“She’s brainy—awesome. What else?”
“She’s brainy and bossy. The girl knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to tell you. It’s been a little work dealing with her willfulness, but it’s nice too, you know? I love the idea of having a little girl who doesn’t take anyone’s crap.”
Piper went on. “Smart, bossy, confident, she’s the whole package.” Maddie burst out laughing after Piper spoke, the two of us looking up to see Maddie on her knees next to Mick, who was on his back with his legs in the air and his tongue drooping out of his mouth. “Oh, and she loves dogs—obviously. She’s into cats too, of course.”
“What kid can resist a kitten?” I asked.
“Exactly. But her and dogs are something else. Hope you don’t mind how she just made herself at home with your buddy there.”
“Not at all. I’ve been out of town so much over the last few months that I’m starting to feel like a neglectful parent. Er, dog parent.” The back of my neck started to feel hot.
She sipped her wine, making me wonder if she’d heard my terrible faux pas.
“Anyway,” she said, “it’s good to see you, damn good.”
“You too.”
Our gaze lingered, and I was painfully aware once again of just how gorgeous Piper was. She’d been a stunner before, but the last five years had given her face character. She wasn’t some co-ed just a couple years out of college anymore—she was a woman, through and through.
I had to say something to change the subject.
“Uh, so, are you still a Leslie Knope?”
Piper seemed confused at first, instant surprise taking hold of her face.
“Leslie Knope? Oh,duh.” She narrowed her eyes in skepticism. “You sound very familiar with that name, almost like you’ve watched the show or something.”
“Guilty.”
Her eyes went wide as she leaned in closer to me.
“You’re kidding. You actually watched Parks & Rec?”
“Yep. I ended up spending a hell of a lot of time in hotels back after we had our thing. So, I figured I’d check out the favorite show of the woman who’d burrowed her way into my heart.”
“So touching. But seriously, what did you think?”
“Loved it. Watched the whole season twice, even got it on Blu-ray in case they ever take it off streaming.”
We sipped our wine, and I couldn’t help but notice that, while it’d been five years since we’d seen each other, it seemed like no time had passed at all.
Chapter 8
PIPER
“She’s pretty damn adorable. To be honest, I’m not even that crazy about kids. But there’s something about her.”
I gulped at his words. Thankfully, his attention was so focused on Maddie and Mick playing that he didn’t notice how nervous I was getting about the subject.
It was the million-dollar question: Did he know that she was his?
I thought there was no way hecouldn’thave known, given her age and how much she looked like him. However, Valentino was cool and composed, not what you’d expect from a man who’d just figured out he had a daughter. Unless he didn’twantto see it.
“You’re not crazy about kids?”
“I mean, I don’t hate them or anything like that. More that I’ve just never known how to deal with them. People are a hell of a lot easier.”
“Kids are people,” I said with a smile.
