Hearing Piper’s permission, Mal’s lips met her soft, full ones. It was the sweetest of kisses with the promise of more to come. Had he been on tour, hooking up with someone, he would immediately have taken it to the bedroom, but Piper was different.

He was different with her.

Being home mellowed him; there was no need to rush, to push things to the next level. They could take their time. He sensed Piper needed that. Fighting his desire, he pulled back. Piper’s eyes met his, reflecting the emotions he felt, along with a little questioning.

“Wow,” she breathed. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Was it okay? I didn’t want to force you into anything…”

Piper’s hand covered his. “You didn’t force me.” She smiled. “And it was wonderful.”

He wanted to do it again, but respected that they needed to adjust to what just happened. “More wine?”

“Are you trying to get me drunk?”

“Or I can get some water?”

“Wine will be fine; I was teasing.”

Mal reached for the bottle of Malbec. The fact Piper hadn’t pushed him away or shouted at him must mean that she felt the same way about him. He wondered how long she had been harboring that. He watched as she curled up in one corner of the sofa, her legs tucked underneath her. He topped up her glass and went to sit next to her, gently resting a hand on her thigh.

“What did you think of the song?”

The corner of Piper’s mouth curved up into a smile. “I said I liked it.”

“Only liked it, not loved it?”

“One step at a time.”

He questioned whether she was talking about the song or their kiss. “Sure, I get it.”

They fell silent for a while, unlike their breakfasts together when they could talk about anything and everything. Not wanting things to be uncomfortable, Mal turned on the TV. It was tuned to a music channel that broke for news every so often. He had switched it on during one of those times and was surprised to see a picture of his face on screen.

“Fans are increasingly disappointed not to have heard anything from Mal Colten since he cancelled his recent tour. People are out of pocket and claim to be unable to get hold of his management company to be compensated for their unused tickets…” the presenter was saying.

“What a load of bull!” Mal switched it off and tossed the remote on the table. “I know that Boyd and Therese are on it.” He blew out a hard breath as he put his head in his hands. “I can’t believe they’re saying that.”

Piper stroked his arm. “What can you do about it though? I mean, I know it was your decision to come home, but it’s not your fault if the management company can’t sort things out, is it?”

Mal couldn’t help but smile at her naivety. It was all his fault, and he knew it. Things like this could make or break an artist’s career. If only there was some way to recoup the money for the tickets that didn’t involve him having to leave Fortune’s Bay. “I guess I’ll just have to resume the tour.”

Piper’s face fell and was replaced with a frown as she wrinkled her nose. “What if you did something here?”

It was Mal’s turn to frown. “What do you mean?”

“What if you were to do a concert here in the Bay? Over at Providence Park maybe.” Piper leaned toward him, her eyes wide as she shared her thoughts. “You could make it for locals and any tourists that happened to be here on the date. Make tickets super cheap and put any profits toward those people who paid full price for the tour tickets.”

It was an utterly crazy, ridiculous idea. It would be taking advantage of his hometown residents in order to compensate those who would have come to see him in North Carolina or Oregon, or wherever. He had never done a gig in Fortune’s Bay though, so it would definitely be a once-off. The events planner was always badgering him to do something during the annual Treasure Hunt which, until now, he had always refused to do.

It might just work.

“How on earth did you come up with that?” asked Mal.

“I always thought that the park would make a great place for a concert,” said Piper. “And you could also stream it for fans who weren’t able to come to the show.”

He couldn’t believe that Piper had come up with such a thought. While he would be making some money from the gig, it would go straight into refunds, and by allowing it to be filmed live, it would mean everyone who would have gone to a cancelled gig would be able to see it too. He grabbed Piper’s shoulders excitedly. “I’ll have to run it past Boyd, although I can’t see why he’d veto it.”

Their eyes met, sparking off each other, the excitement of what they’d come up with overwhelming. If they could pull it off… Mal realized he was already thinking of them as a couple, that they were going to do this together. He needed to make sure that was what Piper wanted.

“If we do this, we do it together, okay?” he confirmed.

Piper nodded. “I think we’ll make a great team.”

She shifted her position, so she was looking directly at him. Her hand slid around the back of his neck and took control as she leant in to kiss him. As he was about to move in for more, her lips left his and grazed a path along his jawline, behind his ear and down his neck. Her breath was featherlight as she kissed her way across his sternum and up the other side. Mal shivered involuntarily as she moved back to his lips. He twined his fingers in her hair, breathing in the familiar apple scent he loved, and pulled her toward him. He wanted to kiss her until their lips were bruised and wanting more. He wanted to kiss her long into the night. Piper moaned softly against him and he could feel that she wanted more too. Without a word, he swept her into his arms and carried her upstairs.