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“Evening, ladies. Do you need menus?”
“No, thanks, Ben,” said Laura. “At least not yet. We said we’d meet Smoke and Cameron here for dinner, but I don’t know how long they’ll be.”
Ben smiled. “No problem.” He looked at Piper. “Is Cameron your husband?”
She laughed. “No, I’ve never met him.”
“He’s Smoke’s brother,” added Laura.
“Of course, I knew that.” He nodded. “That’s awesome! He hasn’t been up here yet, has he?”
“No, this is his first visit.”
Ben grinned. “That’s so cool. Can I get you fresh drinks while you wait?”
Once he’d gone, Piper raised an eyebrow at Laura. “His brother has never been to visit before?”
“No, it’s a long and complicated story. The short version is that Smoke and his family didn’t speak for years, and now they’re getting back on good terms with each other.”
“Wow. I’m glad they are. I can’t imagine having family who you don’t speak to. I only had my mom, and now I’ve got no one.”
Laura looked sad. “I wish you’d give some thought to staying here. You’d have so many people if you did.”
Piper sighed. “Maybe I will, I don’t know. At least I know I’ve got you.”
“You’ll always have me, but it would be nice to see you more than once every few years.”
“It would.”
Piper smiled as Laura’s friend Kenzie approached their table. Kenzie was just one of Laura’s many friends she’d met in the few days she’d been here. She had to wonder what her life might be like if she moved here—if all those people would become her friends, too.
Chapter Two
“… oh wow! Look at that!”
“What?” asked Laura. Then she smiled. “Which one?”
“Both!” said Piper with a laugh. The two men walking across the deck of the restaurant were both damned hot. “But if I had to choose, it’d be Big Sandy before Big Gray.” They were both tall and built. The one with the sandy hair and blue eyes had a friendlier air about him than the other, more intense, gray-haired one. “Oh!” Her eyes widened as a thought struck her, and she turned to look at Laura. “Tell me that’s not your Smoke?”
Laura shrugged and grinned at her. “Sorry, no can do. And I think you just gave Cameron a new nickname. Big Sandy. It suits him.” It did. He was broad shouldered and muscular—big, and sandy.
“Wow!” muttered Piper as they got closer. “And I thought they only grew ’em like that in Texas.”
Laura laughed and got to her feet as the guys reached the table. Smoke snaked an arm around her waist and pecked her lips. “Hey, lady.”
“Hi.” She smiled at Cameron. “It’s good to see you. I’d like you both to meet my oldest friend, Piper.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you; I’m Cameron Hamilton.” He held out his hand.
Piper shook with him. His hand was warm; his grip firm. His blue eyes held hers, and all she could do was stare back into them. She couldn’t speak. All the air had rushed out of her lungs. Shivers ran up and down her spine. She smiled, and he smiled back, his full lips curling up at the edges. He looked as dumbstruck as she felt. She wanted to speak, but she didn’t want to break the moment. It felt as though the whole world had melted away and they were floating somewhere above the crimson and gold ripples on the lake. His fingers tightened around hers, and she squeezed back, holding on tight, not wanting to let go.
Smoke broke the lengthening silence. “It’s great to finally meet you, Piper. Laura’s told me so much about you. I don’t suppose there’s any chance you might stick around, is there?” Laura raised an eyebrow at him, and he smiled. “I need more pilots. I can get as many novice guys as I like, but from what Laura tells me, you must have a ton of pilot-in-command time, and it’d be nice to have a friend on the team.”
Piper grinned. “If you’d have asked me yesterday, I would have said no way, but,” she smiled at Laura, “it’s starting to sound tempting.” Very tempting indeed since Cameron had shown up. “Especially if you need someone,” she added. “I wouldn’t want to think you were taking me on just to be nice.”
Cameron found his voice again. He laughed. “You’ve got no worries there. He’s successful because he does what’s best for his business.” His smile faded. “I mean, he does do things to be nice, too.”
Smoke punched his arm. “It’s okay, we knew what you meant.” He turned back to Piper. “I like to find win-wins for everyone involved. I wouldn’t hire you—or anyone—just as a favor. It should make sense for the business, too. If you want to think about it, then bear in mind that not only could it be an opportunity for you, but it’d also help me out, and I know Laura would love to have you around.”
