She Loves Me (Harmony Pointe #3) - Melissa Foster Page 0,140
rough night.”
Two policemen appeared behind them.
Great.
Piper had gone to school with Teddy Mercer, the brown-haired policeman trying not to laugh, and Ben had gone to school with the blond guy, Phil Sanders, who looked awfully confused.
“Piper?” Phil said quizzically. “Was there trouble here tonight?”
“Yeah. I didn’t have a key and needed sugar.” She shoved a handful of cake in her mouth and said, “It’s okay, Jiggs. You can eat. Unless my sister is going to have us arrested?”
“What? Nobody’s getting arrested, but what happened?” Willow crouched beside Piper, her gaze sailing over her. “And what are you wearing?”
Piper glanced down at her clothing, which was covered in crumbs and smeared with icing, as were the floor and Jiggs. She shoved a hunk of cake into her mouth, speaking accusingly around the food. “When did you get an alarm system?”
“When Mason told me to,” Willow said. “I mentioned it to you. You said it was a good idea.”
“Well, it wasn’t. You shouldn’t listen to me.” She dug into the cake with her fingers and put more in her mouth. “This is good. What is it, anyway?”
Willow looked at the demolished cake and sighed. “It was Mrs. Larson’s daughter’s birthday cake.”
Piper mumbled, “Sorry.” She looked at Jiggs and mouthed, Oops. “I’ll pay for the damages to the door and all the food, and I’ll hire cleaners.”
“You know the convenience mart is open twenty-four-seven and has doughnuts, right?” Teddy asked, earning a laugh from Zane.
Willow glared at him.
Zane mumbled an apology and ushered the police toward the back door, reassuring them everything was cool.
“Sorry about your door,” Piper said. “And your food. But . . .” Tears sprang from her eyes and she cried, “Harley proposed.” Her words came out strangled, and cake fell from her lips as she threw her arms around her sister and cried on her shoulder.
“Piper! That’s wonderful! I’ve never seen you cry happy tears! I know you’re excited, but couldn’t you have waited to celebrate with me instead of breaking down my door?”
“Happy?” She cried louder. “You know I don’t want to get married!”
“Oh no, no, no. Piper, breathe, honey.” Willow sat right down on the mess and held her, rubbing her hand down her back. “Harley loves you.”
“And I love him,” she whined. She pulled back and used the bottom of her sweatshirt to wipe her tears.
“Then why are you doing this?” Willow petted Jiggs and said, “And why did you steal his dog?”
Piper choked out a laugh. “I didn’t steal him. He hid in my truck when Harley and I were fighting. And I’m doing this because I didn’t know what else to do. You should have given me a key!”
“I did, when you renovated. Remember?”
“Shoot.” She exhaled loudly and picked up a piece of a muffin. “Sorry. I’ll fix everything.”
Jiggs ate the muffin out of her fingers.
“Glutton,” Piper said.
Jiggs cocked his head to the side.
“I think Jiggs shares your eating habits,” Willow said.
“What am I going to do, Willow? He got down on one knee and I couldn’t breathe.”
“Then maybe you do want to get married.”
“You wish. I panic at the thought of marriage. My hands sweat and my throat swells. It’s not pretty. But he wants the ring, forever, the whole deal.”
Willow moved Piper’s hair away from her face and said, “And what do you want?”
“Him! Forever. But no contract. I know that’s my own hang-up, and you and the rest of the world think I’m crazy. But it is what it is, and it’s not going to change.”
“It’s a little weird, Pipe,” she said softly.
“That’s okay. So am I. Willow, he wants to get married. I can’t hold him back from what he wants, but I love him too much to walk away.” She leaned back against the cabinets and said, “What should I do? And don’t say walk away, because I couldn’t bear to see him with another woman. I’d have to move away from Sweetwater and become a cat lady, because I’d have no friends, no job, no family, and I’d never be able to have a dog without thinking of Jiggs and Harley. And you know how much I hate cats. I don’t want to move away from him, but he probably hates me because I was a freak and bitchy. I don’t want him to hate me!” She threw her arms around Willow again, sobbing. “I want him to love me!”
Willow gasped. “I’ve got it!”
Piper sat back, her heart racing.
“Negotiate the terms, just like you do for work,” Willow