It really did amaze Reese the way Piper was. She changed what she wanted to be often, and always succeed at whatever she decided to do. Like now, she was a mural artist, and Reese knew that business was great. How she painted gorgeous murals for people while being the best mom ever to Dimitri was mind blowing, but she did it, and did it to the satisfaction of Nashville’s rich and famous.
“Reese, please don’t kill my husband,” Piper said with a smile on her face.
Reese returned the smile as she cut up some of her steak. When Erik recovered, he shook his head before draining his milk.
“Actually, I don’t think Phillip would mind you using him,” Erik said midway through dinner.
Reese looked up. “Phillip?”
“Yeah, my best friend, Phillip Anderson.”
The name sounded familiar, and she was pretty sure she could see his face. He was hottie, with blue eyes, blond hair, and a strong bone structure. He was actually someone that she could be attracted to, but there was no way she was going to chance sleeping with him if he was Erik’s best friend. That would cause awkwardness, and Reese couldn’t handle that.
“Phillip has enough to worry about. He doesn’t have time to have his heart broken by my man-eating twin,” Piper teased.
Reese faked a hurt look as she said, “Hey, I make sure they are satisfied before I feed!”
“You two are nuts,” Erik said with a shake of his head before looking over at Dimitri. “Nuts, I tell you. They cray cray, bud.”
Dimitri rewarded him with a sloppy grin before Piper put a spoon in his mouth.
“We are not crazy at all. Well, at least I’m not,” Piper said with a smile before scooping some more gunk out of the jar for Dimitri.
“Whatever you say, sister dear. We shared a home, remember? I’m pretty sure we are just alike,” Reese joked as Piper shook her head.
“Nope, I’m the normal one.”
Erik laughed. “If I do remember correctly, you are the one that smashed thousands of dollars’ worth of electronics not eight months ago.”
Piper pinned him with a look that had Reese trying to hold in her laughter.
“And if I do remember correctly, a certain someone deserved that because they missed their son’s ultrasound.”
Erik glared back at her, but not for long. A smile came across his face before he leaned over, kissing her lips.
“Blah, get a room—innocent eyes in here,” Reese complained as she guarded her eyes.
Piper laughed. “Dimitri watches us kiss all the time!”
“I was talking about me!”
“You, my dear, are far from innocent,” Piper teased with a grin.
That had them all laughing, while Dimitri looked at them like they were crazy.
After dinner, Reese leaned against the counter as Piper washed the plates before handing them to Reese to dry. Erik was putting Dimitri to bed, and Reese knew it was about time for her to head out.
“Erik is leaving tomorrow morning,” Piper said. Reese could tell it bothered her. She wasn’t used to the whole hockey wife thing, but Reese had no doubt she’d catch on.
“That sucks.”
“Yeah, but it’s only for a week,” she said with a nod. “Oh, by the way, I think we are going to get a house in the city. We’ve been looking.”
Reese nodded. She had been asking Piper to move back to Nashville for months. When she first got pregnant, Piper decided to hide the pregnancy and moved out to Sweetbriar to her family friend, Elli Adler’s old house. Reese should have known something was up, but at the time, Piper wanted to be an illustrator, and said she needed the peace and quiet to draw. Really, she was pregnant and didn’t want anyone to know.
“That’s great; I can’t wait to have you and Dimitri closer to me.”
“And Erik,” Piper supplied.
“Yeah, him too,” Reese said teasingly as she dried a plate. “He’s okay, I guess. He’s growing on me.”
“He’s amazing, I love him so much.”
A small grin came across Reese face.
“Have you talked to Harper today?” Piper asked.
Reese shook her head. “Nope, what’s up?”