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I quickly get out of bed and start getting dressed while I hear Piper’s one-sided conversation in the other room, talking to her mother.
“Of course, I’m fine.”
“No, I’m not acting jumpy.”
“I just overslept, that’s all.”
“No, Mom. I’m not coming down with a fever. I have no idea why you think I look flushed.”
“I’m fine. Really.”
I’m not even in the room, and I can tell that Shelby knows her daughter is lying through her teeth.
From the moment I met her, Shelby struck me as the kind of woman who isn’t easily fooled by anyone. Not even by her doting daughter. She can smell that something is off, and I think it’s only right I be the one to explain what’s really happening here. Even though Piper ordered me to stay hidden in her bedroom, she needs to come to terms with the fact that I’m going to be a permanent fixture in her life, and that means letting people know we’re an item—the first person on that list, being her mother.
Once I’ve put on my shirt and pants to look halfway presentable, I walk out of Piper’s room, and stroll down the hall towards the living room.
Piper’s back is to me when Shelby sees me walking in their direction, a knowing smile tugging at her lips.
“Good morning, Shelby. How nice to see you again,” I sign, grateful for all the hours my tutor, Alan, spent teaching me sign language so that I could at least make a proper greeting.
Shelby’s eyes light up as she signs her own greeting.
“Nice… you… here,” I manage to catch since Shelby’s signing gestures are much faster than I’m used to. “I… didn’t… you… ASL?”
“I’m still learning,” I slowly sign back, praying that I understood her correctly.
Her smile only broadens as she turns her attention to a stunned Piper and signs something to her.
“No. Of course not. I had no idea he was learning sign language,” Piper retorts with a frown.
“When did you start getting lessons?” she asks, not bothering to sign for her mother.
“After we met at the Opera,” I explain.
“Why?” she retorts, gaining a little nudge on her shoulder from Shelby. “I’m not being rude. It’s a fair question, Mom,” Piper says after being reprimanded by her mom. Shelby proceeds to sign something else far too quickly for me to catch even one word of it. “That’s what I’m scared of,” Piper groans in reply.
Shelby rolls her eyes at her daughter, and I can’t help but smile since, apparently, that’s where Piper inherited the tic from. Shelby pulls her trusty phone out of her purse and starts typing.
“Lovely to see you, Trent. I was hoping we would run into each other again.” She smiles. “I see you and Piper are hitting it off.”
“I think so,” I reply, offering a playful wink to Piper as she contemplates tossing me out of the window of her fifteenth-floor apartment.
“Are you joining us for brunch?” Shelby asks hopefully.
“No.”
“I’d love to,” Piper and I say in unison.
“You’re coming, and that’s the end of it,” Shelby announces, looking chipper. “I’ll leave you two to get ready, and we can meet in a bit. How does that sound?”
“Sounds lovely.”
Shelby offers me another cheerful smile and walks over to the door with Piper walking at her heel.
“Yep, I’ll meet you there,” I hear Piper say before Shelby waves me goodbye.
After Piper closes the door on her mother, she turns around, glaring at me like a woman possessed.
