AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"You're the jellyfish."
"I'm not. I'm a cactus." Declan kept going with the banter, noting her relaxing into it. Piper had some significant walls, and despite his proclaimed willingness to keep it fishy between them, he had no interest in backing off.
The woman was riveting, and more importantly, she made him feel alive for the first time in a long time, and he couldn't walk away from that.
"You're both," she said. "I'm just a gorgeous, charming, fantastic wedding planner with an amazing career."
"Engaged to a fishy cactus."
She laughed. "Exactly."
Ah, that laugh. He fucking loved it.
The moment he thought it, his amusement faded.
He was falling for this woman, he realized. Despite the fact he'd sworn never to fall again…he was.
What was he going to do about it?
CHAPTER TWELVE
Declan managed to get Piper home without making an ass of himself.
He didn't tell her she was getting under his skin.
He didn't invite himself to sleep in her bed to keep her safe.
He didn't even kiss her good night.
He congratulated her on April, promised to be at Maddie's flower store at eleven, and hauled his sore knee over to his house to take Angel for a walk.
But all the dog kisses didn't get Piper out of his mind. So, as soon as Angel was on the couch and napping, Declan surrendered to his old cop instincts, and he got involved.
It took him about thirty seconds to find a long list of articles on Piper's wedding, and her ex-fiancé.
Clark Houston was the president of Gold Leader Investments, a successful investment firm his dad had founded. New generation wealth, and a lot of it.
There were plenty of photos of Piper, smiling into the camera, leaning on the arm of her fiancé. Piper's engagement photo: stylish, beautiful, and fitting in with the most elite. Her smile was electric, and she had a vibrancy that transcended the camera lens.
He leaned in, studying the photo closely, looking for someindication that she wasn't happy in that photo, but he couldn’t see it. He'd lay bets that on the day that photo was taken, Piper was in love with her fiancé and believed all was well.
And yes, the idea of her being in love with Clark prickled him a little bit, which he decided to ignore.
Their engagement had happened quickly, and the wedding had been scheduled fast. Clark moved swiftly, which made Declan think that he'd tried to reel her in before she had time to think about what she was doing.
The wedding.
Every article reported that she'd walked out mid-ceremony, leaving everyone stunned.
Clark and his family had lambasted her in the press, doing interview after interview, shredding her reputation, her morals, and her values. They claimed she'd never meant to marry Clark, saying that she'd become engaged to him solely to help her career, to use his family's name and prestige for her own benefit.
The press had shredded her…but as far as Declan could find, Piper had never uttered even one word in her defense, no explanation, nothing.
She simply let Clark and his family try to ruin her.
Declan sat back, considering that. Piper was strong, bold, and resilient. Why wouldn't she have defended herself, especially when her dream was at stake?
It didn't make sense…which meant he didn't have all the information.
