“About an hour drive,” he heard Hannah call in the background.
“About an hour drive,” Piper repeated. “We were trying to figure out the cost of an Uber, but then I remembered I have a hot boyfriend with a truck.” She paused. “This wouldn’t mess with any of your routines, would it?”
His gut kicked.
Routines.
Asking Piper to remain in Westport would require her to have a lot of faith in him. To take a major leap. Showing Piper how far he’d come in terms of bucking his habits might make a difference when it came time for her to decide whether or not to return to LA. If he could give her some of what she was missing in LA, he’d close the gap on that leap he’d eventually ask for.
Brendan could be spontaneous.
He could surprise her. Make her happy. Provide her with what she loved.
Couldn’t he?
Yeah. He could. Actually, he was looking forward to it.
“Why don’t we pick up your chandelier and keep driving to Seattle? We could stay the night and head back to Westport on Monday.”
Brendan lifted an eyebrow at Fox. Fox nodded, impressed.
“Really?” Piper breathed a laugh. “What would we do in Seattle?”
No hesitation. “There’s a vinyl expo at the convention center. Hannah might like it.”
“A vinyl expo?” Hannah yelped in the background, followed by the sound of feet pounding closer on the wood floor. “Oh, um . . . yeah, safe to say she’s interested.” A beat passed. “How did you even know this expo was taking place?”
Piper’s question must have been loud enough to hear through the receiver, because Fox was already shaking his head. “Fox mentioned it.” Brendan gave him the finger. “He’s going.”
The look of betrayal on his friend’s face was almost enough to shame Brendan. Almost. The chance to spend more time with his girlfriend trumped his own dishonor. God knew Piper was a distraction, and he didn’t want Hannah to be unsafe in a strange city. Piper wouldn’t, either.
“So we’d all go together?” Piper asked, sounding amused and excited all at once.
“Yeah.”
She laughed. “Okay. It sounds fun! We’ll see you tomorrow.” Her voice dropped a few octaves, emerged sounding a little hesitant. “Brendan . . . I miss you.”
His heart climbed up into his throat. “I miss you, too.”
They hung up.
Fox jabbed the air with a finger. “You owe me. Big time.”
“You’re right. I do.” Brendan headed for the door, ready for a night of planning. “How about I give you the Della Ray?”
He closed the door on his friend’s stupefied expression.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Piper had butterflies in her stomach.
Good ones.
She was going out of town today with her boyfriend. It didn’t matter if she was a little suspicious of the circumstances. Nor did it matter that, by agreeing to be his girlfriend and traveling together, she was sinking deeper into a relationship. One that might not stand the test of time, depending on whether she went back to Los Angeles sooner or later. But none of that was happening today. Or tomorrow. So she was going to kick back, relax, and enjoy the ride. And Brendan would be enjoying a few rides himself.
Piper zipped her toothbrush into her overnight bag and snickered at her own innuendo, but she shut it down when Hannah gave her a questioning look. Rein it in, horny toad.
Seriously. It was damn near uncomfortable how sexually charged she’d become over the last couple of days. Vaginal orgasms were ruining her for regular life. Even the most casual mention of Brendan and her pussy started pumping out a slow jam.
Speaking of which. “I think I’ll get waxed while we’re in civilization,” Piper said, trying to decide if she’d forgotten to pack anything. “You want to come with me?”
“Sure.” Hannah slung her stuffed backpack over one shoulder. “Just in case we go to the hotel pool or something.”
“As soon as I find out where we’re staying, I’ll schedule us.” Piper clapped her hands together. “Sisters wax date!”
“It’s all so thrilling,” Hannah deadpanned, leaning a hip against the side of the bunk bed. “Hey, Fox isn’t coming along to, like . . . babysit me. Right?”
Piper’s nose wrinkled. “Brendan said he was already going.”
“Yeah, except he didn’t know the difference between a forty-five and a seventy-eight that day at the record shop.” She narrowed her eyes. “I smell something fishy.”
“Welcome to Westport. It’s the official town aroma.” Piper braced her hands on Hannah’s shoulders. “He’s not coming to babysit you. You’re twenty-six. Anyway, why would you need a babysitter? Me and Brendan will be with you the whole time.”
Hannah’s mouth fell open. “Piper, you can’t be this naive.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I asked if Fox was coming to babysit me, I meant, is he coming to distract me so Brendan can have time alone with you and your freshly waxed box?” Now it was Piper’s mouth’s turn to fall open. “Because I definitely don’t mind that. At all. I will be among my people, and I can browse records until the cows come home. But I don’t want Fox to feel obligated to entertain me. That would kind of ruin the experience, you know?”