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“What?” she shouts back.
I walk over to the stairs so I can hear her better. “Are you cooking something? It smells like smoke down here.”
There’s a loud swear and an even louder thud, and that’s the only warning I get before Piper comes flying down the stairs.
I stand, frozen, as she runs past me into the kitchen.
By the time I turn around, she’s pulled a pan out of the oven, and she’s eyeing it.
“The timer didn’t go off. But I think it’s done?” Piper sets the pan down on the counter with a clatter and peers into the oven. “I think some of the batter just spilled out. I must have overfilled it.”
She looks at me then, and I try to relax. Act normal.
Unsuccessfully.
Her brow wrinkles. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
“Oh-kay.” She pulls a fork out of the drawer and stabs the pan’s contents.
“So…you’re coming tonight?”
“Yeah, I stopped at Julia’s store after I got groceries. She talked me into going. And this dress.”
Now, I know who to kill…or thank—I haven’t decided yet.
“Isn’t it cute?” She twirls the hem of the dress on her way to drop the fork in the sink, flashing more thigh at me.
Piper appears oblivious to my struggle. That, or she’s having fun torturing me.
“Yeah.”
Cuteis not the first adjective coming to mind. Or the twentieth.
All that’s running through my mind isHoly fuck.
Her dress is low cut in the front and dips even deeper in the back. It’s also made from some light, gauzy material that almost looks see-through.
“I’ve gotta finish getting ready. You said Hudson is coming at eight, right?”
“Right.” I glance at the stove, realizing I’m cutting it close on getting ready myself. But the hay is baled and stored in the barn, which is a huge relief. “You done in the bathroom?”
“Yes!” Piper calls as she jogs back up the stairs.
I drag a palm down my face, exhaling. Then walk over to the pan Piper left on the counter to look inside.
Its contents look a lot like a cake.
* * *
Piper’s sitting on the couch, pulling on one of her new cowboy boots when I walk downstairs.
“Hey,” she says, then grabs the other boot.
“Hey.” Water is still dripping down my forehead from my hasty shower, but at least I’m clean. And dressed.
“So?” She stands and spins. “Not missing cowboy boots this time.”
