Page 66 of Meet Me in Ivy Falls

Piper gave one sharp nod and then launched herself into my arms. ‘It’s so good to see you,’ she gushed.

Under her blue gingham sundress, Piper’s shoulder bones popped through the material. I pulled back to look at her face. While dark shadows shaded the space under her eyes, there were still hints of that curious fourteen-year-old I’d said goodbye to many years ago.

‘It’s good to see you too,’ I said. ‘Thanks for coming by and checking things out.’

Piper glanced at the scaffolding crisscrossing up to the ceiling and the sawhorses scattered throughout the room. ‘It took a little bit of arm-twisting from Beck, but I’m glad I’m here now. Is it safe to walk around?’

‘Sure. Both the production team and our construction crew took off an hour ago so the house is ours.’

After I introduced Piper to Manny, we spent the next twenty minutes walking through the house. Piper blinked away tears when Beck showed her the way we were restoring the cabinets in the kitchen. Her hand ran along the carved railing as we walked up the new set of stairs and she complimented Manny on his craftsmanship.

Beck stayed behind me, and before we reached the second floor he leaned in and whispered, ‘Do you know how hot you look with that tool belt hanging low around your waist?’

‘Uhhh,’ I mumbled. Dammit. All he had to do was talk in that low, rough voice and words evaporated from my brain.

I’d told him no more walks down memory lane. That we had to focus on the house, and I was sticking to it even if the lower parts of my body protested.

‘Any chance we could let Manny finish the tour?’ His warm breath against my neck sent a lick of heat through my core.

He said we’d take things slow, I repeated in my head before turning to face him and that stupidly gorgeous face of his.

‘First, tell me how Piper is,’ I said, nudging him away. ‘This seems like a big step for her.’

‘She seems good. We’ve taken long walks, spent some time exploring downtown Nashville. I was a little anxious walking around all the bars and she kind of let me have it. Told me she wasn’t a breakable doll and that I had to stop treating her like one.’

‘Good for her.’

He grimaced. ‘Yeah, she talks a good game. I’ve heard it all before and still nothing changes.’

Piper and Manny’s voices moved to another room, and he cocked his head toward the first floor. He moved into the living room and took a minute to survey the space. We were making slow progress. Drywall now covered most of the walls, and the wiring for all the lighting fixtures was up to code. We’d kept the windows open while we were working and thankfully the putrid scent of rot and waste was now replaced by the thick, heavy scent of fresh paint and concrete.

‘What else is bothering you?’ I asked as his shoulders tensed.

‘Piper chose to come here on her own even if she claims I goaded her into it.’

‘That’s good, right?’

‘Yes, but I worry that maybe I should have waited. Brought her back when everything was finished. You saw her blink back tears in the kitchen. There are so many memories of our parents here and seeing it in this shape may be too much.’

‘You have to listen to her, Beck. If she says she’s ready, then you have to believe her.’

‘She told me that part of her AA journey is making amends. Accepting the choices she’s made. Facing the demons of the past. That being here can help her move on. I was worried how she’d react when I told her you knew all about the accident, but she understood. That she was glad you knew the history and wanted to make this house right for our parents.’

‘You’re a really good brother. Keep listening and following her cues.’

He moved in close and slid a hand around my waist. ‘Is this okay?’ he asked as his fingertips inched their way under my T-shirt. The heat of his touch ignited every element in my body. Hunger filled his eyes as he held me, the unsaid question lingering in the press of his hands to my skin. ‘Can I kiss you?’ The words pressed against my neck like a soft and aching caress.

I’d told him we needed to go back to being partners. That I couldn’t let go of our past so easily, but deep down I understood that I craved his presence, his touch, the low way he whispered my name like it was a precious vow.

My brain might have been throwing up warning signals but my body said fuck it as I leaned in and pressed a smoldering kiss to his lips and then dragged my teeth down his neck.

‘We have to keep things professional while we’re here,’ I stuttered as he pulled aside the collar of my shirt and slid his wet mouth over my shoulder. He pressed me back against the wall. His perfect lips finding my collarbone and then working their way up to the tingly spot behind my ear.

‘Professional? We can stay professional during the day, but what about when we’re alone? Can we be more?’ he said against my heated cheek.

The tips of his fingers skimmed over my hairline and then down behind my ear.

‘Eight,’ he whispered right at the spot where I had my tattoo, sending a shiver through my entire body. ‘What does it mean?’