Callum had texted earlier that he and Ollie arrived in Denver. Ollie texted too, reporting they’d had tacos and churros for dessert, complete with chocolate sauce Ollie had finished with a spoon.
So everything was great with my kid.
But my weekend of relaxation and self care? Not off to a great start.
Maybe because Grayden’s final word to me had beenokay. Nothing else about what we’d been through together yesterday. Or the open-ended invitation I’d given him.
Maybe I’ll see you this weekend?
He knew I was alone right now. It was Friday night and I had no plans. And GraydenknewI wanted more of what we’d done last night, because I’d made that pretty obvious. If I texted him yet again, I would probably sound desperate.
See, this was why I didn’t date. Grayden was tying me up in knots.
Somehow, I wound up at my kitchen island with that bottle of Colorado whiskey, a shot glass, and a pint of chocolate fudge brownie.
The whiskey lit up my throat with the best kind of toasty burn on the way down. And the chaser bite of ice cream soothed my tastebuds with indulgent, creamy goodness.
Mmm. Yum. Now this was more like it. The liquor and the ice cream made a dangerous combination.
Which probably explained how, half an hour and quite a few shots later, I found myself with my phone in my hand hitting Grayden’s number.
“Piper?” he asked. “Are you okay?”
His deep voice worked its way under my skin, like always.
I sloshed another half-shot of liquor into the glass. “Are you mad at me?”
“What are you doing?”
Tossing back the whiskey, I coughed. “I’m asking if you’re mad at me for talking to Chief Nichols.”
“Are you drinking? Where are you?”
“I’m at home. Alone. Like I’ve been for hours. I’m not on mom duty, so yes, I’m enjoying an adult beverage. Now would you please answer the question?”
“No, Piper. I’m not mad,” he said after a beat. “I could never be mad at you.”
“That doesn’t make any sense! Plenty of people get mad at me. I earn it. I have a very strong personality.”
Grayden made a soft, amused sound. “I know. I’ve told you I like that about you.”
Ah yes, he’d compared me to a natural disaster before. How flattering.
“Aren’t you worried I told Chief Nichols about what you said to Danny? Threatening to break all his bones if he ever touched me again? And how you were choking him?”
My heart rate kicked at those memories. How ferocious Grayden had been, declaring himself my protector.
“I said what I said, and I did what I did. You can tell the police what you want. I will never ask you to lie about anything for me.”
My spoon scraped the side of the ice cream pint. “Stop being so perfect.”
There was that soft almost-laugh sound again.
“And don’t laugh at me,” I added.
“You’re being very cute though. Bossy Piper is always fun, but Drunk Piper might be even better.”
“I’m not drunk.” I picked up the whiskey bottle and carried it, along with my phone, over to the couch. The cushions squeaked as I fell back against them, staring at the ceiling.
