The End of Us (Love in Isolation 3)

While Piper goes to the bathroom to do her morning routine and get dressed, I peel a couple of avocados.

After I toast the bread, I smash the avocado on top, then fry a few eggs.

Just as I’m plating everything, Piper comes around the corner with a camera in her hand.

“And there’s my amazing husband making breakfast,” she gloats.

I look over my shoulder and grin at how adorable she looks.

“He’s mine, ladies. I got the ring to prove it.” She giggles as she flashes her left hand, wiggling her fingers. Once she’s done talking into the camera, she sets it down.

“Mmm, this smells delicious.” She moans, then grabs us some forks and napkins. I pour us two cups of coffee, then join her at the table that oversees the city streets.

“So, what are your plans today?” I ask.

“I was thinking about vlogging some today since I’m only doing weekly updates instead of daily, but other than that, all I need to do is a bathing suit haul.”

“Bathing suits?” I arch a brow, not liking the idea of everyone seeing her in teeny bikinis.

“Yeah, Easton sent me a box of swimsuits to try on for a video. The last time I did, they sold out.”

“Oh yeah, he told me about that. You’re amazing for helping him. I know he appreciates it a lot.”

“I love doing it and want him to be successful. It’s hard to compete against big corporations, and influencers are expensive as hell to hire. But a little birdy told me people were now begging him for items to share with their audiences,” she says with a shrug. “Guess I’ve started a trend. The hashtag support small shops has so many tags now.”

I chuckle, amused by how excited she gets. “I love you so much.”

“I’ll never get tired of hearing that,” she admits. “I love you too.”

Before she finishes her food, she grabs her camera, then points it at her plate. “Almost forgot to show you the incredible breakfast Tristan made. It was so good, I couldn’t wait. Right, babe?”

I smile at her. “You know it.”

“How are your subs taking the transition?” I ask.

Once we got married, she decided to post less and change some of her content to be geared toward families. She’s been babysitting her nephew, Drew, so Kendall can have a break every once in a while and loves vlogging about him. Of course, people are eating it up because everyone loves babies. Drew just turned one, and when I say they had a freaking circus of animals available for all the infants, I mean it.

Kendall refused to get a nanny and wants to make sure she gives her son tons of love, or at least that’s what Piper told me. But Kendall still needs a break once in a while, so we take him when she needs to go shopping or has a doctor's appointment. He’s a cute kid and smart for his age. Makes me excited to have children of our own someday.

After we’re done eating breakfast, I rinse the dishes. Moments later, Piper comes up behind me and wraps her arms around my waist.

“The beach house remodel is almost finished! It should be ready for when we go next month. Our one-year anniversary is going to be lit.”

I chuckle and wipe my hands. “Your choice of words still amuse me.”

“Like to keep you young,” she says.

My phone rings, and when I see it’s Easton, I put him on speakerphone. I’m sure he’s calling to gloat about the skimpy bikinis he sent Piper.

“You’re in so much trouble,” I tease, and Piper snickers.

“Hey.” His voice strains, and I immediately know something’s wrong, so does Piper.

“Everything okay?”

“There’s been a fire at the shop, and I don’t know what I’m going to do. Everything’s gone.”

Oh my God. That shop was his whole life.

“What do you need?” Piper asks at the same time I say, “What can we do?”

“It’s a really long story, but Tatum needs to use the beach house. She’s one of my employees who was living in the apartment above the shop. Since we had to evacuate and she needed a place to hide from her abusive ex-husband, I gave her the address and code.” His voice shakes, and I can tell he’s worked up.

“Hey, man, it’s gonna be okay,” I try to ease his mind, but I know my words are falling on deaf ears.

“Well since I also need a place to stay until I figure something out, I’ll be staying at the beach house too.”

“So you’re both staying there together?” Piper asks, giving me a knowing look.

“Yeah, I don’t feel right leaving Tatum by herself. I have a feeling her ex had something to do with this.”

“Why do you think that?” I ask, immediately going into big brother mode. I want to destroy whoever did this, but I know I can’t be erratic.