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Calista mushed her mouth from side to side. “It’s stupid.”
“Yeah.” Piper waited for more probing.
“I’d just tell them, they have a right to their reactions after that.” Calista’s gaze returned to her laptop.
“Now here’s the part you can’t repeat.”
Calista’s head popped up.
“Yeah, it’s good. I-need-bleach-for-my-eyes good.” Piper relayed the tale of the spurred ride. Yeah, she knew she’d implied she wouldn’t, but she’d also known she’d tell Calista.
“Guys like that?”
Piper shrugged. “Guess some do.”
“No wonder I never get asked out.”
* * *
On Tuesdays, Calista usually left before her. Piper hadn’t heard a peep of the normal sounds. She knocked on Calista’s door and reached for the knob. Her mind flashed back to the Czerski household. She retreated and knocked again. “You should be gone by now.” Stop, it was her sister, not Mikah’s adventurous brother. She cracked open the door.
Calista was sound asleep, alone. Hmm, she was twenty-three. Piper should set her up. With a guy who was good with big-picture stuff, like cleaning and alarm clocks.
Piper hit the light, shook her sister’s foot, and went to the closet. She tossed clean jeans and a sweatshirt over the lump on the bed and bounced on the edge of the mattress. “You’re late.”
Her sister struggled to a sitting position. “Okay. Thanks.”
* * *
Before practice, Mikah pulled up the sports channel on the conference room’s overhead screen. News showed the Snowers and Geels neck and neck. His own game was holding steady. That meant Zee’s had to be down. He rubbed the back of his neck. Why? Due to Zee’s being caught playing horse? Doubtful. Something else going on with Zee? He didn’t know. With this momentum, they’d surpass the Geels by Thanksgiving. Winner. Winner. That would be a satisfying leaderboard. Snowers number one. That one would make the other sacrifices in his life worth it. Sacrifices? He sounded like one of Piper’s romantic Tudors.
Liam elbowed him. “You’ve got to stop watching those charts.”
Sure. Turn off a lifetime of competitive conditioning. That would be easy.
* * *
Piper and Dahlia wandered around the Domain early shopping for Thanksgiving dinner dresses. The nice thing about looking for clothes with her cousin was that they shared a similar size and coloring. When she came with Mom, she lost her to the petite section. Piper held open the door, and the boutique music rocked out a pop song in greeting. “Why are you buying me a dress?” She’d been grappling with whether to accept or not. On one hand, the purchase was okay because a work dress was sort of a uniform. On the other hand, she should use her own money. She’d come to no conclusion.
Dahlia swept into the small boutique with a big grin. “I want everyone dressed in their best, especially my family. And we both know Calista won’t shop, so you’ll have to pick hers.”
Okay, but Piper couldn’t promise her sister would wear it. Calista had a fondness for comfort that failed to take advantage of her cute figure. They moved to the cocktail dress section. Piper held up a pale-blue dress and a burnt sienna one. “Team colors or Thanksgiving colors?”
“Thanksgiving. While we’re out, I also wanted to run another job by you.” Dahlia’s voice held a pleading note.
Piper had admittedly passed on a few emailed requests this week. Her savings account funds had exceeded the halfway-to-move-out mark, so she wasn’t feeling quite as needy, plus after the whole Mikah fail—awkward. “Hmm?”
“Have I told you my engagement story?”
Twice. Piper found a hunter-green skirt with subtle crystals. Cute. Calista preferred separates. If paired with the right top, this would be adorable. “Which part of the story?”
“How Dodo had placed my ring on top of his lucky puck.” Dahlia snagged a cream cashmere sweater and held the top against the skirt. They both nodded. Perfect.
“Yeah.” Dodo’s first win as owner had been sealed with that puck. Piper wished she liked him better so that the story would charm her, but she didn’t really know him. She probably saw too much of Warren in him. Which wasn’t fair to Dodo. She and Calista weren’t much alike. She and Dahlia were only a little alike. Why would she assume Dodo was like Warren? She’d give Dodo more of a chance. Next event, she’d try and get to know him better.
Dahlia went back to the long-sleeved, fitted burnt sienna dress. “Did you want this one?”
Piper shook her head. Boat neck wasn’t her thing, and she wanted a wow dress. That one didn’t seem like Dahlia’s style either, but maybe cleavage disappeared when a woman got engaged.
