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Mia nodded softly. "Yeah, I think so."
"He spent hours telling me about his kids, showing me pictures and making me fall in love with them. I was actually preparing myself to be a stepmother."
"I’m so sorry." Mia reached for her friend’s hand.
Piper lifted her face. "I didn’t know he was related to your Drew."
Swallowing, Mia gave a miserable nod.
"If you want, I’ll go talk to him—Drew, that is. Jeff can go to the devil for all I care. But I’ll apologize to your Drew if you want. You’ve done so much better with him around. You—"
"No," Mia said, frowning. "Don’t."
"But," Piper frowned. "You like him. After three years of seeing you so miserable, it was like … It was amazing to see you smile again. He makes you smile, Mia. I’ll do anything to get the old you back. It makes me sick to think my getting involved with a married man came between you and your first chance at happiness. I’ll talk to him. I’ll tell him you didn’t know. I’ll do anything—"
"Piper," Mia cut in squeezing her grip on the other woman’s hand. "Thank you, but … no more lies. Besides, I’d like to try talking to him myself."
"Make sure he realizes you didn’t know what I was doing. That I lied to you."
Mia shook her head. "It shouldn’t matter if I knew or not. You’re my friend. I have a right to keep your affairs secret if I want to."
Her roommate cringed. "No pun intended," she muttered. After she sniffed and wiped at her wet eyes, she looked sadly at Mia. "Why does life have to be so painful?"
Sighing, Mia leaned over to rest her head on Piper’s shoulder. "We wouldn’t know what happiness was if we didn’t have something bad to compare it to."
A lifetime of happy moments washed through her. Winning the spelling contest in the second grade, graduating high school and college, hearing a proposal from Ryan, holding her newborn baby girl and raising her for three months, turning from her flowerbed and seeing Drew for the first time, kissing Drew. Those moments wouldn’t have been so outstanding if she’d never know pain and sorrow.
"I have a confession," she admitted, lifted her face and glancing hesitantly at Piper. Biting her bottom lip, she said, "I knew Drew suspected you were … dating his brother-in-law."
Her roommate eyes widened. "What? But—"
"His sister saw the credit card bill he used to buy your roses."
Mouth falling open, Piper gasped, "Okay, that explains a few things. Drew acted … so strange when I was talking about my roses with him. He—" She covered her mouth and gaped at Mia with large eyes. "He hurried out the salon right after he asked about them. And he looked upset. I thought … I assumed he felt bad because he hadn’t thought of buying you flowers. I never—Oh, wow. How long have you known?"
Anger and accusations were absent from her question. She merely sounded curious as if she was trying to fit all the pieces together.
"Honestly, Piper," Mia started. "Why aren’t you livid? I kept something important from you."
"I have no reason to be mad," Piper said. She patted Mia’s hand. "I’m the last person on earth worthy to cast blame at anyone about keeping secrets. I mean, look at me. I was dating a married man and kept it from my best friend."
"Why were you?" Mia blurted out, slapping a hand over her mouth. "Never mind," she quickly added. "It’s none of my business."
"No, it’s okay," Piper assured. "I want to talk about it. I … I’ve been incredibly stupid. But he was so different. Established for one, not like every other immature idiot who thought he was some kind of stud."
"But I’m sure there are plenty of single older men out there, Piper. If that’s what—"
"I know," her friend interrupted, "But they’re all so insecure. J was different because he had this charismatic confidence. I guess he could be that way, though, because he was so sure he could get a woman … he already had one. But at the time, I was grateful for such a refreshing change of pace."
Thinking over Piper’s words, Mia grew grateful herself. She was grateful Piper hadn’t met Drew before she had, otherwise, she probably would’ve dropped her older, married Jeff and gone after his younger, better-looking brother-in-law. Drew held a certain maturity about him without the added age. And he hadn’t possessed any qualms about pursuing Mia, though there were many things that should’ve deterred him.
Piper reached for Mia’s hand. "Oh, Mi Mi, I’ve caused such a mess. Do you think Drew’s sister will be okay? From listening to J, I thought their marriage was over. I thought she didn’t love him. But Drew made it sound—"
"Don’t think about it," Mia advised. "Just … try to stick with single men from now on. Okay?"
Piper nodded. "You have my word."
Chapter Fourteen
