A phone call would do.
But it was so impersonal.
And Joe longed to see Piper’s face light up when he told her the news. He knew that he’d been too firm with her when she’d offered to help decorate his coffee shop. Why couldn’t she understand that he wanted to do it on his own? Was there something wrong with that?
She’d gone so far as to switch her running time in the morning, so they’d missed each other. And now that the plans for the festival were finalized, there was no need for them to meet each day. It didn’t help that his building was near completion, allowing him to work there—no need for his table at the Poppin’ Fresh Bakery. He’d been out of excuses to see Piper—until now.
Once she heard his news, it would put that glowing smile back on her face. Convinced this was a good idea, he decided to put his plan into action before he talked himself out of it. He didn’t even know if she was home. He checked his watch. It was past closing time for the bakery, so she might be at her apartment.
As he let himself in the back door of Piper’s building, he realized that in all of the time he’d known her that he’d never been up to her home. Nothing like the present to change that circumstance. He had to admit that he was curious to see her place.
After seeing what she’d done with the bakery by turning it into a sunny garden area, he had no doubt that her apartment would have lots of personality. Would it be black and white modern? He didn’t think so. Maybe a colorful chic décor? Or it could be more earthy tones, as in a country classic appearance?
He climbed the wooden steps that creaked just a bit with each step. At the top of the landing, he found not one, but three doors. It didn’t take much guesswork to figure out that the bright red door with a sunflower wreath had to be Piper’s. The other doors were just a basic gray that matched the trim.
He approached the colorful door, not exactly sure what he would say to her. Luckily, he was pretty good at thinking on his feet—most of the time. He clenched his hand and rapped on the door.
Moments passed, and he didn’t hear anything. Then there was a shuffling sound. He knocked again, just to be sure that she’d heard him.
“Coming.”
That was definitely Piper’s voice, but suddenly he wondered if she was alone. Why hadn’t he thought of that before? She might have company—male company. The thought didn’t sit well, not at all. But he didn’t have any claim over her. In fact, if someone else was interested in her, it would be a good thing. Wouldn’t it?
At last, the door swung open. Her eyes widened. “Joe, what are you doing here?”
“Is this a bad time?” He glanced past her to see if there was anyone in her apartment. He didn’t see anyone.
“Um, no. What did you need?”
Okay. She was acting odd. “Aren’t you even going to invite me in? I promise I have good news.”
She sighed and swung the door wide open. “Come on in.”
He stepped inside and immediately found they were, in fact, alone. He knew that it shouldn’t be such a relief to him, but it was. Because no matter how much he fought it, Piper meant a lot to him.
But could he trust her? So many people in his life had let him down. He just couldn’t afford to let someone else do that to him. But Piper was different. She was kind and thoughtful. She listened to him and didn’t judge him. Maybe this time could be different, if only he could convince her to give him another chance.
Piper closed the door. “What’s the good news?”
He didn’t want to jump straight into that discussion, not quite yet. “I like what you’ve done with the place.”
“Thanks. I like lots of color.”
“I noticed.” The only bland color in the room was the white paint on the walls. The couch was a deep royal blue with colorful, flowered pillows. The print on the curtains was brilliant pink, orange, and purple flowers. The room breathed energy, which reminded him of Piper. “Maybe I’ll have to get some decorating tips from you when I get around to redoing my apartment.”
“Sure, um, no problem.” She kept fidgeting with a bit of red material. “What did you want to tell me?”
What was going on? She’d never so blatantly tried to get rid of him before. His curiosity grew exponentially. Perhaps he’d been wrong and she was hiding someone in her bedroom. A frown pulled at his lips. “If I’m keeping you from something...or someone, I’ll go.”
“Sorry.” She sent him a small smile. “There’s no one here. It’s just that, oh, never mind. Why don’t you sit down?”
He perched on the edge of the couch as she curled up in the matching armchair. “I wanted to tell you that I spoke with my friend, and he’s willing to donate his balloon and time for the festival.”
A big smile lit up her face. “That’s wonderful. It’ll be a huge draw. I just know it. In fact, we’ll have to get some new flyers printed up with the information.”
“He’s participated in festivals before, so he knows what all is involved, including paperwork and such.”
“All the better. Make sure you thank your friend for me.”
“You can thank him yourself at the festival. I’m sure you’ll want to take a ride.”
She paused. “You know what? I will definitely do that. Thanks for letting me know.”
“I figure it was the least I could do after the way you took on the bunting. I have to admit that when you first mentioned it, I didn’t see the importance. But now I think it’ll give the festival more of a party atmosphere and hopefully loosen up people’s wallets.”
Piper glanced away and worried her adorable bottom lip.
When she didn’t say a word, he suspected there was a problem. “Piper, what’s the matter?”
“It...it’s nothing.”
Something told him that even if she needed help, her stubborn pride would keep her from asking him, so it was up to him to drag it out of her. “Piper, what is it?”
“Really, it’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“Now, I am worried. You might as well tell me, because I’m not leaving here until you do.” He leaned back on the couch and folded his arms.
♥♥♥
Why did he have to be so difficult?
Piper really didn’t want to have to fess up that the quilting circle had turned her down when she’d asked about them doing the bunting. She knew it was her fault. She’d gotten caught up with the idea, and once she’d mentioned it to Joe, she’d dug her heels in about its importance. And now that the ladies were busy with other endeavors for the festival, Piper had been spending every evening tracing patterns and cutting out triangles to make her own bunting.
She glanced across at Joe, who appeared to have taken up permanent residence on her couch. Meanwhile, he was consuming precious time that she should be using to make more bunting. She’d already accepted that she wouldn’t be able to make enough on her own. They’d just have to make do with what she could make in the evenings.
Joe sent her an expectant look.
