by Cindy Kirk
“I’d love to stay and talk more, but there’s somewhere I need to be.” He smiled at Piper. “Walk me to the door?”
“I’d like that.”
“Ah, young love,” Gladys remarked with a melodramatic sigh while they were still within earshot. “There’s simply nothing like it.”
Anders took Piper’s arm. They were nearly to the front door when he changed course.
“Where are you going?”
“To the back,” he said, “where we can have some privacy.”
The area near the back door was deserted, just as Anders had hoped.
“I’m sorry. I know this has to be incredibly awkward for you.” Piper chewed on her bottom lip, and two lines of worry formed between her brows. “I should have said something right away, but I didn’t want to cause a scene with Gladys insisting you were my boyfriend and me saying you weren’t. Once I have my mom and sister in the car, I’ll tell them that Gladys was mistaken. That you and I are just friends.”
“Why do you think Gladys said what she did?”
Piper shrugged. “Probably because she wishes it were true.”
“Seems like it has to be more than that.”
Piper quit chewing on her lip, though the worry lines remained. “My mother was being her usual self and said something snarky about me not having a boyfriend. It came across as a putdown. Anyway, that’s how Gladys took it, and she jumped to my defense.”
“I believe you’re right. Which is why I think you should continue to let your mother believe we’re more than friends.”
Shock had Piper’s eyes widening. “Why would I do that?”
“It seems to me that having the two of them showing up unannounced will be difficult enough.” Anders paused and fought to find just the right words. “Why add to your stress by telling them otherwise? If they think I’m your boyfriend, and that takes heat off of you, well, that’s fine with me.”
When she hesitated and he saw that she still wasn’t convinced, he offered his most enticing smile. “Think of it another way. If you need a break, you can tell them you want to spend time with me so I don’t feel left out, or something like that.”
A spark flared in her eyes, and he saw that having an out had hit a chord.
“I don’t want to put you in an awkward position.” Piper’s gaze searched his. “Unless I stop this soon, Gladys will have everyone believing you and I are dating. Heck, it’ll probably be in the Open Door tomorrow.”
He cocked his head. “The newsletter? I thought that mainly had news of interest.”
Ami had briefly showed it to him on her phone.
“It also has a gossip column.” Piper gave a laugh. “That’s what most people read first.”
“That’s okay, too.” Because she looked so distraught, he stepped close and wrapped his arms around her. “If you’re worried this will affect me adversely in any way, don’t give it another thought. There isn’t anyone I want to date in this town but you.”
Tipping her face back, she searched his gaze with her expressive brown eyes. “You’re sure?”
“I’m positive.” He lowered his head and covered her mouth with his in what was meant to be a sweet, comforting kiss.
But the heat that simmered between them flared, and his lips melded to hers. Her hands came up, and her fingers tangled in his hair as the spark became a flame.
“Mom wanted me to—”
Her sister’s voice was like a splash of cold water.
Piper sprang back from the kiss and would have likely stepped away, but Anders took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers, then bringing their joined hands to his mouth for a kiss.
“My fault,” he told Sasha. “This was supposed to be just a quick good-bye, but we got to talking and then to kissing. You understand.”
A bleak look crossed Sasha’s face, but was gone so quickly Anders wondered if he’d only imagined it. “I do.”
Piper turned to Anders. “I’ll text you. We’ll find a time.”
He smiled agreeably, though he wasn’t exactly certain what she referred to, then he stole another quick kiss.
“Nice to meet you, Sasha,” he called out as he pushed open the back door and left the two sisters alone.
“I’m sorry about being gone so long.” Piper resisted the urge to touch her lips, which felt swollen from his kisses.
“Don’t apologize.” Sasha sighed. “It’s a lucky woman who has a man who looks at her the way he looks at you.”
Chapter Sixteen
Anders ended up spending the evening at his brother’s house. After a quick dinner, he sat at the table with Sarah Rose and JT, gluing colored pumpkin seeds on trees the two had drawn.
