Tonight they were having barbecue by the pool, Dad would be back any second with the supplies. Piper physically blocked Calista from the grill. “We need the pit tonight.”
“But.” Calista opened her mouth and looked from her tool bag to the grill with an expression of the deprived.
Piper shook her head. “You can work on the element tomorrow.”
Calista opened her palm. “But we’re using it tonight.”
Reasonable expression. Piper wasn’t falling for it. When Calista was caught up in a mechanical riddle, she lost her sense of time. “Exactly. You’ll do a quick tune-up, and the grill will be done in an hour or Thursday. That doesn’t work for me. Remember the dry, chewy microwave brisket of 2020? We’re not doing that.”
Calista pouted and titled her head accessing the memory. “That was bad,” she conceded, went to her spot at the table, and took out her laptop.
Barbeque pit now safe, Piper could approach the fun topic. “Dahlia’s getting some of her friends together to go to the Vegas game and the party after. “Want to go?”
Calista didn’t look up from her screen. “Will the team captain be there?”
Piper lifted the lid on the grill and added hickory chips. “He’ll be at the game at least.”
“True. I’m in.”
“Fun.”
* * *
Piper came out of her Vegas suite bedroom in a blue swing dress and met Dahlia in the sunken living room. “Thanks for this.” She did a cheery spin, making the wispy fabric flutter, took a mimosa from the silver tray, and tapped her glass to her cousin’s. “Cheers.”
“Cheers.” Dahlia looked adorable in a coral mini dress with peach-hued makeup and a happy expression. “Dodo has calmed down. He wants us to meet him in his suite. He has a gift for the star players.”
A thrill rushed through her. That meant she’d see Mikah. Piper took a sip of the drink and worked on her expectations. She and Mikah weren’t together. Still, she hadn’t seen him with anyone else. “Cool. What is it?”
“I didn’t know.” Dahlia pushed out her lip. “To take work off me, he had Willow help him out.”
Dahlia was in charge of special programs. Willow was so intrusive. A twitch of jealousy flitted through her. Piper let out a breath. Stop. This weekend was about fun. “Let’s go check that out.”
They went down the hall to Dodo’s suite, which had an identical layout as theirs.
Four of the stars sat on the circular couch, and her gaze stopped on Mikah. He wore khaki trousers and a t-shirt but elevated the high-end designer by his build and sheer presence. No wonder he had so many product endorsements. She forced her gaze away and smiled in greeting at Rookie, Kiernan, and Liam. The guys had been killing it on the ice, they deserved whatever was in the black boxes on the coffee table. There was also a cream envelope with a hot pink bow, that had to be for Dahlia.
She’d have to tell Dodo later that Dahlia preferred peach to pink, or at least a peachier pink.
Piper’s gaze drifted back to Mikah. He was staring at her legs. He scooted in, making room for her, and patted the cushion.
Nice. Delight wiggled through her. Piper sank beside him and breathed in his masculine cologne. She crossed her legs to confirm her theory. His gaze tracked the motion. Yep, smoothing the moisturizer on her legs had been worth the extra time.
“Now that you’re all here.” Dodo grabbed the envelope and passed it to Dahlia. “Three, two, one, go.”
The men opened their boxes.
Inside were puck belt buckles—round, black, ostentatious.
Piper turned her back to the host and met Mikah’s gaze.
His eyes narrowed.
Maybe the guys thought they were cool. Sure, they worked out four hours a day for flat abdomens and wanted their midsections to protrude. Hah. Piper faked an appreciative smile, arched her eyebrows, and nodded.
Mikah gave a slight shake of his head, warning her to stop teasing him.
Her smile grew.