Chapter Nine
Lucas
I stare at the computer screen in front of me, unable to concentrate on anything but the giggling sounds coming from outside. The last three weeks have flown by in a blur, Piper in my bed every night, sneaking out before the sun comes up so Maddie doesn’t catch us.
Over those weeks, I’ve not been able to stop thinking about what she said to me the night Maddie talked in her sleep. Am I the one preventing my little girl from moving on? Is she picking up on my guilt, my inability to let go and understand I deserve happiness? I’m no psychologist, and neither is Piper, but I think there might be some truth in what she’s saying.
I push away from my computer and look out the window to see Piper and Maddie playing with the pup—still nameless—in the pool. I smile, but it dissolves quickly when I realize Piper is leaving for the states tomorrow afternoon. I glance back at my computer, but work can wait. Time to have some much-needed fun. I walk through the main level and make my way to my bedroom. I quickly change into swimming shorts and head outdoors. Piper and Maddie’s faces light up when they see me.
“You two are having way too much fun without me,” I say and dive into the deep end. I come up in front of Maddie, and my heart soars when she squeals in delight. Her pup, looking a damned drowned rat, barks as I frighten her.
“This little girl really needs a name,” I say, and Maddie nods. Piper moves in behind me and jumps onto my back. I spin her around, and Maddie laughs when I fall backward, dunking us both.
Piper comes up sputtering and laughing. “Hey,” she says and tries to dunk me, but she can’t budge me. I pick her up easily, and her body feels so good—so right—in my hands. I toss her again, and she goes under.
She surfaces and pushes her wet hair from her face “You’re going to pay for that,” she warns, but she’s laughing as she swims toward me. As I feel the heaviness I’ve been carrying for the last year start to leave my body, I swim away. Maddie sits on the steps with the pup and watches with glee as Piper tries to catch me. She goes under the water, and I submerge, too, waiting for her.
She swims toward me, and I capture her around the waist and plant my lips on hers. She’s shocked at first, her eyes going wide, then she presses her body to mine. Maddie can’t see us from the steps, and we stay down a moment longer, our lips locked, our hands touching.
We break through the water, and this time I let Piper dunk me. I come up, and both she and Maddie are laughing.
“Hey,” I say to Maddie. “You’re not supposed to be siding with Piper.”
Piper swims over to Maddie and gives her a high-five. “Us girls stick together.” She glances at the dog. “That’s three against one. You’re outnumbered in this house, mister.”
I grumble something about getting a male dog, but the truth is I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’m crazy about all my girls, even the furry one.
My girls…there I go again.
I start toward the stairs. “Who wants to go to the park for ice cream and let the pup play with the other dogs?”
Piper raises her hand. “I do. I do.”
Maddie grins and raises her hand, too.
“Come on, let’s go get changed.” Piper scoops Maddie up and carries her from the pool.
“Hey, are you forgetting about someone?”
“Oh, stop being a baby and come on,” Piper says, feigning an exasperation that makes Maddie giggle.
“Girls…” I mumble and roll my eyes.
“Outnumbered,” Piper tosses over her shoulder, and she and Maddie dart inside. I follow them in and catch a glimpse of them as they dash up the stairs to get changed. Hurrying to my room, I change into a pair of khaki shorts and a T-shirt, then wait at the foot of the stairs for the two to come down. I wait and wait. Good Lord, what is taking them so long?
“You two coming?” I call out, but when I hear no answer, unease erupts inside me. I take the stairs two at a time, peeking into Piper’s room as I pass, but she’s nowhere to be found. I take a few more steps until I’m outside Maddie’s room, and when I glance in, it’s all I can do to keep my legs from failing. I lean against the doorjamb for support and meet Piper’s eyes in the mirror as she brushes out Maddie’s hair, with Maddie’s special brush.
Maddie is falling for Piper, too.
I swallow against the lump in my throat and go silent as I take in the vision before me, my heart crashing so fucking hard in my chest, it physically hurts.
“Do you want a ponytail?” Piper asks quietly as Maddie pets the pup’s wet fur.
Maddie nods, and Piper combs her long blond curls back and wraps an elastic around it. “You are so pretty, Maddie,” Piper says and drops a small kiss onto her cheek.
Maddie touches Piper’s face and mouths the word, “Pretty.”
My heart stalls. Outside of the night she talked in her sleep, that’s the closest I’ve seen her come to actually saying anything.
“Thank you,” Piper says, her voice a bit shaky. “Now let’s go get that ice cream.”
Maddie rushes to the door, and I step aside to give her clearance. Piper comes more slowly, her gaze never leaving mine. Our hands connect as she exits the room, and we need no words to express how we’re both feeling about Maddie’s progress.
We leash the pup and step out into the bright sunshine, silence falling over us, all lost in our own thoughts as we walk to the very busy dog park. Once there, Maddie lets the pup off her leash, and I get the ice cream cones. As I wait in line, Gabriela comes rushing up to me, pawing at me like she always does.
“Lucas, where have you been hiding yourself? I’ve not seen you in weeks.”
“Been busy.”
She eyes me. “Have you been taking care of yourself, eating properly?”
I nod. “Thanks to Piper, yes.”
She pinches her lips like she’d just eaten something sour. “That American girl has no idea how to take care of a man like you. I can’t even imagine the meals she’s preparing. What you need is a good, old-fashioned, baked empadão.”
“We’re doing just fine,” I tell her.
“Nonsense.”
The line for ice cream moves, and I look through the crowd to find Piper watching me, carefully. I take her in, as well as my other two girls.
Yeah, that’s right, all three girls are mine. I’m in love with them all. Possession races through me, and my heart fills with love and forgiveness. When I exhale, I can feel all my tension, the guilt over losing my wife, go with it, freeing me. Feeling like a new man, I can’t help but smile, despite the fact that Gabriela has her hands all over me.
I put my hands over Gabriela’s to remove them from my chest, and Piper tears her gaze away as the pup takes off running. She and Maddie go after the surprisingly fast pup, and my heart beats double time in my chest. Mine. Piper is supposed to leave tomorrow, but I’m not ready to let her go. I’m sure Maddie isn’t, either. Piper’s touch and presence have been like a healing balm to our souls.
Problem is, I flat out told her I wasn’t ready for more, and she flat out told me she was off relationships and wasn’t looking for a ready-made family. The last three weeks have been incredible. Having sex with Piper has changed my life. But what can I do to convince her I am ready for more—outside the bedroom—and that being with her has helped me let go of the guilt and start living again? What can I do to convince her to give another relationship a try? Then again, how can I ask her to give up her life back in America and stay with me?
What if she doesn’t want the same things I do?
What if she does?