“… oh wow! Look at that!”
“What?” asked Laura. Then she smiled. “Which one?”
“Both!” said Piper with a laugh. The two men walking across the deck of the restaurant were both damned hot. “But if I had to choose, it’d be Big Sandy before Big Gray.” They were both tall and built. The one with the sandy hair and blue eyes had a friendlier air about him than the other, more intense, gray-haired one. “Oh!” Her eyes widened as a thought struck her, and she turned to look at Laura. “Tell me that’s not your Smoke?”
Laura shrugged and grinned at her. “Sorry, no can do. And I think you just gave Cameron a new nickname. Big Sandy. It suits him.” It did. He was broad shouldered and muscular—big, and sandy.
“Wow!” muttered Piper as they got closer. “And I thought they only grew ’em like that in Texas.”
Laura laughed and got to her feet as the guys reached the table. Smoke snaked an arm around her waist and pecked her lips. “Hey, lady.”
“Hi.” She smiled at Cameron. “It’s good to see you. I’d like you both to meet my oldest friend, Piper.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you; I’m Cameron Hamilton.” He held out his hand.
Piper shook with him. His hand was warm; his grip firm. His blue eyes held hers, and all she could do was stare back into them. She couldn’t speak. All the air had rushed out of her lungs. Shivers ran up and down her spine. She smiled, and he smiled back, his full lips curling up at the edges. He looked as dumbstruck as she felt. She wanted to speak, but she didn’t want to break the moment. It felt as though the whole world had melted away and they were floating somewhere above the crimson and gold ripples on the lake. His fingers tightened around hers, and she squeezed back, holding on tight, not wanting to let go.
Smoke broke the lengthening silence. “It’s great to finally meet you, Piper. Laura’s told me so much about you. I don’t suppose there’s any chance you might stick around, is there?” Laura raised an eyebrow at him, and he smiled. “I need more pilots. I can get as many novice guys as I like, but from what Laura tells me, you must have a ton of pilot-in-command time, and it’d be nice to have a friend on the team.”
Piper grinned. “If you’d have asked me yesterday, I would have said no way, but,” she smiled at Laura, “it’s starting to sound tempting.” Very tempting indeed since Cameron had shown up. “Especially if you need someone,” she added. “I wouldn’t want to think you were taking me on just to be nice.”
Cameron found his voice again. He laughed. “You’ve got no worries there. He’s successful because he does what’s best for his business.” His smile faded. “I mean, he does do things to be nice, too.”
Smoke punched his arm. “It’s okay, we knew what you meant.” He turned back to Piper. “I like to find win-wins for everyone involved. I wouldn’t hire you—or anyone—just as a favor. It should make sense for the business, too. If you want to think about it, then bear in mind that not only could it be an opportunity for you, but it’d also help me out, and I know Laura would love to have you around.”
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 it was time 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?”
Piper nodded. “I’d love to.”
Cameron smiled as he followed his brother’s gaze. “I just spotted a couple of old friends. It’s been a long time since I saw Jack and Pete.”
“Should we go over?” asked Laura.
“I’d love to,” said Cameron. He turned to Piper wanting to be sure that she was okay with it. “What do you think?”
She nodded. “I’m always up for making new friends.”
As they made their way across the deck, Cameron wondered whether she’d be interested in having him as a friend. He pursed his lips. Was he interested in being her friend? Or was he just kidding himself? Was he as bad as Mary Ellen thought he was, and simply in denial about it?
~ ~ ~
The next morning Piper leaned on the railing of the deck over the water and watched as the sun peeked over the mountains. She loved to watch the sunrise whenever she got the chance. It helped her clear her mind—and it seemed her mind needed some clearing this morning. She’d had a great time last night. It was so good to be with her oldest friend again. She and Laura may not have seen each other for a few years, but it didn’t matter. Their friendship was like that. Time and distance didn’t affect it. Laura had given her a lot to think about. Could she really just pack up and leave the little town where she’d lived her whole life? She shrugged and took a sip of her coffee. She could. There was nothing to stop her. She’d have left the place years ago if it weren’t for her mom. Now her mom was gone, and there was no reason to stay. She was living in her mom’s house—the house she’d bought for her—but it didn’t feel like home. She could put the place up for sale and go anywhere she wanted. She smiled as she looked out at the lake. She did love it here. Where else would she find so much beauty, have a good friend close by, and have the possibility of a great career move? She’d flown for the same cargo airline for the last ten years, ever since she’d gotten her commercial pilot’s license. At first, she’d thought it was a stepping stone—that she’d stay until she had enough pilot-in-command time to start applying to the regional airlines. It hadn’t worked out that way, though. Well, she’d started applying as soon as she had the hours, but she’d never been hired on by any of the airlines. At first, it had dented her confidence, but over time she’d grown to understand that it was nothing to do with her. It was the system. The airlines wanted male pilots. She shrugged. She’d pretty much accepted her fate. But now Smoke had suggested that he might be able to offer her a job. He ran a flight school; he owned a couple of private jets that he used for corporate work, and he was setting up a charter operation. That could be her perfect gig. There’d be variety and opportunity. She blew out a sigh. Maybe it was all too good to be true.
