When they finally separated, it was with a quiet exhale, like they'd both been holding their breath.
He smiled, brushing an errant strand of hair behind her ear.
"Do you want to come in?" she asked.
"Yes," he said without any pause. Then he exhaled and pulled back. "But I can't. Noah's waiting at the shop to go over shit with me."
Shit he wanted to tell her all about.
She nodded once, then looked down. "Right. Of course."
She hesitated only slightly before starting to open the car door.
No, he couldn't do this. He couldn't keep it from her.
"Wait," Zach said, his voice rough.
Piper paused, and turned, questioning.
"I want to tell you something," he said, his hands sweaty.
"Okay?"
"I'm not supposed to tell anyone outside Wild Sacks, but…" He shrugged, meeting her gaze. "You're not just anyone."
That bought him a grin.
"Hire me. Then it's legal," she said, offhandedly.
"The pay is crap, and the hours are nothing," he teased.
She turned slowly and waved her hand like she had a magic wand. "I can live with that. Consider me having applied with HR."
"Great. You're hired." He leaned back, resisting the urge to touch her. "We got the Stallions deal."
Piper blinked, processing. Then grinned huge. "Really? That's amazing."
She moved in to give him a big hug before pulling back.
"Yeah. It's happening." He ran a hand through her hair. "And I just… I just had to tell you."
"I can tell. That hiring paperwork is a nightmare." She moved forward and kissed him again. "Zach?" she asked with a quirky grin.
"Yeah?"
"I quit. I can't be sleeping with my boss." She wrinkled her nose. "It's tacky."
He chuckled. "We're gonna have a meet at the shop with Tess. I'll text you a random time. You can swing by and accidentally find out for yourself," he offered. His tone was hopeful.
"Consider it done." She opened the door and stepped outside. "Goodnight, Zach," she said before closing the door behind her.
Business: secured.
The deal: done.
His family: happy.
And Piper?
