Almost Just Friends Read online

  “I don’t think I can do this,” Winnie whispered, and although Piper had no idea what “this” was exactly, it almost seemed like Winnie was saying everything, which was heartbreaking.

  As was the way that Cam wrapped an arm around her sister and she buried her face in his shoulder, taking strength from him.

  Something Piper knew a little bit about.

  “It’s not fair to her,” Cam murmured. “You need to tell her.”

  Piper agreed, even though she wasn’t sure she was strong enough for another hit. But she managed to walk closer on wobbly legs.

  Gavin silently offered her the ice cream.

  She shook her head, eyes on Winnie and Cam. “Tell me.”

  “Wait,” Gavin said. “Would you prefer a shot of vodka? Because probably, you don’t want to do this without a sugar or alcohol rush. If not for you, then do it for me.”

  Piper watched as Cam kept his gaze on her sister until she nodded. Then he rose to his full height and turned to Piper. Reaching out, he squeezed her hand, but she pulled away. She didn’t know why.

  Okay, she did know why. Whatever the hell was coming, he knew about it.

  And she didn’t. “What is it, Winnie? What’s happened? Just tell me.”

  Her sister sighed and lifted her head, eyes wet. “I . . . got something in the mail today. A check. It’s from Rowan’s life insurance policy, the one none of us knew he had. It’s a hundred thousand dollars.”

  “Wow. Okay,” she said, seriously confused. “Why did the check come here? That’s probably just a post office delivery mistake, it happens all the time. You can give it to Emmitt.”

  Winnie shook her head, her eyes overflowing. “The check’s written to me. I was his beneficiary. I didn’t know he’d done that—” She pressed a hand to her mouth. “He must have done it when he found out I was pregnant.”

  Piper dropped to her knees beside Winnie. She was incredibly aware of Cam, who’d backed up to give them space but hadn’t left the room. It felt like he was both angry and worried, and yet she somehow knew it wasn’t directed at her. “That was incredibly generous of Rowan,” she said. “But I’m not sure I understand—”

  Winnie murmured something so softly that she missed it.

  Piper glanced at Gavin, her usual Winnie translator, but he was avoiding her gaze, so she turned back to Winnie. “I’m sorry, honey. I couldn’t hear you. What does you being pregnant have to do with Rowan having you down as his beneficiary?”

  Winnie lifted her head and pressed both hands to her belly as more tears spilled out of her eyes and ran unchecked down her cheeks.

  “Oh,” Piper breathed, sitting back on her heels, wondering how the hell she’d missed this. “He’s the baby’s daddy.”

  Winnie nodded and it all fell into place. Winnie hiding the pregnancy from her for as long as she could because her sister knew how she’d felt about Rowan not being responsible. Emmitt infusing himself into Winnie’s life, teaching her how to do things, being so kind and welcoming—he was going to be a grandpa. Cam being so patient with her because . . . because this baby would be his niece or nephew. And he’d never told her. That hurt. As did the way her mind was spinning.

  Gavin didn’t meet her gaze.

  “You knew,” she said. She then turned to Cam, who absolutely met her gaze. In fact, he’d never stopped looking at her. “And you,” she said softly, because her throat was tight and on fire. “You knew too.”

  The answer was in his expression, and the tight, grim set to his mouth.

  She nodded, trying to absorb the blows. “I see,” she said to the room, even though she didn’t. Everyone had known about the pregnancy before her. Everyone had known about Gavin’s rehab before her. And it turned out that everyone had also known the baby daddy. They’d all known everything.

  And she’d known nothing. She’d been kept out of the loop on purpose by her siblings, whom she’d put her life on hold for. And also by the man she tried not to fall in love with—and failed, by the way. He’d known more about her family than she had.

  And hadn’t said a word to her. In fact, he’d told her he’d come to help his dad. On the heels of all this, some other uneasy realizations were coming hard and fast. One, Cam was right. He wasn’t the no-strings fling she’d set out to have, the no-strings fling she’d been up front about wanting.

  Two, and even worse, he’d lied to her, or at least omitted the part about him knowing things about her family that she hadn’t. Important, life-altering things.

  Which led to a third, extremely hard-to-process realization. The people in her life rarely put importance on her needs. Her parents. Her siblings . . . Now Cam as well, reminding her that once again, she was not important enough to come first, and never had been.

  “Piper?” Winnie asked tearfully. “Are you mad at me?”

  “No.” Okay, maybe a little. “But I’m hurt about the lack of trust and faith in me. But . . .” She rose to her feet, grabbed a tissue box off the counter, and handed it to her sister. “Your baby, your decisions.”

  “It wasn’t about trusting you or having faith in you. It was more about my inability to actually believe I’d ever find my way in life.” Winnie blew her nose. “I’m getting there, but . . . there’s more.”

  Piper closed her eyes for a beat. “Twins?”

  “No.” Winnie looked horrified at that. “God, I hope not. But . . .” She bit her lower lip. “Well, the insurance payout was unexpected, but I’ve decided to put the whole thing into a trust for the baby’s education. And in a separate decision, Gavin and I want to buy you out of your third of the property. You can go to school, and we’ll stay and start up the B and B.”

  Piper stared at her. And then Gavin. “What?”

  “You wanted to sell so you could go to school, right? After all, you’ve sacrificed for us to do that very thing, including putting off your schooling for years. So it’s important to us that we give you the same chance. We got a property appraisal and a loan.” He pulled something from his pocket.

  A bank statement of the family account, with a balance bigger than she’d ever seen or dreamed of, thanks to a large deposit dated the day before.

  “I know you really wanted to sell,” Gavin said while she stared at it. “That this place is too much for you. But you’re not alone in it anymore. The three of us are a team now. You made this happen, turned us into functioning adults, and we’ll never forget all you’ve done for us. But this time, we’ve got you.”

  “But a loan,” she heard herself say. “The costs, the interest—”

  “Manageable,” he said. “And worth every penny. The money’s yours, Piper.”

  She stared down at the statement, at her golden ticket to go. “But what are the terms and conditions? Are you sure you got a good deal?”

  “Yes,” Winnie said. “Because Cam gave us the loan.”

  Piper felt herself freeze for a single heartbeat, then only her head moved, like she was in the movie Carrie, turning to look at Cam. “What?”

  “He got his attorney and accountant to look over our whole business plan,” Gavin said. “He said it looks solid. Plus, Cam wanted to invest in the B and B, for Rowan. He said Rowan would’ve wanted that.”

  Piper hadn’t taken her gaze off Cam. He was watching her too, and giving nothing away while he was at it. Absolutely zero. And her heart died a little bit.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Rowan sooner,” Winnie said softly.

  “Are you?” Piper asked. “Because I think that was a conscious choice, and now I have to live with knowing you didn’t trust me enough or want me to know.”

  “It wasn’t like that,” Winnie said.

  “What was it like?”

  Gavin shifted uneasily. “Piper,” he said with censure, and she whirled on him.

  “Don’t,” she said tightly. “Don’t you dare.” She turned back to Winnie. “I’d like an answer.”

  Winnie looked well and pissed now. Guess they all were,