She was the one variable he hadn't accounted for. The one thing he'd refused to examine too closely. Because once he did, he knew the weight of it would shift everything.
But it turned out that he didn't need to examine it to make it matter. She mattered all on her own. And his world was all tangled now. Piper. The deal. His feelings.
He closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the seat, the car quiet around him. Everything he'd ever wanted was in motion, each domino exactly where it needed to be.
But all he could think about was her.
CHAPTER 18
35 DAYS UNTIL ANNA & DRAKE’S WEDDING
PIPER
Anna and Drake's engagement shoot at the Denver Botanic Gardens was gorgeous. Sunlight shone through the leaves of a solidly old-as-hell oak, reflecting over Anna in a glow that had nothing to do with light staging.
"Get closer," Tess called, standing behind Roman.
"Like you actually tolerate him, Anna," Roman added, playfully.
Since Roman was a photographer, and the bride's brother, he got drafted to help. Also, he was amazingly good at what he did and ridiculously hard to book without a long lead time.
"The light through the conservatory glass is perfect." Tess glanced to the sky. "But we'll need to move with those clouds. I'll go get the next spot prepped to take advantage of the shadows." She was a bundle of busy, juggling ten invisible balls at once.
Meanwhile, Drake couldn't seem to take his gaze away from Anna. He stared with the stunned, giddy expression of a man who'd just found that a winning lottery ticket wasn't paper, it was her.
Even Anna's mom drifted at the edge of the group, tilting a peony in its container.
"Just a little this way," she whispered, her gaze then fixing on her daughter. "Oh, Piper… the light." A cascade of gold reflected in Anna's hair that was, frankly, unfair.
Roman took the shot and Piper had no doubt he'd nabbed it perfectly.
"Um… have you heard from Babushka?" Piper asked as Diana and Roman moved more potted peonies into the walkway. "I half expected her to show up with a ceremonial breadbasket to test the lighting."
"I could go for bread," Roman admitted.
"Of course you can, you're a Dvornakov." Diana chuckled, a warm, motherly sound. "Babushka's off with Zach. He's been busy with something important lately. He won't tell any of us what it is." She waved a dismissive hand, a gesture of fond exasperation. "That's how he gets with his projects."
"No kidding," Roman agreed. "One minute he goes silent, the next he's started his own company. Who knows what he's got going down this time?"
"Since Babushka's involved, I just hope it's legal." Diana sighed. "But it's Zach, of course it's legal."
Piper tucked a little bit of pride against her ribs, a secret warmth. She was the one he'd trusted. The invisible thread that had been spooling out between them for weeks gave a distinct, satisfying tug.
Her gaze drifted to the entry.
She should have been focused entirely on the details, on the laminated schedule, on the photographer's cues. But her focus kept going to the door to see if Zach showed. This was a ridiculous, unprofessional habit she couldn't seem to shake today.
The strange sort of unfamiliar ache of hope that Zach would pop by just to say hello was driving her crazy.
Zach wasn't coming. He'd been swallowed whole by the Stallions deal. While the rest of the world, including his own family, saw him as merely busy, Piper knew the truth.
The knowledge was a secret handshake, a silent pact that made her feel closer to him even when he was lost in work, wrestling with contracts and underwear prototypes.
Today, though, wasn't about missing Zach. It was about witnessing what could actually be an honest-to-goodness fairy tale. Not that long ago—heck, not even a month ago—she'd sworn this didn't exist. Not in her orbit, anyway.
With Tess working on the next stage, Piper took it as an opportunity to let Roman have some time alone with the couple, so she called Aspen.
"Aspen, hey," Piper ducked her head and stepped away.
