me to do?”
“I could always use you on monitors.”
“I’d like that.”
She still didn’t quite know what she was going to say or how Gideon would respond, but she needed to do this. For herself, for him, for the future, it was the right thing to do.
GIDEON HANDED OVER a couple bills to the vendor, trading them for a beer. He’d thought about double fisting it, but that seemed unwise. No matter how sour his mood was, beer wasn’t going to fix anything.
The late afternoon sun beat down on his head, reminding him of the numerous ways his day had gone wrong since leaving his brother’s house. First, his niece got sick all over the back seat, so instead of ice cream and early to the airport they’d had to emergency clean the SUV. Gideon had to scrape into the airport with only minutes to spare and managed to get on his flight at the last call. The trip back to L.A. hadn’t been all that bad if it weren’t for his elbow happy seatmate. To top it off, he’d left his baseball cap in the overhead bin and traffic headed to San Diego was never fun. He’d missed most of the acts because of his unplanned trip to see family. He was really only there for one band so it didn’t bother him too much. Next time he reconciled his bank account he’d be less thrilled.
Music played on the speakers while the team of stage hands changed out the equipment for the headliner of the evening.
Gideon didn’t have a good reason for why he still liked Ancient Sons as much as he did. They were a group of old guys playing old music, but he loved it. Sure, there were better musicians out there, tunes that stuck with him better. The best moments of his life were their music. He’d scaled mountains of boxes with his brothers to it. Terrorized his sisters pretending to be the guitarist. The first song he played in his Jeep was one of theirs. By the time he’d grown up the band had passed out of style. No one knew who they were anymore. And then Piper had climbed in his Jeep and rattled off the band members by first names. Turned out her old man had worked with them a time or two.
It’d always been on Gideon’s bucket list to meet Piper’s dad. He seemed like a unique individual. Maybe Gideon would understand Piper better?
“Do you know what time they’re going to start playing?”
“Hm?” Gideon blinked at an older gentleman who looked like a taller, leaner Willie Nelson.
“The time?”
“I’m sorry, man. I’m spacing out. Sure.” Gideon dug out his cell phone and showed it to him.
“Plenty of time.” The man grinned at Gideon. “How’d you get roped into coming to this?”
“Oh, I’m an Ancient Sons fan. This guy who lived next door to us growing up listened to them and gave my older brother a tape. I think my parents still resent him for it.”
“You got good taste. Family with you?”
“No, it’s just me these days. They all settled down and don’t have time for this stuff anymore.” Gideon had some great memories of one particular concert. It was the only one he and all his brothers had attended together.
“The things we do for the ones we love, right?”
“Yeah.” Gideon smiled, but all he could think about was Piper. They’d never been able to go to an Ancient Sons concert together, and now they likely never would.
“I have gone places and done things I never thought I would.” The old man’s gaze dropped to the ground, but his smile seemed happier. “Enjoy the show, man.”
“Thanks. You, too.”
Gideon couldn’t help but wonder where Piper was, what the girls were up to after the con, how it’d all worked out for her. He could text Ellie, his unlikely ally, and get an update. He’d resisted that route. If Piper really meant it, if she wanted him to leave her alone, then he had to go cold turkey.
He slid the phone in his pocket and took a long drink from his beer.
Things had to change. He had to change. He wasn’t sure how, but he’d do something.
The lights along the stage flashed and a wailing guitar stirred a cheer from the audience. Gideon sighed and vowed that for the next hour he wasn’t going to think or feel about anything except the music.
The band churned through three of their best-known songs.
“San Diego, how are you tonight?” the lead singer said as the guitars died down.
The crowd cheered.
“I’ve got a special friend with us here tonight that wants to say something.”
Gideon stared into the bottom of his empty cup. Did he want another one? He eyed the line at the beer vendor.
“Good evening!”
The hair on the back of Gideon’s neck stood up at the sound of that voice.
What was Piper doing here?
PIPER WAS GOING TO hurl.
She opened and closed her mouth, all her rehearsed words leaving her.
At the very back of the crowd a light shone, up-lighting her father.
He’d never wavered from who he was. Even when they didn’t understand each other, he’d smiled and accepted her choices. He was the man who’d raised her to follow her heart and stand up for herself.
Dad lifted a lighter and waved his arm from side to side. She sputtered a laugh that at least got sound coming out of her mouth.
“I am terrified being up here.” She swallowed and kept her eyes on Dad. Gideon was out there somewhere, she just had to hope he could hear her. “I had this whole thing planned out, all the stuff I wanted to say and now I can’t remember it and all I’m thinking about is how much I might vomit.”
“You’re doing great,” the lead singer whispered.