Sarah Rose looked up from her tree. “Are you really Daddy’s brother?”
“I am.” Anders glued a purple pumpkin seed to the top tree branch.
“Why didn’t I see you before?” Sarah Rose asked, her green eyes curious.
“I lived far away.” Anders kept his tone matter-of-fact. Sarah Rose might be precocious, but she was still young. There was no need for a detailed explanation. “Now, I’m here.”
“Forever?” Sarah Rose smiled brightly. “Will you be here forever?”
“Forever is a long time.” He grabbed a seed that JT had been raising to his mouth and set it in front of him. “On the paper.”
“Will you be here for my birthday?”
Anders was embarrassed to admit he didn’t know when that was, other than he thought she’d been born in summertime. “If I’m not living here, I’ll come back for your birthday.”
“Promise?”
With those large eyes focused on him, he found himself nodding.
“Time to pick up,” Ami announced.
“I don’t want to pick—” Sarah Rose stopped when her mother gave her The Look.
Did all mothers have such power? Anders wondered.
“Who wants to put all the blue seeds away?” Anders asked.
Sarah Rose’s hand shot up. “I do.”
“I think JT’s favorite color is yellow.”
The toddler gave a serious nod.
“Do you want to put all the yellow seeds back into the jar with all the other yellow seeds?” he asked the boy.
In answer, JT reached for the yellow seeds scattered across the tabletop.
“I’ll put away the other colors,” Anders announced to no one in particular.
Ami leaned over his shoulder and spoke low in his ear. “If some of the colors end up in the wrong jars, that’s okay.”
“Good to know.”
In record time, they had the table cleared.
“Who’s ready for a shower?” Beck called out.
“Then two books?” Sarah Rose asked.
“Then two books.”
Beck gave Ami a kiss before shooting Anders a look. “Keep my wife company?”
“You bet.”
As they had most every night he’d been over, they moved to sit by the fireplace.
“This was a nice Thanksgiving.” Anders sipped the cup of hot apple cider Ami had made, stirring it thoughtfully with the cinnamon stick. “Thanks for including me.”
“Beck loves having you here. So do I.” Ami shifted her body on the sofa in his direction. “I’m not sure what your future plans are, but I’m just going to put this out there. If you don’t have this burning desire to live somewhere else, I hope you consider staying in Good Hope. It’s a wonderful place to live. And it’s not just for families.”
“I’ll think about it.” Anders realized he wasn’t just placating his sister-in-law. He was actually considering staying.
Ami lifted the steaming mug to her lips. “Does your willingness to look at the possibility have anything to do with your girlfriend?”
Anders didn’t even pretend to not understand. He grinned. “I wondered how long it’d take you or Beck to bring that up.”
“It was the talk of Muddy Boots. Gladys is thrilled, of course, and taking credit for bringin
g the two of you together.” Ami cocked her head. “Is it true?”
Anders didn’t need to ask Ami to keep what he told her confidential. There wasn’t anyone he trusted more than her and Beck. “Piper and I are friends. I enjoy her company, and I believe she enjoys mine. She’s got a lot going on with her store and her family. I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do with my life.”
“I don’t know that there’s ever an opportune time for a couple to get together, or for a relationship to become more.” Ami chuckled. “I was still working through some things myself when I met your brother, and he was still dealing with the loss of his wife and baby.”
“Piper and I are—”
“I heard about the kisses in the kitchen.” Ami’s lips twitched. “From the reports, it wasn’t a peck on the cheek.”
Anders wasn’t about to go there. Not with Ami. Not with Beck.
“When Gladys came up with that whole boyfriend thing, I told Piper I was okay with her mother and sister believing we’re dating. She wanted to tell her mother the truth.” Anders’s fingers tightened around the mug. “I didn’t think that was a good idea.”
“Because?”
