Just for This Moment (Wishful 4)

Now she wondered if she was in over her head. Was she making a foolish decision because she was carried away in that heady, new relationship infatuation? Was it a bad sign that she felt panicked when she wasn’t actually with her husband-to-be?

Husband. Jesus.

In two weeks—no, less—ten days, she’d be walking down the aisle to him. Why did that seem so much bigger than a little courthouse ceremony?

Because having all her family and friends there made it real. Not a role. Not a sort of pretend, with the option to play house if they felt like it. A real marriage. That was absolutely terrifying. Not because she didn’t want him, but because she was afraid they wouldn’t survive it. They weren’t strangers. They’d been friends, co-stars. And now they were very definitely more. But would it be enough?

The bell rang.

Piper took one last look at herself in the bathroom mirror, cleaning up a tiny mascara smudge, and said, “Show time.” Then she went to answer the door.

Myles took a deep breath and gave her an appreciative once over that made the angsting over her outfit completely worth it. “If I were a cartoon wolf, my eyes would be bugging out like telescopes right now, with a big horn going AHOOOOGAH.”

And just like that, the knots in her belly loosened. She offered him a smile. “I do aim to please. But seriously, is this okay for meeting your parents?”

“More than. Although you could wear a gunny sack, and I wouldn’t have a problem with it.”

“It’s not you I’m worried about.”

“Nervous?” he asked, stepping inside.

“A little. It was one thing to just show up after the deed was done. ‘Hi, I’m your new daughter-in-law.’ It’s quite another to go the more traditional route, albeit in fast forward.”

“We don’t need their approval.”

“Doesn’t change the desire to have it.” She reached out to straighten his tie, not because it needed it, but just for an excuse to touch him. “Like it or not, our families are part of our lives and tonight we’re both running the gauntlet with all of them.”

Myles slid his hands over her hips, pulling her closer. “Partners in crime, remember? We’re in this together. And I really want to kiss you now, but I don’t want to mess up your makeup.”

“Smudgeproof,” she said. “I really wanted to kiss you, too.”

“I love a forward-thinking woman,” he grinned, bending his head to hers.

An edge of stark heat underscored the playful tangle of tongues. Myles let out a groan that rumbled his chest against hers. It was tempting—so tempting—to fall into the kiss and lose themselves. But responsibilities awaited.

Piper stepped back, lips still tingling. “We have places to be.”

“More’s the pity.” His eyes, deep and dark, looked her up and down again. “Because all I really want to do is peel you out of that dress. You can keep the boots. Because I really, really like the boots.”

An image of what he could do to her while she wore nothing but her bitch boots planted itself in her brain and bloomed. Warmth pooled between her thighs. Searching for a release of the tension, she sent him a sassy grin. “If you’re a very good boy, maybe I’ll bring them on the honeymoon.”

“Mmm, the honeymoon. Yes, please.” He angled his head. “Speaking of, given the rapidly approaching nature of our nuptials, are we waiting?”

Well, he was just putting that right out there. She blew out a shaky breath. “If things were different, I’d be dragging you back to the bedroom by your tie already. But given how jam-packed the next week or so is going to be, I don’t know that there’d be the time either of us would prefer to devote to that particular pursuit. So yeah, I think maybe we are.”

“Fair point. And I have to admit, there’s something kind of primal and appealing about the idea of claiming you as my wife.”

Well, God. Piper’s legs went lax, every nerve in her body standing up to scream oh yes at the images that invoked.

Myles smiled, a rather smug curve of lips that told her he knew exactly where her brain was. The bastard. He was going to spend the next ten days torturing them both, and Piper had a feeling it was going to be glorious.

~*~

The drive to Tosca didn’t take long, but they were still the last to arrive. Myles’ entire family was booked to stay that night at The Babylon, the new hotel and spa just down the street. The group gathered around Suzanne at a high top table in the bar must be them. Piper’s own parents, sister, brother-in-law, and—dear God, why had they brought a two-year-old to an engagement dinner?—hovered to one side of the lobby.

“Everybody in their own corners, I suppose,” she observed.

“Can’t blame them after yesterday,” Myles murmured. “Once more into the breach.”