I curse under my breath again.
Wishing I could just tell her.
Wishing I could just know if she feels the same way I do.
A full minute passes as I stare at my watch in silence, thinking only of Piper. Nothing else.
Not until it dawns on me I’ll literally be counting the minutes until the next wedding rehearsal.
Counting the seconds until I can be alone with her again.
I feel a knot in my gut telling me there’ll be fallout if Piper becomes mine.
When she becomes yours, you mean.
Rhys is trusting me, her mother is trusting me. And here I am, my only plan for the future is to claim her as my own and fill her full of babies.
Our babies.
Give her a life she’s never dreamed of, completing my own success by having someone to actually share it all with.
And just how is that a bad thing?
“It isn’t,” I say aloud, smiling wide in the reflection of my watch.
“Nothing wrong with that at all,” I affirm louder.
I let myself bask in the glow of this new feeling for a little longer. Finally moving my body out of habit as I clean up my dinner dishes.
Like breaking down, cleaning, and re-assembling my rifle, my life really is just a series of little drills.
Things to do in preparation for the bigger things to come.
Unknown, scary things. That’s how it used to be anyways.
Nowadays I just can’t shake the habit. Can’t lose my training and my instincts that have served me so well over the years.
Kept me and countless others alive in the process too.
But even once I’ve cleaned up everything, showered, and changed for bed, there are only two lives I can focus on now.
Staring up at the ceiling in my empty bed, I pretend to ignore the tent under my sheets as I think about her.
Piper.
Mrs. Piper Reeve Bannon…
Now that has a nice ring to it.
Chapter Six
Saturday
Piper
I don’t know if I’ve slept at all, or the constant Reeve fantasy was just an all-night dream I had.
I’ve never woken up smiling or smiled so much in my life since yesterday.
Reeve’s order for me echoed in my mind.
‘Just make sure it’s me who picks you up for the next wedding rehearsal...’
Not even the sounds of mom shrieking and carrying on bothers me as I mew a little, stretching out like a cat before finally getting up even later than usual.
“…But we just had a fucking rehearsal,” My mom spits down the phone, making me smile yet again as I make my way to the bathroom.
I’m not eavesdropping, but she’s practically shouting so it’s hard not to hear her, even when I’m in the bathroom.
There’s a short silence, followed by a ton of uh-huh’s, and yeah’s and a lot more swearing. But she manages to lower her voice once she notices I’m up.
I figure she’s talking to either Rhys or her friend Denise.
Mom’s usually pretty low-key with the language, but this whole wedding thing her rattled like a desert snake.
Deciding against a shower until I find out what’s happening, I move slowly into the kitchen, helping myself to the last of the brewed coffee and reach for a ‘lite’ cereal option.
I’m sure Reeve doesn’t want some chunk of a woman underneath him.
I try not to, but I can’t help picturing a guy like Reeve with someone a lot slimmer on his arm.
Someone who has as trim and toned a body as he does.
I push the thought away, remembering what he’s instructed me to do. My heart doing a somersault in time with my stomach at the memory of him tapping on my window.
Not standard behavior for men who aren’t interested at least a little bit. I tell myself, sure he must want something from me but not convinced it could be that.
A pleasant shiver runs through me as my mom enters the kitchen, her hands on her hips as she surveys me.
Her mood shifts a little, from angry to curious once she spots me.
“And what are you smiling about?” she asks, her whole personality shifting in a second.
That thing all moms do. Shouting at someone one second and then sweet as pie the next. Except for this time it’s in reverse because it’s usually me she’s shouting at.
I shrug and sip my coffee, not even realizing I’ve been grinning like a fool as the hot liquid runs down my throat.
“Just had a proper night’s sleep,” I cough, reaching for some paper towels to clean up my little spill.
“Everything alright with you?” I ask.
Mom sighs bitterly and her face reverts back to an angry, disappointed one.
“It’s the priest,” she sighs again, taking a seat, cueing me that I’m gonna hear all about it, like it or not.
I feel both my brows raise in a silent question.
“Denise just called to tell me he’s gone and messed up the schedule for the church booking,” she hisses.