My phone vibrated again, the seventh time since I'd pulled into the driveway only twenty minutes ago, and I muttered a curse before muting it. Again.
Apparently, seeing my wife again for the first time in six years wasn't an occasion that Danny Abadía deemed worthy of going offline for. But I had nothing more to say to him on the matter. Four meetings over just as many days to assuage the fears of an antsy board of directors and he still wasn't satisfied. Well, I had better things to do. Like reacquaint myself with the woman who saved my life back in college, the one who made all of this even possible, the only reason there even was a board of directors and an upcoming video game release. I was more nervous to see her than I'd been for any one of those bullshit meetings and the half empty bottle of scotch in front of me was every indication.
"Luisa," I called to the maid that had served me for years. "Take this away."
I gestured at the scotch and she rushed forward to do as I bid, taking the bottle and bustling away before I could change my mind. I took a breath and glanced down at my phone, tapping the screen as if I were looking for something. Ten missed calls. Seven from Danny. Two from Ben. And one from Lola. I sighed, taking another sip of scotch.
"What? No cherry slurpees?" someone asked. I nearly choked on my drink, caught by surprise. I set the glass down and looked up to see Piper.
She was wearing a pair of ripped skinny jeans that hugged her legs in a way that made me unable to stop watching them as she took a few steps forward to join me at the table. Her grey v-neck was slouchy so that I good view as she leaned over to sit. Her golden necklace, the one I remembered from college, the one that her mother had given to her as a birthday present on her sixteenth birthday, glittered in its simplicity. Her ears were pierced again and again from lobe to helix and the hint of a tattoo poked out just over her breastbone. I narrowed my gaze and took another sip of my scotch, trying not to let my mind wander too far into the arena of how I might get a better view of that ink.
I had changed. I knew that because I had made an effort to do so. I'd gotten in shape, had my vision corrected, started wearing tailored suits and drinking twenty year old scotch. I could tell she'd noticed but was trying very hard not to.
But she had changed too. Thankfully, not as much as I had.
She'd always seen me as a friend back in college and we were, the closest friends. But I would never dare to tell her just how happy I'd been at the prospect of marrying her. And not just for the green card that I so desperately needed. If I was being honest, I'd always harbored a secret bit of disappointment that this marriage had never been consummated. Because she'd always been beautiful. Dark hair to match those big, dark eyes. Porcelain skin that I knew was smooth to the touch. Enticing curves accentuated by hip-hugging jeans and tight blouses. She was the sort of woman who had no idea how sexy she was and something about that made her even hotter. But I'd never told her that. I didn't know how. Because touching Piper felt like touching the surface of the sun. And I simply couldn't risk the burn.
"I'm sorry?" I asked, blinking as I realized that she'd asked a question and I, in my creepy staring, hadn't bothered to answer.
She smiled and I nearly swore at what it was doing to me. She nodded her head in the direction of my drink.
"Too mature for slurpees, now?" she asked again and I grinned.
"No one is too mature for slurpees," I replied. She chuckled and my smile broadened. Oh, how I'd missed that sound.
"So," she said from across the table, her tone taking on an air of business as Luisa delivered the empanadas. "I'm assuming you also got a call from the spirited Agent Janine Ashley?"
"Not how I would describe her," I replied, peering up at her as she reached for an empanada. "But yes. I did."
"So what's the plan? Assuming you have one."
I did. I had several, actually. But they all depended on her. And I needed her to know that she had a choice in this.
"Piper," I started and she seemed caught off guard at hearing me say her name. She looked up at me and, as our eyes met, her lips parted slightly. I couldn't help the way my gaze was drawn to them, coudln't stop my imagination from running wild at the sight of them, and she noticed. She cleared her throat and sat back in her chair and I returned my gaze to her eyes, internally cursing myself. The last thing I needed was to scare her off the moment she walked through the door. "You've sacrificed so much of yourself, so much of your life, on behalf of this ruse of ours and, while I am more thankful than you could ever possibly know–"
"I haven't," she blurted then, interrupting me. "Sacrificed, I mean."
I cocked my head, waiting for her to explain. Her lips parted once and then again as she tried to formulate the words she wanted to say to me. Finally, she sighed in exasperation and fell back in her seat.
"To be honest, Lucas, I forgot we were married."
The words hung between us for a moment while I stared back at her in shock. Her cheeks tinged pink with embarassment as she realized what she'd said and how she said it. Then, finally, I burst out laughing. Her brow furrowed and she watched me, confused, as I regained control of myself, dabbing my mouth with a cloth napkin and sitting back in my seat, looking her over.
"How is that possible, Piper?" I asked. "I mean, there have been no... complications on your end? No man you've fallen in love with and had to explain that you were already married? No questions from your parents about how often we see each other or even flagged fields on paperwork and tax returns?"
She sighed, rubbing her temples as if I'd just gifted her with the biggest migraine she'd ever had.
"Honestly, I think I've just been willfully ignoring it. My accountant goes my paperwork. In fact, he might be the only person in New York who actually knows I'm married. My mom stopped asking years ago and I don't talk to my dad. As for guys..."
She trailed off, blushing again. I liked when she did that. It was cuter than it should have been.
"Well, let's just say they aren't exactly lining up around the block," she finished.
I looked her over from head to toe, taking my time in my examination. She watched me, squirming a bit in her seat at the intensity of my gaze. But then I smiled and she seemed to melt a bit.
"Pity for them," I drawled. She blinked back at me.
"Rules," she spat and I raised a brow. "We need rules for– if I'm going to stay here with you while we get all of this ironed out."
I couldn't help the smile on my lips. I'd gotten to her enough to cause a retreat. That was something, at least.
"Rules," I repeated, relaxing in my seat as I took a sip of my scotch and waved for her to continue.
"We get our story straight and we stick to it. I'll come with you to a few company events. It would be good to get ourselves out there, in your world, to prove that we're in... a loving marriage," she swallowed the last words as if they were poison and I raised a brow as I swirled the remaining liquor in my glass. "No interactions with the feds that we don't tell each other about. No more directing your servants to pull me into things I'm not aware of. No dating other people."
"Agreed," I told her, sitting forward and starting to rise from my seat.
"No sex," she blurted.
I froze. My eyes met hers and she visibly gulped but held her ground. I allowed my lips to spread into a slow, lazy grin and let my voice drop an octave as I answered.
"I wasn't aware that was on the table, cariño," I drawled, my voice dripping with that masculine sensuality that I knew drove women wild.
"It's not," she replied, firmly. There was a ferocity in her eyes that I couldn't help but admire and I smiled as I remembered what I liked most about Piper Clark. She was not a woman to be crossed, nor was she one who could be tamed. And yet, there was nothing I wanted more in the world.
"As you wish," I told her, holding my hands up in surrender as I walked toward her but then I reached over for an empanada, the sleeve of my suit jacket just barely brushing her exposed arm and I could hear the hitched breath as she took it. I couldn't help the smirk on my lips as I turned away, headed for my office and a late night of distracted work. "See you in the morning, bella."