“That was a big sigh.” She spun around to see Cameron standing there, a cup of coffee in his hand and an apologetic smile on his face. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
She smiled back. “That’s okay. You didn’t. I was just lost in my thoughts.”
“Good thoughts?”
She cocked her head to one side. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had asked her what she was thinking about. “I guess.”
His smile was disarming. He came and leaned on the railing beside her and stared out at the lake. “You don’t know?”
She shrugged. “Neither good nor bad, I suppose. I was just assessing where I am, and how I got here.”
“And where you go next?”
“Yeah. That.”
“You don’t think coming here would be the right move for you? I thought you were going to talk to Cole about the possibility.”
“Actually, I was just thinking that it appears to be a great move.”
“But?”
“But that it almost seems too good to be true.”
Cameron shot her a sideways glance. “Why?”
“I don’t know. If I were to work for Smoke, I’d get to fly much more.” She smiled. “It’d be a promotion for me to fly real live passengers around instead of packages. If I were to move here, I’d get to live in this beautiful place and be near Laura and her mom and ….” She shrugged, feeling self-conscious. “It just all sounds so perfect, and I’m not sure that perfect exists.”
Cameron took a drink of his coffee and stared out at the lake long enough to make her wonder if he was going to say anything at all. Eventually, he nodded. “I’m not sure that perfect exists either. In fact, if I had to place a yes or no bet on it, I’d bet no. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t all hope to make things as perfect as we can.”
Piper nodded.
“As for it being too good to be true, it probably is.” She gave him a puzzled look, and he laughed. “It all sounds great, but if you were to make it a reality, there would be downsides, little things that niggle you. So, what I’m saying is, your idealized notion of what it sounds like probably is too good to be true. But would the reality still be good? I guess the important question is would the reality be better for you than what you have now?”
“Yes. It would. I like the way you put that. You’re right, of course. I know all the downsides of my current reality because I’ve lived it for years. If I were to move here, there will be downsides that I just don’t know about yet.”
Cameron nodded. “It’s better to try to be realistic about that.”
“I guess.” She smiled. “What downsides do you see to living in a beautiful little town, working a great job, and being near your oldest friend?”
He rubbed his chin, pretending to give it serious consideration. “There’s not much nightlife here.”
She laughed. “There’s more than I’m used to, and I don’t need much.”
“Okay. So, you’re good with small-town living?”
“I am. I love it. I don’t think I’d survive in a big city.”
“No downsides there, then, and also a known quantity for you. So, what if this great job isn’t so great?”
“I’d be doing more enjoyable work, and I don’t see how the people could possibly be any more difficult to deal with than where I am now.” Cameron raised an eyebrow, but she shook her head. “I’m not bitching about them. It’s just hard to be a woman in a man’s world.”
“And you think it’d be less of a man’s world here?”
“I don’t know. I’m guessing it can’t be all that bad, or Smoke wouldn’t have even suggested me working for him.”
“He wouldn’t. I doubt there’s a downside there.”
They both turned at the sound of voices. A family with three small children came out on to the deck of the restaurant where they were standing. Piper smiled. The little girl had a baggie full of bread. They were here to feed the ducks.
Cameron made a face at her. “Have you had breakfast yet?
“No.”
“What do you think, do you want to join me, and we’ll see if we can think of any real reasons that moving here might not be a great move for you?”
She smiled. “I’d love to have breakfast with you, but I think I’ve already decided. I’m going to talk to Smoke, and if he wants to give me a job, then I’m going to move here.”