Page 41 of Too Fast To Fall
“I really wish you were here. Meghan has no clue since she and Mike got married at the courthouse. Plus, she’s been no help.She’s been so tired lately.”
“You know how she gets at the end of the school year.” Piper was desperate for a change of subject. “You got me caught upon Mom. How’s dad doing?”
“He misses you. He talks about you all the time.”
“He does?” Piper was surprised. “We text a little, but I feel like he’s not very chatty.”
“He doesn’t want to bother you. He knows you’re living this big, exciting life right now and he doesn’t want to intrude.”
Big, exciting life.It was true she was living in a new and wholly unfamiliar world, and as much as she’d felt out of place at first, she feltmore comfortable. “I’ll be home soon enough.” Piper offered it as consolation, but she was torn about her return. Despitethe never-ending physical torment that was proximity to Emilio, she was enjoying his company more since the race at Imola.She’d learned he could be funny and sweet when he wanted to be.
She wandered over to the window in her room. It was overcast again. She was apparently spoiled now because she missed theItalian sun as much as she’d missed the Florida rays. Luckily, they were leaving for Spain tomorrow. She’d get her dose ofwarmth and brightness then.
“Did you do the thing I told you to do? With your lady bits?” Gabby asked.
“No. I don’t have the nerve.”
“Just go for it.”
“I’m not you, okay? I don’t have that kind of confidence. It takes time for me to get close to someone.”
Just then, Piper heard a quiet knock at her door, which she’d left open. She turned to see Emilio in the doorway, lookingconfused but also sexy, dressed in jeans and a light blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, showing off histanned and muscled forearms. “I have a question,” he whispered.
Piper swallowed hard, feeling frozen. “Gabs. I need to go.”
“Is that him?”
Piper glanced over at Emilio, who was now leaning against the door frame. Her face flushed with white-hot heat. “Gotta run.Love you.”
“Don’t hang up on me. What is going on?”
“Nothing, okay? I have to go.”
“Fine. Love you, too.”
Piper ended the call and tucked her phone into her back pocket. “What’s up?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to interrupt your call. I’m just having a hard time finding a few things in the kitchen.”
“No worries. I’m here to help.” She breezed past him, trying to ignore the zip of electricity that hit her every time theygot close. Gus followed them down the stairs, a cacophony of paws on the treads.
“When you said you rearranged the kitchen, you weren’t kidding.”
“I couldn’t bake dog treats the way you had it organized.” Piper strolled into the kitchen. “What are you looking for?”
“The cast-iron pan.”
Piper opened one of the lower cabinets, then reached all the way into the back to pull out the skillet. “Here you go.”
“Why did you have to hide it from me?”
Piper noted a distinct level of grumpiness from Emilio. She didn’t like its return. “By the looks of that pan, you’ve onlyused it three or four times. If you don’t use something often, it doesn’t need to be as accessible.”
“Maybe it looks new because I’m very good at cleaning it.”
“Nobody is that good at cleaning a cast-iron pan.”
He shook his head and pulled a plate of chicken thighs from the refrigerator, then generously sprinkled them with salt andground pepper. Next came a healthy pour of olive oil into the pan before he turned on the flame.
