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It wasn’t until I looked at the clock - four a.m. - that I realized how long I’d been at it. I snuck back into bed with Piper, who was, at that point, face down on the pillows and breathing heavily, and spent a few hours just enjoying being with her before I had to head home to let Roscoe out and get ready for work.
“Fred?” Frannie peers out from her office just a few doors down, and Freddy, still walking backwards, tosses my phone over his shoulder at our sister, who flinches, barely catching it in time before looking between the two of us. “What’s going on?” She retreats back into her office, my phone in hand, and I nearly body-check Freddy as I push past him to get to my sister.
“Will’s got a girlfriend.” He doesn’t even try to hide the absolute mirth in his voice as I lunge for the phone in Frannie’s hand, which she holds back, pursing her lips at me. I still. She knows I won’t go after her physically like I would Freddy, but I’m not above the death glare I give her.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” I snarl, and then instantly regret the words as her eyes widen and she looks down at the phone in front of her. I’ve basically just admitted the truth to her. She scrolls for a second, her eyes going even wider, before she seems to come to her senses and locks it, handing it back over to me.
“Is Piper the girl you had at The Pine the other day? And the champagne?” Frannie asks, and I feel my nostrils flare, crossing my arms. “She is, oh my God.”
“Fitzwilliam Nicholas Westfall,” Freddy says snidely, and I whir on him. He just smirks. “Where’d you find this one?”
“Nowhere,” I mutter, and stuff my phone back into my pocket before either of them manage to get it unlocked again.
I make a mental note to change the password to something neither of them can guess.
“Hold on.Piper.” Frannie sits down in her deep green velvet office chair. “Not…Piper Delmonico?” I start, staring at her. “OhGod, Will.” She stares back, blinking. “You sent herchampagne.”
“Why is that a big deal?” Freddy asks, and sits down in one of the chairs across from Frannie, resuming his earlier position with his feet up on her desk.
She gives him a disgusted look, but answers. “She’s sober.”
“Jesus Christ,” I manage, and sit down next to my brother, rubbing my temples. “Does everyone fucking know her life story?” Frannie snorts.
“No, Chloe’s sister is her roommate.”
Carla. Carla’s sister was one of Frannie’s friends from high school. And also an employee of WHG.
I guess I’m lucky that she hadn’t found out earlier.
“Champagne, dude?” Freddy asks, and I shoot him a glare.
“I don’t think he knew that when he sent it,” Frannie responds, sitting back in her chair and touching the tips of her fingers together in a way that looks very much like our father. I shake my head, agree with her defense of me. “And I didn’t know that’s who he was sending it to.”
“With good reason.” I swallow, and then pull my phone back out. I hadn’t even looked at how she’d responded.
PIPER DELMONICO
I mean, yeah. I was Mickey’s full-time caregiver for like, six months.
Jesus. I try to hide the way my lips thin at that thought, but clearly not well enough.
“Is that why you look like you slept under a bridge last night?” Frannie says quietly, but I can hear the smile in her voice before I look back up at her.
My next words make the smile stop.
“She nearly died on Thursday.”
“Excuse me?” Freddy leans forward in his seat, his long hair falling around his face, his hands clasped in front of him, clearly invested in whatever I’m about to say.
“Did you see that video going around from the Alamo’s game?”
Frannie sucks in a breath. “Fuck, that was Piper? That got hit in the head with the fly ball?”
I nod as Freddy lets out a low whistle. “Were you there?”
I nod again, and scrub my hand over my face.
“Yeah, and then Alex Barton - er, Calloway’s - water broke about three feet from my shoes.”
