Page 78 of Too Fast To Fall
She received a rousing round of applause when she finished, then she skittered over to him. “I can’t believe you’re here.What about your interviews?”
“I begged Claudia Simon to do her interview earlier, then I broke several major traffic laws to get to the airport in time.”
“You’re amazing. You’re so amazing.” She drifted into him and placed the softest, sexiest kiss on his lips. “I have somethingI need to tell you. And I don’t care how you respond. I just need to put it out into the universe. I’ve been kicking myselfever since I came back that I hadn’t had the courage to say it.”
He nodded, and his pulse picked up again, every molecule in his body hoping like it had never hoped before. He had so manythings he wanted to say to Piper right now. Romantic things. Declarative statements. Absolutes and certainties. Nothing inhis life had felt settled or certain over the past year. But the feelings he had for Piper, the ones that resided square inthe center of his heart, those were things he did not question. Even when he knew there were still no guarantees they couldbe together. But he wanted her to lead the way. “Then say it.”
“I love you, Emilio. I know that sounds—”
She didn’t even get out her words before Emilio was kissing her and threading his fingers into her hair. “I love you, Piper.And I don’t care about the timeline or what anyone says. I love you so much.” He kissed her neck. Her cheek. The top of herhead. “The second you left, I felt like I was dying. And I know Gus felt the same way. But I also didn’t feel like I couldburden you with all of that. You had to come back for this. You had to be here for your family.”
She smiled. “Thank you for letting me go. But also for coming back for me.”
“I’ll do that whenever you need me to. As many times as you need me to.”
Gus barked.
“Uh-oh. Someone’s jealous,” Piper said, crouching down next to him.
Emilio and Piper both lovingly stroked Gus’s head. “I hope it’s okay that I brought a dog to your sister’s wedding reception.If you want, I can see if the valet can watch him or I can call the hotel I booked and see if they have someone who can takecare of him.”
Piper waved it off. “Gus is family as far as I’m concerned. I’ll get the flower girls to play with him. He’ll love it.” Shecast him a sly and sexy look. “You booked a hotel? Where, exactly?”
“Some place called The Beach Club?”
“Ooh. Do I get to stay with you for the night?” Piper leaned into him, making him hot from head to toe.
“I was hoping you would.” He straightened, then held out his hand for hers. He didn’t hesitate to pull her into his arms again,then let his hand drift down to her ass and gave it a squeeze. “I haven’t seen you in almost a week.”
“True. We have to make up for lost time.” She looked around the room. “I think we’ll be okay if we stay for an hour. They’llcut the cake soon. We’ll dance to a few songs. Then we can get out of here.”
“Perfect.”
“I just need one thing from you.” Piper bit down on her lip.
“What?”
“Can I parade you around in front of everyone? Just a little bit? I think everyone at this wedding thought I had made youup. That those tabloid photos were AI-generated.”
He laughed. “No problem. And I definitely want to meet Kyle.” He took off his suit jacket.
“What are you doing?”
“I want to show off my biceps. I mean, I got to brag about you in front of Victoria. It’s only fair.”
Piper snickered. “Does this make us evil?”
“No. It makes us human.” He touched her arm and let his hand trail down until he reached her hand. They laced their fingerstogether. They fit perfectly. “I always want to be human with you, Piper. You’re my person. And I mean that. I love you.”
He watched as a tear leaked from the corner of her eye. “You’re my person, Emilio Baquero. And your dog is my dog. And I meanthat. I love you, too.”
Epilogue
One month later
“I want you to remain open-minded.” Piper glanced over at Emilio as she drove. He was as handsome as ever, sunglasses on andan effortless smile on his face. It was nearly the end of the Formula One summer break and he’d really needed it. Piper had,too.
“It’s very hard for me to be open-minded when you’re driving. Please pull over. Let me do it. I am paid to drive. Some peopleeven call me a professional.”
