Page 11 of Reconcile
Of course, she’s still gorgeous. Nothing has changed. Her dark hair is still long. Her brown eyes are much lighter than mine. Her lips are full and red. And even in the permanent scowl she wears around me, they’re pure perfection.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, you know me. Volunteering at a soup kitchen, cleaning up trash off the sidewalk, and helping old ladies cross the street.”
I can hear Ash rolling his eyes at me even over the phone, and then he chuckles, “Yeah right, fucker. We both know if you were doing any of that, it would be court-ordered. And I don’t think you’ve been arrested recently.”
“Ha ha.” I sigh and look up at the apartment building where I’m parked. This can’t be the right address. The place isn’t rundown or anything, but it’s far from luxurious.
“What are you really doing?”
I gaze through my window at the apartment. Number seven. “Trying to decide if the high probability of getting stabbed is worth the risk of being where I am.”
He groans now, “Where the fuck are you?”
“I may have acquired Piper’s address the other day when I went to visit Cole at the office.”
A sigh. “Sawyer... I really don’t want to bail you out of jail tonight. It’s a school night.”
I grin. “I just...” I drop my eyes from the building and huff, “She’s still carrying so much hatred for me. And I get it, but I don’t want her to.”
“So you want to, what, apologize?”
I look back at the building. “Maybe.”
“Well, good luck, man.”
“Thanks.”
“Dinner. Tomorrow at our place.”
“Yeah, I’ll be there.” I hang up and slide my phone into my pocket as I climb out of my car, looking at the apartment again.
This can’t be where she lives. She’s a fucking Ward, for Christ’s sake. Maybe the HR guy was fucking with me and gave me the wrong address. He wasn’t pleased when I asked for the information but couldn’t do much about it, considering I’m a Ross and he’d seen me with Cole right before I took a detour to the HR office.
Still, it was a risk. He could have called Cole, and my brother would have no doubt been pissed. Maybe he did after I left, but I haven’t heard from either of my brothers, and it doesn’t matter because I’m here now.
I walk up to the door and knock because there isn’t even a doorbell. Moments later, I hear Piper’s familiar voice saying, “It’s probably the pizza. Go set the table.”
What the fuck? Does she have a date?
A cold shiver runs through me, thinking about the fact that Piper could have anyone in there—including my brother. But then she pulls the door open, and I know I’m in this now. No going back.
I don’t miss her look of horror before a stark glare forms on her pretty face. “What the hell are you doing at my apartment?”
“You really live here?”
She scowls at me. “Leave.”
“I just want to talk to you. I don’t care where you live...”
“Mommy!”What?“Mommy, is the pizza here?”
Piper looks terrified as she looks down at the little girl tucked to her side. A little girl with long dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, not light like Piper’s. Dark.
“Please go to your room. I’ll be right in.”
“But Mommy...” The little girl whines, looking up at Piper.
