"I could be modest, but why correct him when he's right," Piper teased.
"Thanks for everything you're doing with the wedding. It's taken the load off Tess, which gave her time to push our Stallions talks forward. We owe you. If this wedding goes well and we lock in this partnership? When all this falls into place like we think it will? Wild Sacks won't be a question mark anymore."
"We'll be here to stay," Zach agreed.
Here. To. Stay.
The band chose that moment to start their soundcheck.
"This place really is great," Piper said, truly relaxing against the back of the booth. "Is this your standard antidote for a day with Tess and Babushka?"
"A professional never reveals his secrets," Zach said with a grin.
CHAPTER 12
41 DAYS UNTIL ANNA & DRAKE'S WEDDING
PIPER
She leaned forward, slightly, at the playful glint in Zach's eyes.
"You know, I think we know each other well enough to share a few professional secrets," she said.
"Only the professional ones?" A slow smile spread across his face.
"You know what?" Noah tapped out a rhythm on the table. "It's been great to meet you, Piper," he added, glancing between the two of them. "I'm going to go lose some money at pool." He slid out of the booth, shaking his head with a wry smile.
"What were we talking about again?" Zach asked, his gaze never leaving hers.
"We were talking about secrets," she said, and, damn it came out breathy.
The invisible tether between them pulled tight, even as she lifted her drink and sipped.
Brek's was nothing like the coffee shops she usually preferred when she socialized. This place was lived in, loud, and comfortable.
For the first time since she took the Anna and Drake gig, her shoulders loosened their knot of tension, exchanging it for a warm buzz that had nothing to do with whiskey and everything to do with Zach. He became a small pocket of ease in her life that made her want to crawl inside and stay.
The music around them swelled as the band launched into their first song, a bluesy rock number with a deep groove.
"Can I ask you something?" Piper asked.
"Shoot," he said, the relaxed air around him contagious.
"Why did you bring me here tonight?" she asked, fainter than she meant to be. Vulnerable, almost.
He considered her for a moment, letting the colored lights from the stage play across his face as he seemed to search for the right words.
"Because I like you," he said simply. "And I think there's something here worth exploring outside of business deals and my sister's wedding plans."
Piper was fresh out of witty comebacks, and the taut stretch of the air around them kept her still. So she sat there, letting his words seep in. Her pulse harmonized with the lazy drumbeat coming from the stage.
"Besides," he added with a rueful smile, "you're the only woman I know who can make underwear sound like a serious career choice and wedding planning sound like a prison sentence."
She laughed, genuinely. "You're nuts."
"I prefer 'persistent,'" he corrected, opening the breadbasket and producing a serrated knife.
"I like that your persistence comes with a side of carbs."
