Myles waved a hand in the general direction of the living room. “You didn’t sign up for that. I never—God. This is why I didn’t want to tangle you up with my family any sooner than I had to. I’ll understand if you want to pull out of the whole thing.”
“You need me.”
“Not at the expense of forcing you to deal with that.” He’d find another way. It wasn’t worth the risk
of losing his chance of developing something real with Piper.
“I admit that being accused of trapping you into marriage via pregnancy was not my finest moment this week. But it’s not enough to make me back out.”
Relief weakened his knees. But nothing was as simple as she was trying to make it.
“I want you to think about this. Really think. Because this changes things. If we go through with this now, it’s no secret. Everybody will know. We’ll be married on every level. Same house, same bed, same name. It won’t be as simple as you planned if things don’t work out.”
She studied him for several moments before turning away to face the window. Myles felt his heart sink.
“Did you mean it?” Piper turned back to look at him. “What you said about why you were marrying me?”
He couldn’t lie to her. “Every word. I hope that doesn’t freak you out. I know it’s a lot and it’s soon and—”
She crossed the room in two strides and pressed her lips softly to his. “It’s nice to know I’m not the only one on this crazy train.” Her fingers combed through his hair. “I want to marry you, Myles. For real. I want to live with you and wake up with you and take your name. And while your grandmother kind of terrifies me, maybe we should take her up on her offer. It might pacify everybody, and we need her on your side.”
“Sure?” He knew a full-blown wedding wasn’t what she wanted.
“Positive.”
They grinned at each other.
“You’re aware you’re unleashing the kraken, right?”
Her mouth quirked. “Yeah.”
“Okay then.”
The living room was strangely silent as they came back, still hand-in-hand. Myles sighed and worked up a smile for his grandmother. “Well, it looks like you’re planning a wedding.”
~*~
What did a girl wear to meet her prospective in-laws?
Piper stood in her closet, pondering that question, knowing she needed to pick something and finish getting ready for the engagement dinner.
Yesterday had been hideous. Mortifying. Infuriating. She’d never been so embarrassed in her life as when Suzanne Stewart had calmly asked how far along she was. Her parents, rather than jumping to immediate denials or objections had just looked at her.
Right, because she was that girl? Who would’ve thought that their silence could take a bigger piece of her than all the years of little jibes and digs. She’d always known she was a disappointment to them, but she’d never have imagined they’d believe that of her. It was a harsh blow to their already strained relationship.
And Myles had come to her rescue like an avenging angel in flannel and jeans. No hesitation. She’d never seen him angry before. Seeing it, not because his own plans stood to be derailed but on her behalf, had been magnificent. But Piper wasn’t exactly in the mood for a reprisal tonight. As it drew near to time to go, her nerves began to jitter. Would the rest of Myles’ family be that...judgmental? In all their intensive getting to know each other the past week and a half, he’d been relatively close-lipped about them, saying only that he was the black sheep. If his parents and siblings were anything like his grandmother, no wonder he never went home.
In two weeks, she’d be legally tied to these people. If this lunacy blew up in her face, there’d be no quiet extrication from the situation. She wouldn’t be just facing his family. She’d be facing everyone she knew, permanently marked as having failed. Divorce hadn’t seemed like that big a deal when it’d been on the down low, but now...
Selecting a classic little black dress that managed to be both conservative and sexy, Piper slipped into it. She opted for the knee-high bitch boots. The three-inch heels would give her an extra boost of confidence, along with some height. Her pearls came next—the necklace and matching earrings from her own grandmother. Then the engagement ring Myles had given her in a blanket fort.
Piper laid a hand on her fluttering belly.
There’d be no easing into this. They were about to jump into the deep end of the pool in front of a very wide, very public audience. That’d seemed like a glorious, even romantic idea yesterday, in the wake of his admission.
Until I met Piper, I didn’t even know my life was standing still. And now that I’ve realized it, I can’t wait another month to make her a permanent part of my life.
It wasn’t love exactly. But it had the potential to be, and her romantic heart had wanted to take the leap with him. Because being with him helped fill in some of the chinks left by years of trying to fit in with her family.