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Laura nodded eagerly. “I’ve already told you that.”
“In that case, let’s set up a time to talk about it.”
“Yeah, we’ll figure something out over the weekend,” said Smoke.
The guys sat down, and a server brought them menus. Piper kept peeking at Cameron over the top of hers. He was one good-looking guy. She shook her head and made herself focus on the menu. It was hard to believe that at the beginning of the week, she’d been sitting in the diner at home in Texas wondering whether she could stand to order the meatloaf yet again. Now she was here in this idyllic little town in California with her best friend from childhood and two gorgeous men. Maybe itwastime to make a change. Maybe she really should set up a time to talk to Smoke about working for him. Laura had been encouraging her to move here. Maybe she should.
She looked up as the server came back to take their order. Cameron smiled at her. Wow. She smiled back. She hadn’t had time or interest in dating for over a year. She was more comfortable with men as colleagues and friends than as romantic partners. Cameron was making her rethink that. The thoughts she was having about him weren’t about friendship. She smirked—they were hardly romantic either! He had her all hot and bothered.
~ ~ ~
Cameron kept stealing glances at Piper as they ate. She was beautiful! She wasn’t his usual type—unless you counted hot, she was definitely that. She was blonde and curvy; he was more often attracted to willowy brunettes—women who looked a lot like his brother’s fiancée, Laura. He shuddered. That was a bad comparison to make.
He looked at Cole—or Smoke, as everyone here called him. It was so good to see him happy. There was no mistaking that he was. Cameron had always looked up to him when they were kids, but there’d always been something intense about him. He’d never been a relaxed kind of guy. That had obviously changed over the years. He was relaxed now. He sat with his arm around the back of Laura’s chair as he listened to her tell stories about when she and Piper were kids.
He looked at Piper again. If he’d seen her at home in Napa, he would have made a move to get to know her. No question about it. She was bright and entertaining; she laughed a lot. She had the kind of personality he was attracted to—and though she may not be his usual type, there was no denying the physical attraction he was feeling. He drew in a deep breath. Nope. Hadn’t he been reassuring Mary Ellen just this afternoon that he wasn’t a womanizer? Hadn’t he told her that he would be monk-like and remain untouched this weekend? He was attracted to Piper, and she was unattached, and judging by the signals she was giving off, she was interested in him, but no. She was his almost sister-in-law’s best friend, and by the way the conversation was going, she might be moving here. He couldn’t go charming her into bed. It could get messy.
“Isn’t she?” Cole was looking at him, waiting for him to answer. The only trouble was, he had no clue who or what the question was about.
“Huh?”
Smoke laughed. “You still do that?”
“Do what?”
“You still space out on entire conversations because you’re too busy thinking about the business and how to attain even greater success?”
Cameron nodded guiltily. It wasn’t a lie. He did still do that. He didn’t need to admit that he hadn’t spaced out on this conversation because of the business, but because of Piper. “Yeah. Sorry. What was the question?”
Smoke chuckled. “No problem. I was telling the girls that Chelsea’s probably going to go out on her own soon. Start her own winery. Her own label.”
“Oh, yeah.” Cameron smiled. He loved his little sister. He was damned proud of her, and it seemed Cole still was, too. “She’s amazing.” He turned to Laura. “Have you even met her yet?”
Laura nodded. “A couple of times. Just briefly, when we’ve been to your parents’ place.”
Cameron looked at Cole. “You should invite her up here. She’d love this place.”
“We should.”
Cameron had to hide his smile when Laura winked at him. He knew that she would love to see Cole get closer to the family. They’d been building bridges for the last few years, but Cole was cautious and taking things slowly.
Cole turned to Piper. “I don’t know if Laura’s filled you in on our family history, but I kind of left the family about ten years ago, and I’m only just getting the hang of being reunited with them.”
Piper smiled. “That’s about as much as I knew.” She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment, looking uncertain.
“What?” asked Cole.
“I probably shouldn’t say it, but I’m going to anyway. I’m glad you’re getting close to your family again. My advice would be to treasure them. Treasure every moment, take every chance you get to spend time with them.” Her eyes brimmed with tears, but she smiled. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to get emotional on you, but it’s important. Too many people don’t find out how important it is until it’s too late.”
Laura patted her hand and Smoke smiled. “Thanks. It’s good advice, and I’m working on it. I guess I’m lucky that I have a second chance to do just what you said.” He smiled at Cameron. “That’s why Cam’s here.”
Cameron nodded. He had to wonder what Piper’s story was. She wasn’t just spouting motivational quotes to treasure every moment. He could tell that. She was speaking from the heart—from experience if her tears were anything to go by.
She caught him by surprise when she turned and looked him in the eye. “Sorry. My mom died a year ago. She was all I had. We treasured every moment we had together, but I still wish we could have had more.”
“I’m sorry.” Cameron didn’t know what else to say. He couldn’t imagine having no one. He had his mom and dad and Chelsea. Even though he and Cole hadn’t had any contact for so many years, he’d always known that his big brother was out there in the world, and he’d always felt that one day things would be better between them.
Cole seemed eager to get things back on a lighter note. He looked around the table. “How would the two of you feel about meeting some friends?”