“A long time ago, some bad things happened to me. The only people who stuck by me were my Dad—back there on the controls—and my friend Gideon. Here’s the deal. I think I fell in love with Gideon the day we met, but my life is always crazy. Things didn’t work out until recently when we reconnected. I still love him, but I’ve never told him that because I’m afraid. I’m afraid of how that will change me, us, everything. Because of that fear, I told him I didn’t want to see him ever again.”
The crowd groaned.
Piper wiped her cheeks. She was grateful for the lights. She knew there were a couple hundred people out there, but she couldn’t make out their faces.
“Yeah, I know, pretty stupid, right?” She sucked down a deep breath.
“Tell him you love him,” some woman shouted from near the stage.
“I’m trying to, I swear.” Piper wiped at her eyes, but the tears wouldn’t stop coming.
She needed a tissue or a rag, something to stem the leakage.
“You’re doing great.” The lead singer wrapped his arm around her and took the microphone.
“Move, move, move,” someone in front of the stage said.
Piper hadn’t said half of what she meant to say. Her knees were wobbly and her hands shook. Fear had nearly killed her joy so many times.
The crowd cheered so loud she stumbled back and
blinked around her.
“Look over there.” The lead singer nudged her shoulder, turning her to her right.
A familiar figure climbed up onto the stage. His beard was scraggly and his hair stuck up around his sunglasses. He was the most handsome, amazing thing she’d ever seen.
She covered her face with her hands, peering between her fingers, watching Gideon walk closer.
The roar of the crowd made it impossible to hear anything. Her whole body seemed to pulse in time to her heartbeat.
Gideon wrapped his arm around her waist. His lips moved, but she couldn’t hear the words. He pulled her closer, tight to his chest and kissed her cheek.
He was there. He was really there.
She threw her arms around his shoulders. For the last few hours she’d wondered if he’d show up, if he’d walk away when she got on stage, if she was just going to embarrass herself—and here he was. Like always, catching her when she fell.
“Let’s give these two a hand?” the lead singer called out.
The cheering redoubled. The drummer beat out a rhythm, signaling the start of a song.
Gideon grabbed her hand and pulled her off stage. She nearly tripped down the stairs, but Gideon was there to steady her.
“Here.” The stage hand thrust her phone at her.
Gideon took it and said something, his words lost in the music.
“I can’t hear you.” She tapped her ear.
She tightened her hold on his hand and led him through the warren of instruments, cases and equipment tucked out of sight. They exited through to the back stage and out of the direct blare of speakers and monitors.
“What are you doing here?” Gideon tugged on her hand.
She stopped and turned, searching for the words she’d rehearsed.
Gideon walked into her, wrapping his arms around her. He kissed her hair and her forehead. She held onto him, blubbering words that weren’t remotely coherent.
“When did you get here?” He leaned back and peered down at her.
“Last night.”
“How did you know I was here?”
“My Dad saw you. If you tried to leave, he was going to have security grab you.”
“What are you doing here?” He smiled and cupped her face, his fingers wiping away her tears.
“I had to see you. I had to tell you I’m sorry—”
“You don’t have anything to be sorry for.”
“I told you I didn’t want to see you again and then you went and got in a fight with Carl.”
“You heard about that?” Gideon winced.
“Yes.”
“That was a bad idea, I own that.” He squeezed her and bent his head.
She tipped her chin up and he paused.
He’d said he loved her, and she’d reacted out of fear and hurt.
“Ellie told me about what you said to her. Is it all true?” Piper had to know.
“Which parts did she tell you?”
“That you stopped being friends because of your feelings.”
“How could I keep being your friend when my feelings weren’t friendly?”
“I love you, Gideon,” she blurted.
He stared at her, not even blinking.
“The last few days I’ve done nothing but think about you, me, us—everything. We both made mistakes. I’ve let fear back me in a corner, and I took that out on you. I want to be with you. I want to stop pretending we’re just friends and...be real. Can you forgive me?”
He cupped her face and gently kissed her lips.
“My problem has always been that I’m crazy in love with you. There isn’t anything to forgive.”
Epilogue.
Six weeks later...
“OKAY, I’VE GOT THE combined schedules printed off—what else?” Piper turned in a circle, scanning Gideon’s office for anything she might be missing.
“Let’s go down the list.” Ellie whipped out her notepad. She’d become a life saver, stepping in to act as Piper and Gideon’s joint assistant while they figured out combining their lives under one roof.
One by one Ellie rattled off the line items. They’d divided the list into things that could be done early, which Gideon had handled before leaving, and things that had to wait and were up to Piper.
“That’s it, right?” Piper couldn’t shake the feeling she was forgetting something.