“Trying to explain why Gladys would say something like that, and then neither of us contradicted her, would be a huge mess.” Anders shrugged. “There isn’t anyone either one of us wants to date, so why not just go along?”
“There isn’t anyone else you’re interested in?” Ami studied him. “Have you met Gia, the new hairstylist in town? She’s in the process of moving her things to Good Hope. She’s adorable.”
Anders frowned. “What’s wrong with Piper?”
“Nothing is wrong with Piper.” Ami’s voice held a hint of amusement. “Your response tells me you’re a lot more interested in her than you’re letting on. And if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say she’s more interested in you than she’s letting on. In fact—”
“In bed and asleep.” Beck paused in the doorway. “I’m sorry, did I interrupt?”
“You didn’t interrupt anything,” Anders told his brother.
Ami only smiled.
Piper sat across from Sasha and their mother at the small dinette table and felt her apartment walls closing in.
Folding her hands on the table before her, she met her mother’s scrutinizing gaze. “You said you have something you need to tell me?”
“While your sister and I are here this weekend, we’re going to choose a dress style acceptable to your sister.” Jenn cast a pointed glance at her younger daughter.
“It will be my decision,” Sasha spoke firmly. “We will not debate my choice once it’s made.”
Jenn heaved out an exasperated breath, then gave a reluctant nod.
Having her sister finally commit to choosing was obviously more important to her mother than having veto power over Sasha’s choice. If only Piper could have been a fly on the wall during that discussion. Jenn definitely would have fought that concession with her last breath.
“I’ve some dresses in the salon I can show you, and we can also go through the types of styles that work best with your figure.” Piper kept her tone offhand. She would offer suggestions, but she would keep in mind that this was Sasha’s wedding.
“Since tomorrow is Black Friday, we can go down tonight and look through the stock I have on hand for ideas.”
Sasha smiled. “That sounds like a good idea.”
“It’s been a long day.” Her mother frowned. “I thought we’d take care of this tomorrow.”
“I can’t commit to anything on a day that’ll be as busy as Black Friday.”
“If you want to rest up, Mom,” Sasha waved a dismissive hand, “Piper and I can go downstairs. It’s been a while since we’ve had any sister time.”
Regardless of what concessions her mother might have made, the stubborn tilt to her jaw told Piper that Jennifer Ambrose had no intention of being left out of anything.
“There’s nothing that I like better than looking at dresses.” Jenn offered her youngest a smile. “You and Piper will have lots of chances to catch up this weekend.
“If you’re—” Sasha stopped when her phone rang. “That’s Heath.”
Sasha brought the phone to ear. “Hold on a sec.”
Wiggling her fingers, she strode back toward the bedrooms.
“Tell him hello,” Jenn called out.
If Sasha heard, she didn’t respond.
“Mom, there’s something we need to discuss.” Piper squared her shoulders.
“Yes, your hair will definitely need to be changed back.” Jenn heaved a sigh. “I don’t know what you—”
“Forget the hair. We need to talk about Sasha’s dress.”
Jenn lifted her hands. “Her decision.”
“I’m talking about me making her dress.”
“It’s a brilliant idea. I don’t know why we didn’t think of it earlier.” Jenn smiled. “You haven’t been around much for your sister, and this will be a nice way for you to show you care.”
“Sasha knows I care.” Piper’s gaze didn’t waver. “I don’t have the time nor the money to devote to making her wedding gown. Paying for my dress as well as the trip back to Georgia for the wedding will be expensive enough.”
No need to mention she’d rather have a root canal than see Heath marry her sister.
Unless you tell her…
Piper shoved the thought aside.
“You don’t want to do this for Sasha. One little thing you can do to make her day more special, and you’re refusing. Is that what I hear you saying?”
Clenching her hands into fists at her sides, Piper fought for control. “Absorbing the cost of a wedding gown is not one little—”
“Oh, for goodness sakes, I thought we’d already settled this.” Sasha strode over to sit at the table.
