Piper’s sparkling eyes go dull. She hands over my phone. “I think I need to go.”

I never should have opened my big mouth. Guilt lances me, and I chase after her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

She whirls on me, bright flags of color on her cheeks. Her hands are drawn into fists, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this mad before in my life. “Yes, you did. You made it perfectly clear that prudes like me are stupid for wanting something different. I never thought or said anything so insulting about your choices of whom to sleep with even though they weren’t the one. I respected your choices. There were times I was jealous that you could be so independent with your sexuality, but that’s not me. It’s never been me, and even now that I’ve moved out from under my mother’s thumb, it’s still not me. I want more than a one-night stand and there’s not a damn thing wrong with waiting for the guy I love.”

Piper clenches her jaw, waiting for me to respond, but I can’t argue with her. She’s right. She’s never judged me. She’s always celebrated with me before I went out with a new guy and cried with me when the men I dated turned out to be asshole losers. Not once did she judge or slut-shame me.

“Oh my God. You can’t even admit I’m right.” Without another word, she marches out of the bay and into the parking lot.

“You’re right, Piper,” I shout.

She waves her hand in the air. “Whoopty-doo.”

I make a face. “Whoopty-doo?”

“Shut up, Rowan.” Piper yanks open her cute little BMW’s door and climbs inside. “I’m getting Chinese tonight and I’ll think about getting you some, too. But I’m not promising anything.”

“General Tso’s chicken is my favorite.”

“I know your favorite, but do you know mine?” She slams the car door before I can reply and speeds off. Or, rather, her version of speeding. Her dad would kill her if she got a ticket, or even got pulled over. Though I doubt she has to worry about either. Right now, her parents aren’t speaking to her. Piper claims that they are giving her time to come to her senses first.

“You don’t eat Chinese food because your mother claims it makes you put on water weight,” I say to the empty parking lot.

After I can’t even make out her taillights, I go back inside and put up my tools. If there’s one thing that sets me on edge at work, it’s a messy workstation. Miss Myrtle was very particular about that, and I carry on the tradition. Twenty minutes later, I’m satisfied and closing the bay doors.

I do a little hop over the sensor, and then turn around to key in the security code before heading to my car.

Seth’s car, Jase’s voice whispers in my mind.

Not until I get into my car do I read Seth’s reply: Be there in 3 hours.

But it’s a four-hour drive. I connect my phone to the charger and drum my fingers on the steering wheel. He’s going to get a ticket. He’s insane. There’s no way he’ll make it here before midnight. I’m not going to wait up for him, either.

Yeah, because you have such big plans on a Friday night.

Hey, the marathon of My Big Fat Redneck Wedding I plan on watching is super important.

Don’t you mean reruns of Prince Charming Comes to America?

I roll my eyes and put the car in drive. Still not waiting up for him.

When I finally get home, after picking up a bag of Butterfingers at the gas station, there’s a to-go bag and a to-go drink on the kitchen counter, along with a note from Piper.

“I did not get this just for you. It was BOGO night at Wicked Wok.”

The Wicked Wok is an upscale Chinese restaurant right on the outskirts of NoDa—an artsy community on the northeast side of Charlotte proper. It’s also my most favorite Chinese restaurant ever.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that no Chinese restaurant worth their soy sauce would offer a BOGO night because they would be out of everything in mere minutes. Piper had to buy it just for me.

Me: Thanks for the treat. I’m starving.

Piper: Whatever. I’m staying at my nana’s tonight, so you and Seth can have alone time.

Me: I’m not waiting up for him.

Piper: You didn’t tell him not to come home?

That devious little witch. She distracted me by pretending to be hurt over my rant about special vaginas and men. Immediately, all the guilt I’d been carrying disappears like it was never there.

Piper: My feelings are still hurt, but I love you anyway.

Well, damn it. So much for feeling better.

Me: Love you too. Sorry. :(

Piper: Eat your dinner and go put on something sexy.

Me: Yes, mother.

Piper: My mother would never put on something sexy, much less order me to wear something inappropriate. Unless it were for my husband, but it would have to be done “just so” in case he got the wrong idea.

I shake my head in sympathy. I bet Mrs. Ross would, too. She’d probably travel with Piper on her honeymoon to make sure everything was done just so. It is one of Piper’s mother’s favorite phrases.

I grimace.

Me: Thanks again. I promise to be more careful.

Piper: xo

Sneaking a peek at the time, I make a mental note of how many hours I have left until Seth will get here. Wait. No. I’m not waiting on him. I grab my dinner and move to the living room so that I can watch my shows while I eat.

After the first episode ends, I check the time. Only two hours and—

“Not waiting on him,” I announce to the room. Or myself.

Liar, a voice whispers in my head.

Chapter 14

Rowan

It’s nearly midnight when the back door opens and closes with an intensity that sends zings of excitement all over my body. I’m waiting for him in my room, sitting on my bed, when he walks inside.

He stops in his tracks and his dark gaze slides over my body, making me supremely conscious of the fact that all I’m wearing is a skimpy pair of panties and a white tank top. When we were younger, he’d always liked it when I wore tank tops…without a bra.

“The door was unlocked, baby,” he says with a scowl. “That’s not safe.”

“I know, but you gave your key to Piper.”

“Not before I had a copy made.”

“So much for this being my house now.” Mr. Shaw had sent me the papers on Monday, exactly like Seth had said he would. I am now the owner of a three-bedroom, two-bath bungalow that sits on an acre of land.

Muscular arms cross over his equally muscular chest. Yeah, that struck a nerve with him.

“Miss me?” he asks with a cocky smile that makes me wet.

Yes. Glancing away, I stare at the wall. “But I didn’t text you!” I want to shout, but I don’t. However, I am not going to make anything easier on him. “I didn’t even know you were gone.”

I hear him cross the room, and my body shivers in anticipation. “We’ve been apart for five days,” he says, his voice a rough whisper against my ear. “It doesn’t make you weak to admit you can’t live without me.”

“Can’t live without you?” I let out an unladylike snort. “I live just fine—”

Grabbing my wrist, he hauls me to him. I give in without a protest and press myself against him. Heat steals up my hand, from the spot where his skin is touching mine. Judging by the way Seth is looking at me, he’s feeling that heat, too.

His free hand wraps around the base of my neck, pulling me closer.