The door swung open and Piper walked in looking fantastic. Her pint-size sister barely reached her shoulder, but she had banging curves—the prefect hourglass—and no idea how lovely she was. She’d always gone on that she was the chubby one, the plain one out of the three of them. Both Rusty and Alex tended to be on the slim side, but Pipe was all banging curves. The woman was hot. She just didn’t believe it half the time.
The calf-length red dress she wore was snug and low cut, showing off plenty of cleavage. Rusty whistled. “Whoa, woman. You look hot as hell.”
Piper blushed but didn’t try to deny it like she usually did. No, she beamed up at her. “Thanks, I went shopping with Alex last weekend, when you were staying at…” She cleared her throat. “It was on sale.”
“Hey, I’m fine.” She was so far from fine it wasn’t funny, but she didn’t want Piper to worry. She’d get over this. She had to. She just needed time. “You gussied up for anyone in particular?”
Piper shook her head, her soft blond waves bouncing around her shoulders and snorted. “Yeah, right.”
Rusty wasn’t so sure, but didn’t call her on it and sat on the end of her bed to slide on her shoes. They were kick-ass, electric blue, strappy, and breakneck high. They were her favorite and made her feel good. Anything that made her feel good at the moment she was all for.
Ignoring the ache in her chest, she focused on what she had to do. She refused to let anything ruin tonight. She had to get through this with a smile on her face. Shove all the self-pity and other bullshit aside and just be happy for her brother and best friend.
It hurt now. A lot. But she’d get over Reid Parker, she would.
She glanced up at Piper hovering in the door. “You ready to roll?”
“Well, actually, I have a quick errand to run for Alex before I go. You go on ahead, and I’ll meet you there.”
Rusty stood and grabbed her purse. “I’ll just come with you.”
Piper waved a hand. “No, no. It’s better if you go on ahead. Alex might need your help. We can’t leave her to deal with all those snooty bitches on her own.”
This was Alex and Deacon’s second engagement party. The first had been a small group of close friends, a load of alcohol, good music, and a lot of laughing. This was the official one, to appease all Deke’s business associates, which were numerous. Being the entrepreneur he was, he had a lot going on, owned a lot of businesses, dealt with a lot of different people. Alex hadn’t loved the idea, but this was her world now, and she had to play the game. A few of the wives had given her a hard time when she’d first started seeing Deke. Alex had held her own, but Piper was right, she couldn’t leave her to those catty bitches on her own.
“I’ll see you there soon?”
Piper beamed at her. “Yup.”
Right, time to plaster on her happy face.
Reid was talking to Jackson, one of his boys, about a job they had coming in the next day, when Jackson’s gaze moved behind him, locking on something over his shoulder. The guy’s mouth dropped open. “Jesus.”
Reid turned to see what had the man distracted and cursed.
He didn’t blame the poor bastard for losing his train of thought. Rusty’s little sister was striding toward them, cheeks flushed, dressed to the nines. She was curvy as hell, short, cute as a button. The red dress she had on suited the hell out of her.
She didn’t stop until she was standing right in front of him, head tipped way back, gaze locked on his. “We need to talk,” she said. “Let’s go.”
The woman meant business, and he wanted no part of it. He crossed his arms. “I don’t think we have anything to discuss, Piper.”
“You can talk to me if you want, sweetheart,” Jackson said beside him, eyes still glued to her.
Her brows shot up. “Um…”
Reid turned to the guy and shook his head. “Give us a minute.” Jackson chuckled but didn’t push his luck, and with one last look, he left them on their own.
Reid did not want to be on his goddamn own with her. He certainly did not want to hear what she’d come to say. “I’m kind of busy here, Piper. It’s late, and we still have work to do before closing.”
They were all working overtime to get a job done, a job they couldn’t really fit in but one he’d taken on anyway because he’d rather be at work late into the night than home alone. Every room in the house made him think of Rusty, his sheets still smelled of her skin. He couldn’t bring himself to change the damn things.
“I think you’ll make time for this.” Then she spun on her heel and strode to his office.
He got the feeling she didn’t plan on leaving anytime soon, at least not until she said what she’d come to say. He cursed again and followed her, shutting the door behind him. “You need to make this quick.”
Hands fisted at her sides, Piper stared up at him, gaze sharp, pissed. She was sweet, had a soft heart. He knew that much from Rusty, had seen it himself. But right now she was not in a sweet mood. This was a woman on a mission. And he would bet everything he had, everything he’d worked for, that he did not want to hear what was about to come out of her mouth.
“You look like shit,” she said finally. She also looked fuckin’ ecstatic about it. “Any reason for that, Reid? Any reason why you look as though you haven’t slept in a week?”
“I told you. We’re busy.” Yeah, they were busy, but that wasn’t why he wasn’t sleeping, and she knew it as well as he did.
Hands on hips, she looked down at the floor and shook her head. “Rusty has looked after me all our lives, did you know that? Even before our mother left. She stuck up for me, hugged me when I was hurt, when my heart had been broken.” She lifted her chin, blond hair bouncing around her face. “She used to say ‘Pipe, they aren’t worth it. No man is worth that kind of pain.’”
Reid gritted his teeth, waited for her to let him have it, wanting her to get it over with. He was hanging on by a thread where Rusty was concerned. Twice he’d gotten into his car with the intention of going to her, begging her to take him back. Twice he’d just barely managed to fight it. He couldn’t take much more. “I get it, Piper, you’re pissed at me…”
Her wide baby blues locked on his. “She thought you were worth it, Reid. She thought you were more than worth it.” She crossed her arms. “You were the first man she ever felt that way about, and now…after what happened, I think you might just be the last.”
His entire body seized. Fuck. His heart stopped in his chest for a few seconds, then kicked into action, hard and pounding against the back of his ribs. “You don’t understand…”
“No, I don’t. I don’t understand how you could let her go, how you could treat her like she was nothing. The sad thing is, if you’d given her time, given her the chance, she would have made you feel like you were everything. You don’t know what you had, Reid. No idea what you threw away when you decided to do what you did. So, no, I don’t understand. But I do know that you’ll live to regret it.”
“Piper…” His voice came out nothing but a rasp. Every word out of her mouth was chipping away at his self-control, tearing him up inside because he knew this. Because he knew what he’d had. Rusty had made him feel all of it…and more.
“Letting you into her life was hard for her. She took a risk, being with you. I think you know that. But I’ve always thought my sister was a good judge of character, and I think there’s more to this than you’re letting on. If that’s the case…if that’s true? Then maybe it’s time you man the hell up and stop running scared. It’s time you took a risk, for her. If anyone’s worth it, it’s Rusty. I think you know that, too.”
Jesus. This woman was annihilating him.
“My sister won’t come to you. If you decide to sit back and let her go, you won’t get a second chance. You might see her across the room at car shows. She might even say hello, but she’ll lock you out, and you’ll never get back in.”