“I can’t leave until I’m sure Piper is completely settled.”
“That could be months,” Stevie complained.
Audrey guessed technically it could. And maybe a subconscious part of her wanted to drag it out because the thought of saying goodbye to Piper gutted her.
“I don’t think it’ll take that long,” she assured her friend.
“But it could,” Stevie argued.
She guessed it could, but she knew, realistically, she couldn’t be gone from her business that long.
“Just try to make it as quick as you can,” Stevie went on.
“I promise,” Audrey answered. Why are you making a promise you’re not sure you can keep?
They said their goodbyes, and her phone vibrated almost the second she disconnected.
Bring Piper to practice after school today.
Audrey blinked at the words and stuffed back her annoyance. He knew good and well not to text her, and he’d done it anyway. Probably to piss her off. No please. No Hey, if you’re not doing anything…
He just demanded and assumed.
Two days ago when he’d helped her move boxes, she thought she’d turned a corner with him. The way he’d interacted with Piper, so gentle and understanding, then attempting a halfway civil conversation with her that didn’t involve grunts and one-word answers. Sure, he’d invaded her personal space and sent her pulse skyrocketing, but he’d been sort of decent. Almost…nice.
Probably because he was having an off night.
She suspected Cameron rarely let anyone have the upper hand. Probably one of his defense mechanisms. Well, she knew all about defense mechanisms and could give as good as he could.
She dialed his number and pressed the phone to her ear. The other line rang, while behind her, Piper stepped through the front door.
Audrey peered at her to see Jellybean dangling from one hand and ketchup smeared across one cheek.
Cameron’s voice mail picked up after the fourth ring. Damn, even his clipped tone telling people to leave a message sent chills through her midsection.
“Piper and I will have to check our schedules,” she told him. “We’re busy people, you know,” she added, just to get his hair up. “By the way, I know you texted me just to get under my skin. It won’t work.”
She hung up and turned to Piper.
“Did you finish your lunch?” she asked the girl.
Piper nodded. “I have to go to the bathroom now.”
Ten minutes later, after she took Piper to the bathroom and hovered over her to assure her nothing bad was going to happen, her phone vibrated.
And her back teeth ground together before she even checked the message.
You don’t have anything else going on, Cameron’s message said. And we both know I’m totally under your skin.
Audrey closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Diane von Furstenberg, Dolce and Gabbana…” She made it all the way to Emilio Pucci before she realized Piper had already flushed the toilet and left the bathroom.
Five
Audrey found herself watching high school football for the second time that week. For someone who didn’t even like the sport, she’d sure dedicated a lot of time to it so far. Piper had been preoccupied with her My Little Ponies, which she’d set up in a circle underneath a shade tree in the backyard. She’d been in a stubborn mood all afternoon, and Audrey had had to bribe her with frozen yogurt after practice just to get the kid in the car. They’d been late, thanks to Piper’s unwillingness to leave her ponies.
Now she was busy with some coloring app on Audrey’s phone, with Jellybean propped on the bleacher next to her. She’d been relatively quiet, leaving Audrey to study the action on the field. And by “action” she most certainly did not mean Cameron, who’d been alternating between yelling at the players and pulling them aside to give them instruction. Audrey had tried paying attention to the practice, which was a jumbled mess of players gathering in small groups to work on different exercises. She thought maybe she’d be able to use the opportunity to learn more about the sport, so she wouldn’t seem like such a clueless nitwit in front of Cameron. Not that she cared what he thought.
“Is it just me, or does Cam seem distracted today?”
Audrey’s ears perked up at the two women seated behind her. They’d been engaging in casual conversation for most of the practice, bouncing from a honeymoon one had just taken to morning sickness the other had been dealing with.
Of course she hadn’t been trying to eavesdrop, but her attention had snapped to them when they’d mentioned Cameron’s name. Something about the way the one woman had said it, with a thread of familiarity, had sparked Audrey’s interest. They knew him, possibly as more than a friend.
“He seems like his usual grumpy self to me,” the other woman chimed in.
Yeah, they definitely knew him.
“I don’t know, something about him seems off,” the conversation continued. “He’s tense.”
For a flicker of a moment, Audrey thought about introducing herself and taking credit for said tension, but something held her back. She wasn’t sure why, but she had a feeling Cameron wouldn’t appreciate her broadcasting his situation with Piper to random people, even if these women did know him. So she kept her mouth shut, her eyes on practice, and her ears behind her.
A second later one of them tapped her on the shoulder.
Audrey turned and clapped eyes with a beautiful woman with long, thick, dark hair and bright blue eyes.
“I’m sorry to bother you,” she said with an open smile. “But are you Audrey?”
Was she supposed to know them? Had Cameron already told people about her and Piper? “Yes,” she answered with hesitation.
The woman slid her friend a look. “Told you.”
Her friend leaned forward. Her hair was a few shades lighter and pulled back into a high ponytail. “You’ll have to excuse Stella. Nothing is off-limits to her.” She stuck out her hand, and Audrey shook it. “I’m Annabelle Carpenter. Blake is my husband.”
Ah, Blake Carpenter, the coach. That would explain how they knew about her.
“Stella West,” the other woman offered.
Stella