Oh, what was the point in putting it off any longer? She leveled her shoulders and lifted her chin. “The quilting circle wasn’t able to do the bunting.”
“Oh.”
“They were already obligated to complete a king-size quilt to be raffled off, as well as a few other things.”
“And why does this have you looking so worried?”
“I...I’m not. I actually have everything under control.”
His dark brows gathered. “What does that mean?”
“I’m making the bunting—”
“You’re what? All by yourself?”
“Yes.” She lifted her chin ever so slightly. Stubborn pride refused to let her admit that she’d taken on too much.
“But you said you were going to have a group of ladies do it. How can you manage it all by yourself?”
Piper’s chin lowered. “I’m doing the best I can.”
His gaze scanned the room, stopping on the old sewing machine she’d borrowed from her mother. He got to his feet and approached the table in the corner of the room. “This looks like a lot of work.”
It was, especially after being on her feet all day at the bakery, but what choice did she have? She refused to fail. “Don’t worry. I’ve got this. I’m sure you’ve got other things to do tonight—”
“I don’t have any other plans.” He continued to examine the stacks of colorful triangles and then fingered the white bias tape.
“Surely you must be busy. Aren’t you planning to launch your opening to coincide with the festival?”
He nodded. “But I’m running ahead of schedule.”
“That’s great.” She was truly happy for him, but how was she supposed to get him out of her apartment now so she could get back to work?
“How hard is this to make?”
“Not very. Most of the work involves cutting out the triangles.”
He picked up her pattern. “So you trace this on the material and then cut?”
“Pretty much. But I line them up carefully so they share the same edge. That way, I don’t waste any material and I have to cut less.”
“Makes sense. I think maybe I could handle that.”
“But why would you want to?”
He turned to her. “Because I want to help you. You aren’t in this alone. Remember, we’re a team?”
Her gaze met his. For a moment, she got lost in the intensity of his eyes. “Do you mean that?”
“I do. You should have come to me earlier. We would have figured it out together.” His voice was deep and soothing.
For the first time in a long time, she didn’t feel alone. Sure, she knew everyone in town, but it wasn’t the same as having someone there for her, someone who cared what happened to her.
“Where do we start?” His question drew her out of her thoughts.
She glanced at the table, noticing the stacks of material all ready for her to start sewing. “How would you feel about tracing and cutting triangles?”
“Point out the material, and I’ll get started.”
She frowned, realizing that sharing the table could be problematic. It wasn’t a big table by any stretch of the imagination. And she didn’t have anywhere else to set up the sewing machine.
As though Joe could read her thoughts, he said, “How about I clear off the coffee table and work over there?”
She glanced at the table and back at him. “Are you sure you want to sit on the floor? I could...uh...”
“I’ll be fine. You stay at the table and start assembling things. I’ll do my best to cut some reasonable triangles.”
She helped him get situated. When her romance novels and cooking magazines were cleared from the coffee table, he dropped down to the floor and used the couch as a backrest.
He smiled up at her, making her stomach flutter. “See? I told you this would work.”
“Thank you. I owe you.”
“You don’t owe me a thing. I’m doing this because I want to.”
She didn’t believe him. “I highly doubt you’ve been longing to spend your evening tracing triangles and cutting them out.”
“Don’t you know by now that I’d do anything for you?”
Her heart leaped into her throat. What was he trying to tell her? She had no idea, but it sure sounded good to her.
“We better get started.” His voice deepened. “Looks like we’ve got a lot to do.”
She swallowed hard and hoped that her voice sounded normal when she spoke. “How about some food? I can look in the fridge and see what I have.”
“No need. We’ll just order pizza.”
“Are you sure?” She felt like she should cook him something to repay him for helping her.
“I’m positive. What do you want on yours?”
“That’s easy. Pepperoni and mushrooms.” She paused, realizing that maybe she should have checked to see what he preferred on his pizza.
Before she could ask him, he said, “We’ll get half and half.”
This intrigued her. “What are you having on your half?”
“Veggies.”
“Really?” The word was out of her mouth before she could stop it. When he gave her a puzzled look, she added, “It’s just, most guys I know love lots of meat on theirs. Are you a vegetarian?”
“There’s something I should tell you.”
That certainly didn’t sound good. “Tell me what?”
“The reason I no longer eat meat on my pizza, and lots of other things, is that when my father died of a sudden heart attack, my mother got worried about me. She insisted I go to the doctor. I didn’t think anything was wrong, but I went anyway to put her mind at rest. I figured after all she’d gone through living with my father that she deserved to finally have some peace of mind.”
Piper’s heart went out to him. He was such a good guy to look out for his mother, even after all he’d gone through. “You’re such a good son.”
He shook his head. “I’m not. Or I wouldn’t have left her behind with my father when I left home.”
Piper reached out to him and squeezed his hand. “She understands.”
There was a poignant pause. “Anyway, when I went to the doctor, I had the shock of my life. My blood pressure was up, and my cholesterol was through the roof. With my father’s heart issue, the doctor warned me what my future could be like if I didn’t change my ways.”
The pieces started to fall into place. “That’s why you go running every morning?”
He nodded. “I started after that wake-up call. And now I do it because I enjoy it.”
“And that’s why you didn’t want to keep eating the bear claws?” She felt absolutely awful for trying to force them on him.
He nodded. “I thought you wanted me to eat them to change my mind about selling your pastries in my coffee shop. I’m sorry if I handled that poorly and hurt your feelings. It was never my intention.”
She understood so much more about him now. “And your heart, is it okay?”
He nodded. “Stronger than ever now that I take care of it.”
“That’s good.”
Now that he was letting his guard down with her in a way that he never had before, she couldn’t help wondering where they went from here.
She had absolutely no clue, but she couldn’t wait to find out.