“That’s everything. You’re stalling. Go get your ass on the bus. Now.” Ellie shoved her toward the door.
“Are the bags on board?”
“Yes. They want to pop the champagne. Move.” Ellie gave her another push toward the stairs.
Piper could do this. It was no big thing, just a bus ride to changing her whole life.
Ellie herded her out of the house and onto the party bus packed with Piper’s friends—including Kobe, his brother and boyfriend— Gideon’s sisters and her future mother-in-law. The assembled group let out a cheer and lifted empty glasses.
“Let’s go before she runs, Dad.” Ellie banged on the doors.
Piper sank into the seat draped with white, glittery fabric. Her gaze snagged on a pair of eyes looking back at her from the driver’s seat. Her dad grinned and shifted into drive.
She was getting married.
“Here.” Tamara leaned over and handed her a small cup of bubbly. She stood and held her glass in the air. “To the best girlfriend I could have asked for. May Gideon be worthy of her.”
One by one the others went around the bus, issuing their own toasts. Some were silly, others heartfelt. By the time they’d made the round of the bus, they’d polished off several bottles and even begun using plain water. There were still several hours to go until Vegas—and then the wedding.
Piper climbed out of her seat and parked it on the floor, next to her Dad.
“Thanks for coming.” She hadn’t been certain she’d even get him on the phone before things got rolling.
“I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
“Am I making the right decision?”
“Are you happy?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’d say you’re doing what you should. We all need to follow our hearts a little more.”
GIDEON PEERED OVER his shoulder. The other guys didn’t appear to notice he wasn’t in the bathroom anymore.
This was his chance.
He ducked out of the hotel suite and darted to the stairs. He couldn’t risk the elevator in case someone realized he was missing.
He’d seen the bus arrive half an hour ago. The ladies were in the building and the clock had begun ticking down to the ceremony. Their small, intimate affair had turned into a circus once his family got wind of it. Still, it was the best kind of crazy. It didn’t stop him from worrying about how Piper would hold up under all the stress.
She’d answered a few of his texts, enough to know that she had the same kind of nerves he was fending off. If they were a normal couple he’d leave her alone, poke a little fun. But they weren’t normal, and this ceremony was yet another beginning in their road to a happier life.
A door below him clanged open.
He took the stairs two and three at a time, urgency pushing him to go faster than was maybe smart. At long last he rounded the landing and saw the most beautiful woman he’d ever met waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.
Someone had pinned a flashing, glittery tiara to her hair, as if the sequined BRIDE shirt wasn’t enough.
“Hey, how was the drive?” He reached for her, pulling her into a hug.
“We drank. A lot. I might be sick.”
“Are you going to be drunk during our wedding?”
“Maybe.”
“Is that the only way you can go through with marrying me?”
“Oh, shut up. My head hurts. Hold me.”
He chuckled and squeezed her a bit tighter.
“You know, we could skip all this if you wanted?” Gideon would do anything to make her happy.
“I just needed a br
eak from everyone. I’m good. I promise.” She let go of him and stepped back. She shrugged and smiled that easy smile he was growing to appreciate.
“You sure? We could just go to the drive-in place.”
“I’m pretty sure your sisters would murder you if I let you talk me into that.” She jabbed her finger against his chest.
“I can handle them.” His phone buzzed. He peered at the screen and sighed. “I’ve been missed.”
“How long until everyone realizes we’re hiding from them?” Piper leaned her head on his shoulder.
“You know, we don’t have to tell them where we are yet...” He kissed her forehead.
“Are you trying to have pre-marital sex with me?” She poked his chest again.
“Maybe.”
“Try a little harder. It might work.” She grinned at him.
Gideon wanted to hold this moment in his memory forever. There were no more shadows, no uncertainty—just the excitement about their future together.
You can stay up to date on the whole Gone Geek crew in Beauty and the Geek, The Vet and the Geek, The Jock and the Geek, The Gamer and the Geek and The Adorkable Girl and the Geek.
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Explore the whole Aegis world in these series...
It all began with the Aegis Group.
Dangerous Attraction
Dangerous in Training
Dangerous Games
Dangerous Assignment
Dangerous Protector
Dangerous Heat (coming 2018)
In Dangerous Games it continued with the Gone Geek girls.
Beauty and the Geek
Mr. Purr-fect and the Geek
The Jock and the Geek
The Gamer and the Geek
The Adorkable Girl and the Geek
The Fake Boyfriend and the Geek
When the Seattle office of Aegis Group opened the Twisted Royals took the stage.
The Origin Story
Alpha Prince
Her Prince
Bad Boy Prince
The Fake Boyfriend and the Geek (Gone Geek Book 6) Page 15
