“Two hundred dollars?” Piper repeated, as if she couldn’t quite believe what she’d heard.
“Yes. Are you interested?” Abby held her breath, half wishing Piper would decline.
Piper kneaded her bottom lip, glancing over her shoulder at her son. Tyler sat on the bed flipping through the pages of a picture book. “I—I don’t know.”
“I realize it might be a little awkward, but it’s only for a few days.” She refrained from addinguntil the test results arrive, and said, “We can work in different parts of the house. I doubt we’ll see each other any more than we do right now.”
This seemed to assuage some of her concerns, but she still looked reticent. “What about Tyler?”
“I don’t mind if he tags along while you work. But he’s also welcome to hang out with Verna. I’ve already spoken with her, and she’d love to spend time with him. She’s like a surrogate grandma to Max.”
“She does seem great with kids, but I still don’t know if it’s a good idea.”
Abby bit her tongue. She wanted to help Piper for Tyler’s sake, but she refused to beg.
“I guess I can help you out,” Piper relented, as if she was doing Abby a huge personal favor.
“Great.” Abby ignored Piper’s ingratiating tone. “When can you start?”
“Right now, if Verna’s free. Let me talk to Tyler first. We’ll be down in a sec.” Without another word, Piper closed the door in her face.
The resounding click echoed in the hall with an ominous note of finality.
A tiny tingle of misgiving tickled Abby’s throat.
Had she just made a horrible mistake?
Chapter 19
ABBY
“Have you lost your mind?”Nadia Chopra hissed. Her dark eyes narrowed, following Piper as she dusted the fireplace mantel on the other side of the sitting room. Thanks to her earbuds, Piper appeared oblivious to their conversation. “First, you let her stay in your inn, free of charge. Then, youhireher. Do I need to organize some kind of intervention?”
“It’s not like I offered her a full-time position. It’s only for a few days. And you know why I had to do it.” She’d explained the situation when Nadia arrived to help assemble the welcome baskets for Sadie and Lucy, who were expected in two days.
“Well,hadto might be a stretch. But yes, it’s a sad situation. I’m not unsympathetic. But there are a million ways this scenario could end badly. If you need help, I have time.”
“No, you don’t. You’re busy building your empire. And I couldn’t be prouder.”
In a few short months, her brilliant friend had turned her boyfriend’s rash balm into a rapidly growing business. By marketing Epic Inc. as an active and adventurous lifestyle brand, she’d already made endorsement deals with several social media influencers. Not only for Evan’s rash balm, but also his latest product—a sensational new body scrub that Nadia generously agreed to include in Abby’s welcome baskets, even before its official debut.
“I always have time for you,” Nadia assured her. “Especially if it keeps you from hiring Piper. I don’t trust a woman who doesn’t wear mascara.”
Abby smiled at her effortlessly stylish friend. “Nadia,I’mnot wearing mascara.”
“You’re not?” Nadia swept a strand of silky black hair away from her eyes and peered closer. “Wow. You have fabulous lashes. Okay, I retract my former statement. But makeup aside, I don’t trust her.”
“I don’t, either. But it’s not like I gave her the password to my bank account. She’sdusting. What’s the worst that could happen?” Abby tried to sound self-assured despite her own misgivings.
A shadow crossed Nadia’s features, and her gaze fell to the gift baskets. Although, she didn’t seem to register the scented soaps, body scrubs, and gourmet sweets nestled inside.
Abby’s pulse quickened during the agonizingly long pause. What was her friend struggling to say? Nadia never had trouble speaking her mind.
Finally, Nadia lifted her gaze. “Abs,” she said softly, her expression pained. “Is there any chance Piper is telling the truth?”
The weighted question swung through the air like a wrecking ball, both necessary yet gut-wrenching.
Abby winced. Not that she blamed Nadia for asking. Nadia’s ex, Brian, had been Donnie’s best friend—both test pilots at Edwards Air Force Base with a shared passion for speed and adrenaline. And, Abby once thought, for duty and honor.
