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Kitty sighed. "Oh, Piper, the man does like to keep a secret, doesn't he? And he thinks that makes it all go away? It doesn't, you know. It keeps eating away at you until you die from the inside out."
Piper blinked, startled by the sudden, dire turn of the conversation. "What?"
Kitty put her designer handbag on the counter, turned to face Piper, and folded her arms. "I want to hire you."
"For a wedding? You know someone getting married?" Piperwanted to be excited, but she knew that unless she fixed things with April, whoever it was Kitty had in mind wouldn't hire Piper for any price.
She wasn't even sure fixing things with April would be enough, but without April, she had zero chance when her boss returned from her extended family emergency in the morning and walked into the crisis.
"A wedding?" Kitty looked confused. "Why would I hire you for a wedding?"
"I'm a wedding planner."
"Really? I didn't know that. But that's irrelevant." Kitty waved her hand dismissively. "I don't know anyone getting married. I want to hire you to date my son."
"What?" Piper stared at her.
"Date Declan for a month, then break up. What do you say?"
Piper started laughing. "Kitty, there's no chance. There's zero spark between us?—"
"Create one. You're beautiful, vibrant, sassy. Yes, you're not his type, but you're good enough. I'm sure you can become what he needs. How much for a month?"
Not his type? What was his type? Not that it mattered. "Sorry, Kitty. I'm not dating him for money." For a thousand reasons, including the fact that she was done with dating anyone, even fake dating. Plus, dating for money made her an escort, and that…wow…just wow. "No."
"Ten thousand dollars. Would that do it?"
Piper stared at Kitty. "You want to pay meten thousand dollarsto date Declan for a month?"
Kitty nodded. "Plus expenses, of course. I know it'll be work to bring him around, so that includes a hardship fee?—"
"No. God, no." She'd had a lot of strange conversations around romance during her years as a wedding planner, but this might be the weirdest. "I can't help you, Kitty."
"Twenty thousand dollars?"
This conversation wasstaggering.
"It's not about the money." Piper couldn’t imagine toying with anyone's emotions like that. She could never do that, no matter how desperate she was. But she was kind of stunned Kitty lived in a world where she believed money could buy anything, including her son's dating life. Yes, all her clients traveled in those circles, but to experience that in her personal life was a little insane.
Especially because Declan walked around in jeans and t-shirts, most of them paint-splattered. He didn't act or look like money. And yet, his mom was offering twenty grand like it was nothing. Maybe Kitty was insane. Offering money she didn't have. Or maybe Declan was more complicated than Piper knew. Either way, she wasn't getting involved. "Look, Kitty, I need to go. It was great seeing you."
She gave Angel a quick pat, then hurried out the door over Kitty's protests.
Piper jogged across the beautiful grass, barely taking time to notice how soft it was under her feet, then ran down the cute stone stairs that led to the pathway to her house?—
"Watch out!" Declan grabbed her arms, catching her a split second before she crashed into him.
Shock ran through Piper at the feel of his hands on her arms, and she jumped backward. Dammit. His grip felt nice, and that wasn't acceptable. What was wrong with her brain? "Sorry."
Declan was sweaty and dirty, and his t-shirt did little to hide his muscles. She stared at him, suddenly imagining what it would be like to date him. What it would take to get him to look at her like she was a woman and not simply a responsibility, like his yard or his truck? It would probably take a lot. A miracle even. The man didn't seem to have a romantic bone in his well-sculpted body.
He cocked an eyebrow. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Oh, heavens. She cleared her throat. "Nothing. Your mom'sinside." Nothing like a guy's mom to wipe out any romantic moods, right?
He swore under his breath and looked past her toward his house. "What's her mood?"
Um… "Fine, I guess." There was no way she was going to get in the middle of his relationship with his mother.
