A Moment on the Lips (A Whistle Stop Romance, #3) (31 page)

In this case, he just hoped it worked.

♥♥♥

S
o close and yet so far away.

It seemed as though every time Piper turned around, there was Joe. At the race. At the bandstand. At the high-striker game. Once or twice she’d thought she caught him staring at her and glanced away. But as soon as she looked back, he’d moved on. It must be part of her imagination. Surely he wasn’t missing her, too. Was he?

Impossible. Because as close as he was, she’d never felt such a huge, gaping distance between them. The empty spot in her heart ached. If only there was a way to bridge the gap.

The one bright shining spot in all of it was the fact that Java was by his side, and they truly looked happy together. Was it wrong to be jealous of a dog? She sighed and gave herself a mental shake. Now she really was being melodramatic.

“Hey, sis.”

Piper turned to find her younger sister, Katie, strolling up to her. She smiled, and as soon as her sister was next to her, she gave her a big hug. “You made it.”

“You doubted that I would?” her sister asked innocently.

“You have to admit that you spend as little time in Whistle Stop as you can these days.”

Katie shrugged innocently. “I’m just busy. You know how it is running a business.”

“And how is the chocolate business? Have you found a new home for it?”

“Not yet, but I haven’t given up.” Katie glanced at her. “But enough about me. Wow, look at you. You are looking great.”

“Thanks,” Piper said proudly. “At last, I’m doing the weight-loss thing for me and not everyone else. I feel great, and I have so much more energy.”

“You might have to share your secret.”

“That’s easy.” Piper told her about her exercise routine and her low-carb diet. “Everybody is different. You just have to experiment until you find what works for you. But between you and me, I think you look great just the way you are.”

“Aww...thanks. But, you know, now that our brother has officially announced that he’s running for mayor, a girl must look her best in front of the cameras.”

They both laughed, because this was, after all, Whistle Stop, not some big city. No one would pay them any more attention than they already did.

“I still can’t believe he’s going ahead with this plan.” Piper was really worried that he was taking on too much at once. “I warned him that with his business and the upcoming wedding, it might be too much, but you know that he never pays attention to me. I’m just the nosy little sister.”

“You might be right. I passed Bella on the way over here, and she didn’t look happy. She was smiling, but it was one of those forced smiles. I sure hope Mason knows what he’s doing.”

“You and me both.” Piper glanced around and decided she should check in on the cake auction. She was curious to see how many cakes were up for sale. “Why don’t we head over to—”

“Piper! Yoo-hoo! Piper!” Mrs. Sanchez’s voice filled the air.

Piper hesitated. She really didn’t want to work today. After all of the planning and whatnot, it was time to enjoy the fruits of her labor. And, besides, it wasn’t often that her little sister paid her a visit—definitely not often enough.

Knowing she couldn’t be rude to the kindhearted woman who’d done so many generous things for her, she turned. “Hi, Mrs. Sanchez. Isn’t the festival turning out to be a huge success?”

The woman’s face was a bit rosy, and she fanned herself. “I’ve certainly been getting my share of exercise today. At this rate, I should have signed up for that fun walk this morning.”

“Maybe you can next time.”

Mrs. Sanchez nodded. “I thought you’d want to accompany me to check on the donations.”

Piper glanced at her sister. “Want to join us?”

“Sure.”

Together they moseyed over to the donation center where they collected and counted all of the proceeds. A big placard behind them displayed the total amount they needed to revitalize the town square and the train depot. On the placard was a thermometer that was updated hourly with the percent collected.

“Oh, look, we’re closing in on fifty percent.” Mrs. Sanchez beamed.

“And we still have hours to go before the festival winds down. I think we’re going to make it.”

“I do, too,” Katie piped in.

“And they’re just about to update it.” Mrs. Sanchez walked over to speak with one of the festival volunteers.

Meanwhile, something, or rather someone, caught her eye. Joe. And he was in the dunking booth. Oh no! She’d forgotten to take his name off the list of volunteers. Talk about taking a bad situation and making it worse. He was really going to hate her after this.

“What has you so distracted?” Katie asked.

