Not just her clothes, although it was nice to have her full wardrobe back. But her knickknacks. Her perfumes, her bedspreads, her shoe display case and fashion scarves. And as soon as they’d gotten home to Westport—okay, fine, after a rough, sweaty quickie on the living room couch—he’d taken the items upstairs and made the room . . . theirs.

Her super-masculine sea captain now slept under a pink comforter. His aftershave was sandwiched in between nail polish bottles and lipsticks, and he couldn’t seem happier about the feminine clutter.

They’d only had a few days of officially living together before his trip, but they’d been the best days of her life. Watching Brendan brush his teeth with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist, feeling his eyes on her as she bartended, pancakes in bed, shower sex, gardening together in their backyard, shower sex. And best of all, his whispered promise in her ear every morning and night that he would never, ever let her go again.

Piper flopped back against the pillows and sighed dreamily.

He’d be pulling into Grays Harbor in just a few hours, and she couldn’t wait to tell him every shenanigan that had happened in Cross and Daughters since he’d been gone. Couldn’t wait to smell the salt water on his skin and even continue their conversation about someday . . . someday having children.

He hadn’t forgotten Piper’s attempt to bring up the subject on the night of their argument. They’d tried to discuss it on four separate occasions since getting home, but as soon as the word “pregnant” was uttered, Piper always ended up on her back, Brendan bearing down on her like a freight train.

So. No complaints.

Fanning her face, Piper climbed out of bed and went through her morning routine of jogging and walking Abe to the museum. When she got home an hour later, Hannah was just zipping her packed suitcase, and Piper’s stomach performed an uncomfortable somersault.

“I’m going to miss you,” Piper whispered, leaning a shoulder against the doorjamb.

Hannah turned and dropped down onto the edge of the bed. “I’ll miss you more.”

Piper shook her head. “You know . . . you’re my best friend.”

Her sister seemed caught off guard by that, giving a jerky nod of her head. “You’re mine. You’ve always been mine, too, Pipes.”

“If you hadn’t come . . .” Piper gestured to their surroundings. “None of this would have happened. I wouldn’t have figured it all out on my own.”

“Yes, you would have.”

Piper blinked rapidly to keep the tears at bay. “You ready to head to the airport?”

Hannah nodded, and—after kissing the Pioneer record player good-bye—she wheeled her suitcase to the front of the house. Piper opened the door to let her sister through, frowning when Hannah pulled up short. “What’s that?”

“What’s what?”

Piper followed her sister’s line of vision and found a brown parcel, in the shape of a square, leaning up against the porch. It definitely hadn’t been there when she returned from her run. She stooped down and picked it up, inspecting the delivery label and handing the box to her sister. “It’s for you.”

Letting go of the handle of her suitcase, Hannah pried open the cardboard, revealing a cellophane-wrapped record. “It’s . . . oh.” Her throat worked. “It’s that Fleetwood Mac album. The one that spoke to me at the expo.” She tried to laugh, but it came out choked. “Fox must have tracked it down.”

Piper gave a low whistle.

Hannah continued to stare down at the album. “That was so . . . friendly of him.”

It was definitely something. But Piper wasn’t sure “friendly” was the right word.

Several beats passed, and Piper reached over to tuck some hair behind her sister’s ear. “Ready to go?” she asked softly.

“Um . . .” Hannah visibly shook herself. “Yeah. Yeah, of course. Let’s go.”

A couple of hours later, Piper stood on the dock and watched the Della Ray approach, her pulse going faster and faster the closer it came, white wake spreading out around the vessel like rippling wings. The crew’s significant others, mothers, and fathers stood around sipping coffee in the cool fall weather, speculating on the trip’s haul. They’d been kind to Piper this afternoon, but more important, she was learning to be kind to herself.

Learning to love herself, just as she was.

Frivolous and silly on occasion, determined and stubborn on others. When she was mad, she raged. When she was sad, she cried.

And when she was happy, like she was in that moment, she threw her arms open and ran right toward the main source, letting him sweep her away . . .

Acknowledgments

This book was my mental escape during the Great Quarantine of 2020 and will always have a special place in my heart. When everything got too overwhelming, I was able to close my office door and travel to Westport to help two people fall in love—and I’m very grateful for it. I couldn’t have written this book without my husband, Patrick, who kept a confused nine-year-old occupied without the benefit of school or any sense of normalcy for months on end.

Thank you, as well, to my friends—Nisha, Bonnie, Patricia, Michelle, Jan, and Jill—who bolstered my spirits via text or socially distanced visits, from the curb, while I shouted from the porch in sketchy pajamas. Thank you to the character Alexis Rose from Schitt’s Creek, whom I fell so madly in love with that I needed to give her a happily ever after via Piper. Thank you to the essential workers and medical personnel who worked tirelessly at the risk of their health throughout 2020 and beyond. You are heroes. As always, thank you to my fantastic editor, Nicole Fischer; my agent, Laura Bradford; and, of course, the readers who continue to read my stories. I treasure each and every one of you.

About the Author

Photo by Nisha Ver Halen

New York Times bestselling author TESSA BAILEY aspires to three things: writing hot and unforgettable character-driven romance, being a good mother, and eventually sneaking onto the judging panel of a reality-show baking competition. She lives on Long Island, New York, with her husband and daughter, writing all day and rewarding herself with a cheese plate and Netflix binge in the evening. If you want sexy, heartfelt, humorous romance with a guaranteed happy ending, you’ve come to the right place.

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Announcement

Keep an eye out for Hannah’s story in . . .

 

Hook, Line, and Sinker

 

Coming early 2022!

Read on for a bonus scene featuring Hannah and Fox!

Bonus Scene

Damn.

This pint-sized girl with freckles had just gone toe-to-toe with the captain. Still looked spitting mad, too, underneath the brim of her red baseball cap.

It was a good thing Fox knew enough about women to wipe the amusement from his face. Hannah, the new girl in town, had briefly turned her wrath on him outside the Red Buoy, and he wasn’t eager to revisit the moment. Neither was his dick, which had momentarily retreated into itself like a hermit crab at the rare display of displeasure in his company.