Jaeger grinned. “He’ll high-five me and tell me I scored?” When Piper didn’t smile at his joke, he sighed. “Honey, he’s still a baby. He’s not going to remember a damn thing.”
Piper’s blush started on her chest and inched up her throat. “Sorry. I’m not good at this morning-after stuff.”
Jaeger squeezed her knee as he sat up. “Just relax, okay? It’s all good.” He stood up, walked over to the window and pulled the drape, keeping to the side so he didn’t show the good residents of Brooklyn everything he had to offer. And because he was in Piper’s bed and she was hot, what he had was impressive.
He loved fresh air, so he cracked the window an inch and sighed at the gush of rain-tinged wind drifting into the room. Piper pulled the comforter up around her shoulders and tossed him an are-you-crazy look.
“I’ve spent too many hours in dank, moldy, stuffy caves and tunnels, so fresh air is like perfume to me.”
“City air isn’t the freshest air on the planet,” Piper pointed out.
Jaeger smiled and took another deep breath before closing the window. He walked back to her, told her to scoot over and slid into bed, shoulder to shoulder and thigh to thigh with her. He felt her tremble, one of those little shudders that rushed through women when they were turned on, and he swallowed his smile. He knew how she felt. All she had to do was breathe and he wanted to slip inside.
“So, what’s on your to-do list today?” Jaeger asked, his hand on her slim thigh. He felt her sharp intake of breath and smiled. Yeah, by the grace of God and sleeping babies, he’d have her again shortly.
“Um, not a lot. I thought I’d take Ty running if it doesn’t rain.”
“He’s just started to crawl, so aren’t you expecting a bit much?”
“I run. He’s in his stroller... Oh, you’re joking,” Piper said, shaking her head. “Sorry, it’s a bit early and I need coffee to wake me up.”
Or you need a man to make you smile more, someone you can laugh with, to tease you. Not that he could be that man, but the thought of another man doing that made him... God, enough!
“I also need to contact my mom’s relatives. Maybe they have some info on my great-uncle, something to help us understand how he came to own the stones.”
“That’s a good idea.”
“Um, so do you want to, uh, maybe come back later and we can look through some more boxes?” Piper asked.
He wished he could, but Moreau’s Ball was that night, a must-attend event. Yeah, the Moreaus were their closest competitors, but the Ballantynes and the Moreaus had a cordial though competitive relationship. Each Ballantyne sibling had received one of the coveted invitations, and not to attend would be, in Connor’s words, very bad form. Jaeger would love to take Piper as his date; apart from the fact that he enjoyed being with her, he knew she’d enjoy the spectacle of the ball, the elaborate designs and the drama Morgan and Riley Moreau brought to the event.
But that was impossible. Piper didn’t socialize in those circles, and there would be a lot of speculation about who she was and why she was with him. The press would want to know, and if he didn’t give them the information, they’d go and dig for it. He couldn’t risk anyone finding out about the stones before they sold, and neither did he want anyone digging into Piper’s life. They’d realize she was a single mom, which would raise a dozen more questions, the biggest one being why he would be dating a single mom when he’d told the world, on numerous occasions, he wasn’t the marrying and daddy type.
God, it would be a nightmare and a headache he didn’t need. No, it was better to keep his relationship—or whatever this was—with Piper a secret for as long as possible.
“Sorry, Piper, but I have plans. I could come around tomorrow afternoon. I have a breakfast date with my siblings in the morning.”
“Oh.” He felt her sigh and sensed she wanted to ask what his plans were, whether he was seeing someone else. He braced himself, waiting for the questions.
Instead of speaking, Piper dropped her head and rested her temple on the ball of his shoulder. “Okay, no worries. I’ll see you if and when I see you.”