“Um, nothing.” Piper glanced away, but she just had to have another look at Joe sitting there in the dunking booth with a smile on his face. Really?

“Must be something.”

Piper blinked just to be sure she wasn’t imagining the whole scene. But he was still there. How could that be? He’d been so opposed to the idea of the dunking tank. Was it possible Joe was changing?

And then he started heckling the ball thrower. “Oh, come on. Surely you can do better than that. My mother can do better than that.”

“Who is that?” Katie asked.

Piper continued staring at the scene unfolding in front of her. “It’s Joe.”

“Not him. I remember him from the town meeting. The other guy. The one throwing the balls. I don’t remember seeing him before.”

With concerted effort, Piper moved her gaze away from Joe. “That’s Joe’s friend. His name’s Holden Wainwright. He’s new to the area.”

“Oh.”

There was something to that very short answer. Maybe Piper wasn’t the only one with her eye on a guy. “Why, Katie, do I detect a note of interest in your voice?”

“What? Um...no. I’m too busy to get involved with anyone.”

Her little sister moved in mysterious ways. Piper had a feeling she was keeping a big secret, and that’s why she’d moved to the big city. But until Katie was ready to talk, there wasn’t anything Piper could do to help. “Maybe Holden is just what I need to convince you to move back here.”

“Don’t even think about it. I can’t move home.” Katie turned away from Holden. “But you sure seem to be interested in Joe. You can hardly tear your eyes off him. Guess you two did a little more than plan this event together. A few late nights, huh?”

“You’re imagining things.”

“Really? Then how come every time you look away, he’s staring at you?”

“Really?” Piper immediately turned back to the dunking booth, hoping to catch him staring. It didn’t work. He was busy heckling the next paying patron.

Katie smiled and sent her an I-got-you look. “You’ve got it real bad.”

It was true. And Piper had no clue what to do about it.

T
he late afternoon sun gave the town square a warm golden glow.

Piper stood off to the side of the large crowd at the cake auction. Katie had left already, leaving Piper to meander about on her own. All the while, she continued to try to reconcile what Joe participating in the dunking booth had meant. It had been more than just doing his duty. He’d been smiling, laughing, and good-naturedly taunting the ball throwers, making the huge audience erupt in laughter. Had she been wrong about him? Was he capable of letting go and rolling with the punches?

Her mother’s cake was auctioned off, and it sold for the highest price so far. Piper got a smile out of how her mother beamed, as though she’d actually cracked the eggs and mixed the batter herself. For her mother, it was all about appearance. Piper doubted she’d ever change. Now if only her mother would accept her as she was.

Mrs. Sanchez was in charge of the auction. She was great at twisting people’s arms so they’d pay more than they’d intended. Now, she held up a pitiful lopsided chocolate cake. “And this was donated by Whistle Stop’s newest eligible bachelor, Joe Montoya. Did you hear that, all of you single ladies? Here’s a hot guy who is good with his hands.” She winked at Joe. “Oh, and he bakes, too.”

Piper’s body tensed as the single, beautiful women turned interested glances his way. She knew without a doubt that he’d be walking away from this auction with nothing less than a handful of phone numbers, but more than likely he’d have some beauty on his arm. Something stirred in the pit of her stomach. The more she thought of him with his arm around someone else, the more the uneasiness stirred.

Mrs. Sanchez continued to work up the crowd. “Come on, ladies, let’s show Joe our appreciation for going out of his way to help the auction with this amazing cake.”

Hoots and hollers erupted in the crowd.

“She might not be saying that if she tasted it,” Joe whispered in Piper’s ear.

She nearly jumped out of her skin. While she’d been checking out the competition, he’d moved to stand next to her. Piper searched for a response, but her mind was buzzing with a million thoughts at once, the main question being: What was he doing standing with her?

She swallowed hard. “I...I’m sure it’s good.”

“Don’t tell anyone, but it’s out of a box.”

Something wet pressed to Piper’s hand. She immediately glanced down, finding the chocolate Lab sitting next to Joe.

“Well, hello.” She knelt down to pet Java. “You look very happy.”

“He ought to be. I think he’s about to eat me out of house and home. Luckily, Mrs. Sanchez doesn’t mind a four-legged houseguest.”

