“No, I’m fine,” she says, but I notice she doesn’t pull her hands away.

“Let me take you home. Get you nice and warm.” He leans in to her and whispers something in her ear that makes her turn red.

“I don’t know,” she practically stammers.

Yeah, and this is turning awkward. “Want me to walk her back for you?”

“Seth,” Piper squeaks. “I forgot you were standing there.”

“Yeah, me, too,” Jase says wryly. It’s obvious that he’s not happy I interrupted him. But the dude’s not thinking straight. Can’t blame him, though. I can barely think straight around Rowan.

“Gee, thanks.”

“Jase,” Giselle shouts. “What the hell are you doing with the uptight puta? I thought you wanted some pussy.”

Piper’s eyes widen, like she’s never heard anyone talk like that before. Then again, I don’t remember her ever coming to one of our parties, and the ones in the Oaks can’t be nearly as uncivilized as ours.

“Shut the fuck up. Piper’s done nothing to you.” Jase glares at his girlfriend and then turns his attention back to Piper. “Sorry, honey. But you’re safer with Seth. Don’t worry about Giselle; I’ll make sure she leaves you alone.”

Piper nods slowly. “I wasn’t worried about Giselle. I was worried about you leaving your wallet behind. Someone could steal it.” She stares pointedly at Giselle for a split second.

Jase’s jaw works. “I appreciate that. Now, go with Seth and let me deal with Giselle.” He pats Piper on the ass and she freezes. So does he, as if he’s suddenly aware of what he did. “Shit. I’m sorry.”

Piper nods. “It’s okay,” she says in a whisper-thin voice.

Why Rowan ever thought the two of them needed to get together is beyond me. It’s obvious Piper’s afraid of her own shadow, and Jase would run all over her without knowing it, breaking her heart in the process.

“Fuck,” he mutters, then gives me a look. “Take her back to the party.”

I grab Piper and we walk back to the party. As we get closer to Giselle, I haul Piper to the other side.

“Bitch,” Giselle hisses.

“Your weave’s slipping,” Piper says without missing a beat.

Giselle flips her off. “Fuck off, little girl.”

Somehow I manage to get Piper to Rowan before a catfight breaks out. “Take her and get her ass out of here before Giselle does something.”

Rowan nods. She lays a hand on my arm. “Thank you.”

“Go. I’ll keep an eye on everything here.” I head over to the radio, turn off the music, and raise my voice: “Party’s over. Go home.”

Chapter 11

Rowan

Piper emerges from the bathroom, her eyes bright and her face pale. She didn’t talk much on the way to her place. I think she’s embarrassed.

Her dark hair falls out of the makeshift bun on the top of her head, and she scrapes it back into place, twisting it tightly. It falls again, and her mouth thins.

Taking pity on her, I sidle up to her and begin to redo the bun.

“I’m not helpless,” she says.

“I know.” I hold out my hand for a hair tie.

She drops it in my palm and I twist it around her thick hair. “The party didn’t need to end because of me.”

“It didn’t,” I assure her and she gives me a yeah, right look. “Seriously, Piper, it ended because Jase almost got in a fight with Mark Williams.”

“Mark is usually nice,” she says.

“He’s been fucking Giselle.”

“So has your brother,” Piper replies.

“True, but you can’t compare the two.”

She crosses her arms. “At least Mark recognizes Giselle for what she is.”

I blink at the uncharacteristic bite to my best friend’s tone. “What would that be?” I ask.

“A disloyal, faithless, potty-mouthed chick with a really bad weave,” she says so primly that I have to swallow the laughter threatening to bubble out of my mouth.

“Potty-mouthed chick?” This time I let the laughter bubble out.

She rolls her eyes. “You know what I mean.”

I hug her tight. “I do, but it’s still funny.”

“Why do guys like Jase and Mark like women like Giselle?” she asks, and all the laughter leaves me.

Letting go of her, we sink down and lean against the huge pillows she has piled on the floor. Every time I stay at her house, I feel like I’m entering a museum dedicated to the rich and famous. And it’s cold. Beyond Piper’s room, her house holds no warmth.

“You want an honest answer, honey?”

She gives me a mock glare. “No, I want you to lie.”

“Women like Giselle know what they want and go after it. Men like confidence in women.”

“And she puts out,” Piper says glumly.

“That helps.”

Piper grabs a small pillow and plays with the tassels. “Do you think Jase would like me if I became more like Giselle?”

Panic races through me. I do not want to hurt my best friend’s feelings, but Seth is right. If Jase stopped seeing Giselle for Piper, then there’s no telling what that hosebeast would do.

“We can work on your confidence, but the other…it’s not you.”

Piper frowns. “I can be just as—”

“No. You are not changing for a man. Change the way you are because you need to be different, not turn into some man-eater because you think Jase would want you.”

“Tonight he asked me if I would spend the night with him if he got rid of Giselle.”

My jaw drops and she blushes. “That asshole.” Yeah, he’s my brother and I love him, but my God, do men have to be ruled by their dicks all the time? “I hope you told his punk tail off.”

She averts her gaze, staring at a spot over my shoulder. “I said I didn’t know.”

Nonplussed, I stare at her for a moment. “That’s bold for you, but you’re worth more than a momentary lack of clarity.”

A flash of hurt covers Piper’s face. “You’re right. I don’t know what I was thinking. Momma—Mother—has enlisted the help of a matchmaker to find someone suitable for me.”

“Like a personal dating site consultant?” The lifestyles of the ultrarich never cease to amaze me.

“Yes. I had to give her access to all my social media accounts so that a profile could be created based on my user preferences.” She sounds so rehearsed that I feel sorry for her. “Then they’ll find the perfect man for me—socially and financially.”

“What a promise,” I mutter.

“I’m supposed to meet with them next week to go over my potential matches.”

“Sounds awesome.”

“If awesome means horrible.”

“You can say no, Piper,” I gently remind her.

She blows out a breath. “Rowan, if it was so easy to say no, then I wouldn’t be living at home. I’d be like every other twenty-three-year-old who has an apartment and privacy.”

This is true. Between her mother’s rules and her father’s status as chief of police, Piper has little to no privacy. Nannies raised her, and she was allowed only certain types of friends.

Until me.

I’m still not sure how that happened. “How did you get your mom to let you be friends with me?” I ask.

She bites her lip. “It’s not very nice.”

“You threatened her? Omigod. Spill.”

Piper looks at the floor. “I told her that being friends with you would be good community service,” she mumbles. “I was fourteen. I didn’t know what else to say.”

“Why, Piper Whitley Ross, how very crafty of you.”

Her gaze jerks up to mine. “You don’t think I’m a snobby bitch?” In true Piper fashion, she whispers the word bitch, like her mother will come storming into the room if she heard her.

“Girl, you are a total badass bitch in the making.”