I laughed. “Yeah. He was calling about me, actually. Making sure I’m okay.”
“Overprotective big brother mode?”
“There’s no other mode for him.”
My thoughts drifted to Grayden again, the way they kept doing. I appreciated what he’d done for me a couple of days ago. I liked having him around. As a friend, since we couldn’t be more.
But I didn’tneedhim. Right? I couldn’t allow myself to rely on him. I’d learned that lesson the hard way already.
For now, Ollie and I were okay. We were safe. Whatever happened next, even if Danny showed up again, I’d deal with it. I always did.
I glanced over at the tower of paperbacks. Only then did I realize whowasn’tthere.
“Rina, where’s Ollie?”
NINETEEN
Grayden
I’d barely slepta moment the last couple nights.
First, I’d scoured the old Landry house top to bottom, searching for the mystery box Danny had been looking for. Not because I wanted to help that waste of breath, obviously. But for Piper.
If there was something valuable in that house belonging to her mom, then I wanted Piper to have it.
No luck. Aside from some photos and mementos from Piper’s younger days that made me smile, I didn’t find anything worth ransacking the place.
Then I’d been on cleanup duty. Putting away all the stuff Danny had thrown around, the boxes he’d upended, my ink bottles he’d broken.
Thank goodness he hadn’t done any damage to items I couldn’t afford to replace. Like my tablet computer, which held all my digital designs, and my sketchbook.
Danny had broken the old lock on the back door to the house, which probably hadn’t taken much effort. So I’d replaced it with a nicer one. The house was pretty much back to normal now, and I was back to making progress on my various studio-prep projects.
But the other reason I hadn’t been sleeping? My mind had refused to stay quiet about the beautiful blond who’d become my obsession.
I’d been trying not to dwell on Piper, but it was hard. Part of me wondered what the hell I’d been thinking, turning down her offer of a no-strings hookup. It had been an impulsive move on my part, not just kissing her but wanting more. Wanting to try something real with her.
I could’ve spent some quality time getting horizontal with her that day. But no, I’d had to get a bug up my ass about dating her. On the very same day her ex had hurt her. Of course she’d shot me down.
We were beyond complicated, and I was hardly the picture of stability just yet.
There was exactly one person in Silver Ridge who believed I could deserve her. And that wasme. Overconfident, perhaps?
But I didn’t regret anything I’d said to her that afternoon. It had been freeing to tell her the truth about my guilty plea, even if I hadn’t explained exactly why I would take the fall when I was innocent.
She’d listened. She’d believed me. That meant everything.
I’d kept my phone nearby the last two nights, just in case Piper called needing anything. Because I was a complete sucker for that woman. If Piper snapped her fingers, I’d probably start running.
And I didn’t even feel bad about it.
But Piper hadn’t texted or called. No news was probably good news, since it likely meant Danny hadn’t bothered her again. Yet it also meant I needed another excuse for seeing her.
Which explained why I was driving down Main Street right now, scanning for a parking space on this beautiful blue-sky winter day.
There were plenty of spaces near Silver Linings, so I pulled my truck into one. The door to the coffee shop flew open as I approached, and the tall blond of my dreams dashed out, running straight into me.
I caught her before she could stumble, my hands on her arms. “Whoa, Piper, what’s going on?”