“She’s always so generous.”

Joe patted the dog’s head. “I suppose you’re going to want Java back when the festival is over.”

“I don’t know about that. Looks like you two were meant to be together.”

Joe asked the dog if he wanted to stay with him, and the dog barked before licking his hand.

“Guess that’s your answer.” Piper smiled, knowing that Java would have a wonderful home with Joe. She glanced back at the podium. “I think the bidding on your cake has started.”

Piper was truly impressed that he’d taken the time to bake a cake. She couldn’t help herself. She placed a bid. In the very next breath, some blonde outbid her, followed by some other eager young ladies.

Not about to be outdone, Piper raised her hand to bid again, but Joe pulled her hand down as the bidding ensued between three very eager women.

When Piper frowned at him, he said, “Let them have the cake. It’s probably not very good anyway. However, if you’re in the market for a very foolish man who’s madly in love with you, I hear he can be bought at a very reasonable price.”

Her heart leaped into her throat. Her gaze searched his eyes, looking for the truth. “What...what are you saying?”

“I’m saying if you’d like to bid on this novice baker, I can be had for a good price.” His eyes twinkled with amusement. He was flirting with her.

She swallowed hard, searching for the appropriate response. “Really? And how much is this novice baker?”

“Hmm...let’s see. Why don’t we start with a couple of kisses and see where things go from there? But first, there’s something I’d like to propose.”

Oh no. The smile slipped from her face. “What would that be?”

“Well, you know how I’m rebuilding the coffee shop?” When she nodded, he continued. “I was wondering how you’d feel about putting in a connecting door linking your bakery with my coffee shop.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “I thought it’d make things so much easier for us to go back and forth.”

Her heart raced. “And...and why would we do that?”

He turned to her and pulled her close. “Because if you hadn’t noticed, I’m absolutely crazy about you. I know I didn’t handle things well, but I love you.”

Happy tears welled up in her eyes. “I love you, too.”

His head dipped as he caught her lips with his. Being in his arms was like coming home. Nothing had ever felt so right.

Applause jarred them out of their little world.

He whispered in her ear, “How about we take this someplace more private?”

“Not yet.”

Joe frowned at her. “What else could be more important? After all, the festival is a smashing success. They don’t need us any longer.”

“You’re forgetting something important.”

“Nothing could be more important than this.” He leaned forward and kissed her again.

She pressed a hand to his firm chest. “As good as that is, and it is very good indeed, there’s something else more pressing.”

Joe shrugged. “Well, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“The hot air balloon. You promised me a ride.”

At last, he smiled again. “And so I did.” He held his hand out to her. “One hot air balloon ride coming up. And then can we do more of the kissing and stuff.”

She smiled and shook her head. “Don’t worry, there will be plenty of time for more kissing and stuff.”

“Oh good.”

They’d started toward the balloon when her mother stepped in their way. “Piper, you did an excellent job with the festival. Everyone is very impressed.”

“Thank you, Mom. But I couldn’t have done it without Joe.”

Her mother turned to him. “Thank you, too.” Just as quickly, she turned back to Piper. “And you look fantastic. I’m so glad those supplements are helping you lose weight. See? You should have listened to me sooner.”

There was no way Piper was going to stand by and let her mother take credit for the hard work she’d put into getting fit. “Mom, I lost the weight in spite of you, not because of you. So going forward, any discussion about my weight is off-limits. Oh, and one more thing. You might want to be nicer to Joe since he’s going to be a permanent part of my life.”

Her mother gaped at them as Piper took Joe’s hand and started to walk away. But Joe didn’t budge. When she turned back, he was still staring at her mother.

“You should also know that I would love your daughter no matter what she weighs. She’s beautiful inside and out. You’d see that if you weren’t so worried about appearances. Your daughter is very special just the way she is. And I’m honored she wants to share her life with me.”

Piper couldn’t believe she’d almost let the man of her dreams get away.

She’d never ever make that mistake again.

Thanks so much for reading Piper and Joe’s story. I hope you had a really nice visit in Whistle Stop and that you’ll stop back again soon. If you did enjoy the book, please consider...