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We refuse, stewing in silence.
“Come on. Dig deep, deep down if you have to,” she says. “You do want me to mark you as compatible, don’t you?”
I sit back with an aggravated huff. This was supposed to be about putting Rowan in the hot seat, but my traitorous best friend has gone rogue, and I have no idea what she has planned when she looks at us expectantly.
After a beat of silence, Rowan sighs. “Molly’s hardworking. She’s resilient, too, and despite her abundant, entirely too easy to read emotions, I… appreciate her thoughtfulness.”
My shoulders gradually relax, and I lower my arms to my lap.
He won’t look at me, but I stare at him, surprised. Is this his way of making up for losing his temper, or simply saying what he thinks I want to hear?
“Molly. What do you appreciate about Rowan?”
“I suppose he’s charming,” I eventually relent, “and sometimes he’s funny, when he’s not being annoyingly abrasive.”
“And?” she prods.
“And even though he’s chronically grouchy, I like his company,” I grumble.
That earns me a suspicious side eye, but at least he’s looking at me again.
“Very good.” I’d laugh at how seriously she’s taking this if I wasn’t so on edge. “Tell me where you think your relationship could use some work?”
“For starters, every time I try to get to know him better, he shows me an ounce of kindness before slamming a door in my face.”
Rowan sits upright with a start. “That’s rich coming from the woman who’s literally slammed a door in my face.”
Piper balks theatrically. “Molly. Care to explain?”
My mouth pops open to defend myself, but damn him, it’s true. I had slammed that door after running inside from the pool house that day.
“He was ogling me while I was swimming, in private.” I point at him, agitated all over again. “And he shouted at me after I played him a song on the piano.”
My mouth clamps shut when her eyes dart to mine.
Oops.
“You… played a song for him?”
Rowan charges on, not catching the stunned look on her face. “I shouted because you were snooping where I specifically told you not to.”
“I told you where I found it, Rowan. I would never intentionally break your trust like that.” My throat tightens as I try to rein in my emotions. “God forbid I do something nice for you. I thought you’d like hearing a song your mother wrote.”
His fists flex, and not appreciating the arched brow Piper gives, I fire one right back.
“All righty then. I’ll mark communication down as a big fat zero,” Piper mutters. “What about your sex life?”
We both shift uncomfortably, and—damn her—she snickers. “I see. Well, at least that’s one thing I can mark as healthy.”
I whip my head to her. “We’re not having sex.”
Her lips quirk at the corner. “No sexual encounters of any kind?”
“What are you doing?” I mouth at her while Rowan’s not looking.
She bites the corner of her lip impishly. “It’s a perfectly healthy way to blow off steam, Molly. I suggest you try it next time.”
“I appreciate the tip,” I say through a tight smile, “but I prefer to settle arguments with space. Lots of it.”
