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He leaned in, fascinated by her letting him in. "And what is that? What do you want?"
"Eventually? I want to start my own firm." She grinned, her face lighting up. "I want to be the most sought-after wedding designer in the country. I'll probably have to move to New York to do it, so my next step is to get hired by Elizabeth Cortaine, who owns the top firm in New York."
He sat back, stunned by her vision. "Hell, that's impressive."
She grinned. "Thank you. I appreciate that. My mom used to tell me to dream big, but—" She stopped, and Declan knew it was the second time she'd cut herself off when talking about her mom. She shrugged. "Some people don't appreciate big dreams."
He wondered who she was talking about. There was an edge of pain to her voice that made him want to tell her to ignore whoever had tried to turn down her passion. "Piper?—"
"What the heck is this?" Maddie Vale, one of Piper's friends, sat down at their table, her face sparking with interest. "I just saw you two kissing. What is happening?"
"Wait! I want to hear!" Another of Maddie's friends pulled a chair over and sat down. She had thick, dark hair streaked with blond, olive skin, and dark eyes that were both smiling and haunted at the same time. She waved at Declan. "I'm Tori Cardenas, and I need to know why you were chewing on Piper's shoulder like you wanted to eat her for dinner."
"Hey!" A third woman squeezed in. She had curly hair, brown skin, and sass in her eyes that reminded him of Piper. "Hi there, Piper's hot, moody landlord. I'm Keira Vogel. Why were you running your fingertips down Piper's arm like her skin was super soft velvet you couldn't get enough of? Last I heard, there was no spark at all between the two of you." She set her purse on the table. "Piper! What is going on?"
Declan sat back, amused by the sudden influx of estrogen. He'd seen Piper's friends around the carriage house from time to time, and he'd been in his backyard when they'd been out on her patio, roaring with laughter and wine. He knew the foursome was bold, loyal, and tight.
He would definitely be on the outside of this crew. But he was surprised that there was no hostility toward him making a move on their friend. Just open curiosity. And excitement. Did they want Piper to date as much as his mom wanted him to date?
Piper put her left hand under the table out of sight. "Guys! No one read the text I sent to our group chat?"
"Text?" Maddie rolled her eyes. "Why would we read a text when we have you here to grill?"
Piper rolled her eyes. "Because I have a plan. Read it."
"Tell us," Tori said. "So much gets lost in translation over text."
Declan was curious what Piper had told her friends. Would she trust them with the truth? That would be a hell of a statement about how close they were, given that her career was at stake.
"Read your texts."
Maddie rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone. She opened it and scanned the screen, while Tori and Keira read over her shoulder.
Declan leaned in so his mouth was next to Piper's ear. "How much of the truth do they know?" he whispered.
She looked over at him, then grinned. "Watch."
CHAPTER NINE
Maddie put down her phone, and the three women looked at each other, then back at Piper and Declan.
Declan waited, curiosity mounting. What were these women up to? He knew Maddie was a fighter because he'd helped her and her dad out with a situation recently, but the others?
Maddie suddenly broke into a big grin. "Well, it's about damned time you came clean. I've been sitting on this gossip for months!"
"Right?" Tori beamed at them. "I love it when great sex turns into true love."
"I know. Remember when we walked in on them in Piper's bedroom, and they told us they were cleaning mold?" Keira shook her head. "And it was sex all this time. Damn. I want to have hot, sweaty landlord sex. Then maybe I'll have a guy nibbling my arm in public?—"
Piper held up her left hand, and all three women screamed.
"Holy shit!" Tori grabbed her wrist. "This is real? How is this real? What the heck, Declan!"
Keira shrieked and smacked Piper on the shoulder. "Get out. Get out! What is that?"
Maddie simply grinned at Declan. "Well done."
"Thanks." Declan wasn't quite sure what was happening. Did they think it was real, or had they jumped right into the façade seamlessly? He sat back, resting his arm on the back of Piper's chair, watching the women.
