Page 69 of Meet Me in Ivy Falls

Pete swiped a hand over his mouth. The lines in his forehead pinched together. ‘About the pitch,’ he began. ‘I’m hearing talk around the office that things aren’t going well. People are grumbling about a lack of leadership.’

He took the seat in front of my desk, resting his hands on his knees. Bogie plopped down beside him and seconds later was snoring louder than a freight train.

‘I know you took that time off to be with your sister.’ He let out a slow breath. ‘But when you’re here, you don’t seem engaged. I guess what I’m asking is do I need to step in, Beck?’

Pete’s weighted words hit hard and I knew I had to confess everything that was going on.

‘Having Piper here has been a little difficult lately.’

His brows shot up. ‘Why? Is she okay?’

‘Yesterday was rough. Her agent called to say her audition was postponed for another month due to a recasting issue on the soap opera. After the call, she retreated to her room for too long and it took a lot of pleading to get her to come out and eat dinner.’

‘That world of entertainment can be rough.’

‘She seems better today. The last time I called she told me to get a life and hung up.’

He cracked a smile. ‘I like that she’s always had fire.’

‘There are a few other distractions going on in my life, but I promise it’s all under control. I swore when I agreed to be your partner that I wouldn’t let you down and I meant that.’

‘What kind of distractions are we talking about?’

‘There’s a project I’ve got going on in a little town about forty miles from here called Ivy Falls.’

Pete’s lips tightened. ‘What kind of project?’

‘A house.’

‘You bought a house?’ His voice went sharp.

‘It’s more than a house. It’s where I grew up.’

Pete sat back, dropping his hands in his lap. ‘What about your condo?’

‘This is more of an investment. The house is in pretty rough shape, and I’ve hired a good team to restore it to its original historic state. They’re even filming a TV pilot about it for the Hearth and Home Network.’

‘Shit, Beck. That sounds like a lot of work. No wonder things are falling through the cracks.’

I jumped to my feet and started to pace in front of the window.

‘I know that look,’ Pete said. ‘There’s something else going on.’

Crap. How did I tell my partner that I’d almost dropped the ball because I’d been spending all my time trying to win back my high-school sweetheart? Even to my own ears it sounded like a lame excuse, but I didn’t regret a thing.

The agency used to be my whole life. It filled my days, nights, weekends. But with Torran back in my world, I’d realized how lonely I’d been. For the first time in years, a life that had been dark without my parents was suddenly full of light and it was all because of her.

Pete’s mouth flattened. ‘Okay, Beck, spill it. You look like a man who is about to jump out of his skin.’

‘The team who is helping with the house. One of them is my high-school ex.’

‘I knew it had to be something like that.’

‘Why?’

‘Call it experience. You used to always answer your phone on the first ring. Now it goes straight to voicemail. Your body may be in meetings, but your mind is somewhere else. I get it. A new romance can be awesome, especially if mind-blowing sex is involved. And you’ve got that satisfied vibe going on.’

‘Her name is Torran and she’s a genius when it comes to historic renovation. When she’s around I feel alive. I screwed it up once with her and I don’t want to do it again.’