“I... What?”
He smiled. “I’m not interested in this house after all. Honestly, after seeing all this, I don’t think I’m game to get a cat anytime soon either.” He followed her out of the house. “See you at home at six?”
“Yeah. Okay.” She blew out a breath. “I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you. I miss you too. A lot. I promise to stop being weird.”
“Good.” He kissed her and got into his SUV.
Once she left in her car, he followed her until she branched off to head back to the office. But as she drove back to work, she realized she really wanted to follow him.
“You have the power to feel good or bad, and you’re choosing bad,” he’d said, and he was right. But how could she feel good knowing she had feelings for Grant that didn’t make sense? And that he might say he loved her, but did he love her or just the thought of her—a remnant from a young girl from long ago?
Chapter 21
The evening spent decorating with Jenna, Piper, and Simon had been more fun than Grant had had in a while. Piper acted normally toward him, flirty but slightly distant. Not a problem considering she’d been all but icing him out for the past week. Simon and Jenna had been encouraging and funny as they decorated the Mason house with boxes of family decorations and a real tree.
Wednesday morning, he hustled over to Piper’s agency, aware she had work in Bend with a client until noon. He met the designer Becca Flashman had hooked him up with, pleased to have some decent recommendations from the Flashman’s for all manner of things, including his new trainer in town.
“Thanks so much for fitting me in,” he told the pretty woman who had to be closer to his age than Piper’s. Julie Fine, of Fine Designs.
“My pleasure. I’m all for love, and Piper’s a friend of mine.” She smiled. “Okay, so you want the whole place decorated. With the budget you gave me, I don’t think that’ll be a problem.”
“Outstanding. And you have the details I sent you for work on the Mason house.”
“Got it.” She wrote down a few more notes, handling everything he’d asked for. “Are you sure you want to rent out the whole rink?”
“Yes. Right after closing for an hour.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Make sure they know they’ll be compensated for overtime.”
“That will certainly help.” She smiled. “Does this list work?”
He especially liked Julie because she was a list queen. He perused it. “Perfect.”
“Let me know if you want anything else added.”
“I will. Be sure to bill me.”
“Oh, I will.” She laughed. “Piper is one lucky lady.”
“She is.” Because I love her, and I will always love her. He just hoped she’d learn to love him.
Later that night, Piper came home with a huge smile on her face. “Grant, you shouldn’t have.”
“You totally should. Good going,” Jenna muttered as she ate popcorn while watching a scary Christmas movie with Simon.
“Yeah, good move on the gifts.”
“Shh.” Jenna elbowed her boyfriend. “Quiet, you.”
He chuckled. “Look, here comes Krampus.”
Though Grant wanted to see what the evil Santa got up to, he left the teenagers to help Piper inside. The huge Christmas bouquet was just one of many he’d ordered to be delivered.
Sure, he and Piper would remain friends. That didn’t mean he couldn’t try to woo her. Had she flat out told him to go away, or had she wanted nothing to do with him, it would have been different. But she took pleasure in his gifts, and making her happy made him happy.
“You didn’t have to get me flowers,” she told him, clearly delighted by the vase she held. “But I love them.”