“How is Heath?” Jenn asked, looking up with a bright smile. “Did you give him my regards?”
“He and Dad were at the Harbour Town Clubhouse.” Sasha’s lips pursed for a second. “Unwinding after a hard day on the course. From the noise in the background, it sounded like quite a party.”
Jenn’s smile faded, but her voice gave away nothing. “The two of them have become such good friends.”
“They’re very much alike.” Sasha’s comment had Jenn’s lips coming together in a thin line. Sasha shifted her attention to Piper. “I heard what you said to Mom.”
“I’d love to help, but I can’t—”
“I totally understand.” Sasha waved her silent. “Mom and I discussed this, which is why I’m surprised she didn’t mention paying you. You are to treat me the way you would any other customer who walks through your door wanting a custom-made wedding gown.”
Piper hesitated. How could she tell Sasha that money and time weren’t the only reasons she’d said no to their mother’s demands? She didn’t want any part in moving this wedding along, not when she knew who Heath really was. Her sister deserved so much better.
“Piper.” Sasha reached across the table to take her hand. “If you really don’t have the time, tell me, and I’ll understand. If you can find the time, this can be a win-win for both of us. I’ll get the dress I want, and you’ll get the business.”
Piper hesitated. She loved creating custom-made wedding gowns. She’d done a couple last year, but none in the past six months. With store sales down, she actually did have the time and could use the income.
“I’ll charge you for materials plus…” Piper considered how low she could go on her hourly rate and named the figure.
Sasha shook her head. “Not acceptable.”
“I should say not,” Jenn echoed. “I can understand wanting to get reimbursed for the materials, but—”
“You’ll charge the hourly rate listed on your website,” Sasha told Piper. “Not one penny less.”
“I’m giving you a family discount.”
“No. If I was hiring someone to make my dress in the Atlanta area, they’d be charging me half again as
much as your going rate.” Sasha held out her hand. “Do we have a deal?”
Piper glanced at their mother.
Jenn expelled a breath, but gave a nod.
Piper took her sister’s hand. As long as Sasha seemed okay with him, she had to let go of her own concerns about him. She’d forget about Heath and concentrate on the dress. “We’ve got a deal.”
Despite Piper’s pleadings, both women refused to take her bed. Jenn laid claim to the pullout sofa, leaving Sasha to sleep on a blow-up mattress. While their mother showered, Piper put on the kettle so they could each have a cup of chamomile tea before bed.
The water hadn’t yet started boiling when her phone buzzed. Sasha glanced at the phone where Piper had left it on the table.
“Anders sent you a text.” Sasha’s gaze grew puzzled when Piper only smiled and grabbed three mugs from the cupboard. “Aren’t you interested in seeing what the message says?”
Before Piper could answer, Sasha stood, picked up the phone and crossed to her, placing it in her hand. “Read it.”
How had she forgotten what a pain a little sister could be?
Turning the phone so Sasha couldn’t see the screen, Piper read the text and smiled.
“What did he say?” Sasha asked, crowding close.
Piper turned the phone, knowing she’d owe Anders a big thank-you when she saw him next.
I’d choose you, every single time. Sleep well, sweetheart.
Though Piper realized he’d know her mother and sister would wonder if he went radio silent, her heart still melted.
“That’s incredibly sweet.” A wistful note filled Sasha’s voice. “You’re lucky to have someone like him.”
Yes, Piper thought. Yes, I am.
Hands down, Anders Cross was the nicest fake boyfriend ever.
Chapter Seventeen
Piper rose at dawn, eager to have Sasha choose a dress style before the store opened for business at nine.
They pulled up a program that let Sasha build her dream dress from the ground up. Piper attempted to steer her sister in the direction of a dress that had a textured bodice with lace appliques. She knew the details would add more dimensions to the gown that would look great in the wedding photos.
