“Oh, Pipe, it is. He is fantastic, amazing, so freaking hot, and Lord, I’ve never been this happy. It’s only been a week, I know, but it feels like months. He makes me feel so good, and I just like him a lot.”
Piper looked pained but still smiled. “Good, I’m glad he does,” she said. “You deserve it.”
“Thanks, but now I feel bad because I want you to be happy too,” Audrey said sadly.
Piper shrugged her shoulders. “Like you said, he’ll come. I just gotta dust my shoulders off and try again. You did and you’re happy now. Mine will come. I just can’t give up.”
“That’s right. Don’t give up.”
It might have taken a hundred jerks, Audrey thought, but she had finally found a good guy. One who rocked her world and was waiting for her at that very moment. But she couldn’t leave Piper yet. Even if her friend seemed a little better than when she’d arrived, she knew that Piper still needed her.
“Wanna go for dinner?”
“Didn’t Tate just get home? I know Jakob did. That’s why I have Allison, so Harper and Jakob can enjoy each other for a moment.”
“Yeah, but he’s taking a shower and stuff,” Audrey said with a wave of her hand. Tate would understand; she would text him and tell him she would be late.
As Audrey knew she would, Piper nodded. “Thanks, that would be great.”
Spending time with Allison and Piper probably wasn’t her best idea, Audrey reflected, because when she was around little kids, she yearned to have her own. It was something about their little faces, hands, and toes that got her every time. She wondered what it would be like to feel a baby move inside her, to see it come into the world and then help it grow. As she drove home and tears sprang to her eyes, she shook her head, hoping to shake the thought away. There was no reason to think about things she couldn’t change, not when there was a man at home who was waiting for her.
When she pulled into her driveway, it was already dark, but she could see Tate sitting on the porch with a mug in his hand. Her face felt like it was going to break, she was smiling so wide as she rushed to get out of the car and into his arms. He was already making his way toward her, and then she was out of the car and in his arms, his lips on hers. Lifting her from the ground, Tate deepened the kiss, his beard tickling her chin. She had missed him so much. When they separated and he smiled down at her, his grin was so wide it made her breathless.
“I have missed you,” he declared, then pressed his forehead to hers.
“And I’ve missed you,” she said back, stroking her fingers along his jaw, “so much.”
“I have something special for you in the house,” he whispered against her nose. “I hope you don’t have plans tonight because I have a date set up for us.”
Audrey smiled. “My whole night is yours.”
“Good. I like these pants,” he said, running his hands down her butt and squeezing. She had loved the gray wool pants when she saw them too. Pairing them with a yellow sweater and Kate Spade heels, she hoped that he would like it. Smiling, she tightened her arms around his neck.
“I got sexy, just for you.”
“You are always sexy, love,” he whispered before kissing her nose. Audrey knew she couldn’t have wiped the stupid grin off her face if she tried. This man drove her wild, and she couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have found him.
Or really, since he found her and made her see that he was the one for her.
Tate set her down on her feet and then took her hand in his. “Come on,” he said leading her toward his truck.
“Oh, we’re leaving?” she asked, pointing back to her car. “Let me get my purse.”
“No, we aren’t leaving,” he said, bringing her around to the back of his truck.
When he let down the tailgate, Audrey saw a pile of blankets and pillows, along with two mugs and a canister in the back. She looked over at Tate, and he smiled.