“Fee up,” Ellie demands.
I lean down to kiss the top of her head. “I need to shower first, Bean. Uncle Felix is a stinky mess.”
“Fee up! Fee up!” She reaches for me, not seeming to care that I stink.
Tyler chuckles. “You always did have a way with the ladies.”
“Not all ladies,” Piper mutters, but there’s warmth in her eyes when she glances at me. She likes that Ellie likes me. I can see it in the soft way she watches us together.
“Tyler was just telling me about the children’s art center and a couple of good playgrounds around Vail,” Piper says, standing and brushing off her jeans. “Ellie might enjoy some toddler-friendly outings.”
“My sisters have scouted all the kid-friendly activities in the valley,” Ty confirms.
Of course. They’re talking about kid stuff, not planning a date. The relief that floods through me is embarrassing.
“I should probably head out.” Tyler glances at me, then checks his phone. “Same time tomorrow?”
“Yeah.” I watch as Piper scoops up Ellie, settling her on one hip with practiced ease.
“We’ll walk you out,” she tells Tyler. “This one loves to watch the hummingbirds go at it in the feeders out front. Don’t you, sweet girl?”
Ellie claps her hands. “Hummies!”
“Come on then.” Piper leads my trainer toward the doorwithout looking back at me. Like I’m not even part of the equation. “Thanks for the kid tips, Tyler.”
“You bet. Maybe we can grab coffee sometime? I can tell you about all of Felix’s most embarrassing moments.”
Piper laughs, the sound hitting me in the chest. “I’d love that. The cringier the better.”
They’re at the door now, Piper shifting Ellie in her arms while Tyler opens it for her. She moves out of sight, and he turns back to me with a wink and a thumbs-up.
My hands curl into fists as the door closes behind them with a soft click.
I move to the window like an idiot, sweating my ass off as I watch my trainer and Piper walk down the front steps side by side. Tyler says something that makes her tip her head back and laugh, while Ellie points excitedly toward the hummingbird feeders hanging from the porch’s rafters.
They look natural together, like a little family unit.
The thought makes my chest burn with something that definitely isn’t jealousy. Because I don’t get jealous over women who aren’t mine. Particularly women who can barely tolerate me on a good day.
Except, Piper didn’t seem tobarely tolerateme that night in Denver. And the way she melted into me yesterday when I carried her halfway down the mountain felt like anything but tolerance.
“Fuck,” I mutter, heading for the stairs.
Tyler’s either being friendly or trying to get under my skin. He isn’t going to try to date her. She’s off limits. He has to know that. Even if I haven’t explicitly said so and have no claim on her whatsoever.
Even if watching them together makes me want to punch something.
I strip off my clothes and crank the shower to cold, stepping under the icy spray with a hiss. It’s none of my business. Piper can date whoever she wants. Tyler can flirt with whoeverhe wants. I’m just the guy who happens to be sharing a house with her for the next month while she helps with Ellie.
I just have to survive one month without doing something stupid. Like telling Piper Hart I haven’t stopped thinking about her since April. Or admitting that having her here feels right in a way nothing has in a long time.
Or clocking my best friend for making her laugh.
The cold water beats down on me, doing absolutely nothing to ease the heat still flaring through my veins. Because all I can think about is the sound of her laughter floating back through the door, and how badly I want to be the one making her smile like that.
I’m so completely fucked.
6
