Braden made her feel like she was a rare gem. Praise from his lips felt like the heat of a thousand suns beating down on her. A celebratory feeling hung in the air, and the future was ripe with promise. Hope was such a precious gift. For so long she had put it on the back burner as if it wasn’t even a possibility in her circumstances. She was learning that there were certain things one should never give up on. Braden had reminded her of that.
At the moment her heart was so full with gratitude, almost to the point of overflowing. She feared it just might burst. “I’ve always felt kind of ordinary, but you make me feel like I’m one of a kind. That’s a rare talent, Braden North.”
“Ordinary?” he scoffed. “Nothing could be further from the truth. You’re special, Piper. I’ve traveled all over the world, and I’ve yet to meet anyone more spectacular than you.”
Despite the frigid temperature, Piper’s cheeks warmed at the compliment. Something shifted between them in the moment, and Piper knew instinctively that Braden felt it too. It was as powerful as the northern lights shimmering in the heavens. The scent of pine hung in the air, serving as a fragrant reminder of the season. She tilted her face upward, just as Braden dipped his head down. As his lips moved over hers, she kissed him back with equal measure, relishing the sweet surprise. This, she thought. This kiss felt so right, as if she’d been waiting to experience it her entire life. With the snow swirling all around them and the twinkling lights from the Christmas display providing a lovely backdrop, the moment couldn’t have been more romantic. It felt to Piper as if the sky had suddenly opened up to reveal countless stars.
Kissing your best friend wasn’t smart for a number of reasons, but she couldn’t deny how right it felt. She couldn’t remember ever experiencing such a wonderful smooch. Perhaps it was their history as best friends or maybe there was just something about Braden that made it special.
By the time the kiss ended and they broke away from one another, Piper felt warm all the way down to her toes. It was a heady feeling. Never in a million years had she expected the night to end with this sensational kiss.
She looked up at Braden, startled by the tense expression stamped on his face.
“I shouldn’t have kissed you,” he said in a shaky voice. “It was a mistake.” Braden’s cheeks were flushed, and his eyes held a dazed look. Piper kept quiet as she struggled to absorb Braden’s words. A mistake? Her chest tightened. She clenched her hands at her sides. She was mortified. And completely baffled by the sudden turn of events.
“We’re friends, Piper. We’ve always been the best of friends and nothing should ever get in the way of that.” There was a sharpness to his tone she rarely heard. Who was this man? Where had Braden gone? Suddenly, she was no longer floating on air. Braden’s words had caused her to crash back down to earth with a bang.
She felt like an idiot. Her stomach was tied up in knots. She knew things were complicated since they were friends, but it hurt to know Braden regretted kissing her. He seemed to be in such distress over it. Anger spiked through her. What he’d just said didn’t make any sense. Hadn’t something gotten between them over the last three and a half years? He’d erected a solid wall that she hadn’t been able to penetrate.
Hurt rose up inside her, and she couldn’t find an adequate response to his declaration. It was so confusing to be kissing him one moment and then feeling angry at him a few seconds later. It was disappointment and rejection all rolled up into one. How could someone she cared about so deeply wound her so much? He’d been the one to initiate the kiss, yet now he was distancing himself from it...and her.
“I haven’t told my family yet, but I might not be staying in Owl Creek.” His face was shuttered as he made his bombshell announcement.
Shock roared through her. Braden was leaving town again? He had just reunited with his long-lost sister after decades of separation. “You’re thinking about leaving town? Why? You’ve barely been back for any ti
me at all.” Once again her radar went up. He wasn’t making any sense at all.
Braden shrugged. “I love being at home and I want to seize the opportunity to get to know Sage better, but I don’t want to follow the path my family has set out for me. You know me better than anyone. Can you really see me sitting in a corporate office all day?” Braden winced and shook his head. “A part of me feels ashamed to be rejecting the family business, but I can’t be something I’m not.” There was pain laced in his voice. She hated seeing him so lost.
Truthfully, Piper did have a hard time imagining him being cooped up in an office, although she knew it had always been Beulah’s dream to have the entire family working for North Star Chocolates. With Sage’s return to Owl Creek, the Norths had been excited to see the dream finally come to fruition. That had to be weighing heavily on Braden’s mind. She knew he must feel a sense of obligation to his relatives, particularly in light of what they’d endured.
The Norths were tight-knit, and she knew how tough it would be for Braden to walk away from the family legacy. But it would be even harder for the rest of them to see him leave Owl Creek yet again. They would be incredibly hurt by his decision. “I understand your reservations, but that doesn’t mean you have to go away again,” she said in an urgent tone. “Stay and figure things out. Here you are assisting me with my problems with the diner, while you’re clearly struggling. Let me help you, Braden.”
His features hardened, and he took a step away from her. “You can’t help me with this, Piper. It’s not something anyone can fix. I simply have to do what’s right for me. I don’t belong in Owl Creek anymore. I need to map out my life somewhere else.”
A chill swept through her. His words sounded so final, as if he was fully prepared to leave his hometown permanently. Every instinct in Piper told her that Braden wasn’t simply leaving due to his desire to break free from his family’s expectations about running the chocolate company. There were other things he could do in his hometown and many different dreams to pursue. It wasn’t Braden’s way to give up so easily. It was clear that something was eating him up inside.
“What’s really going on, Braden? What aren’t you telling me?” Piper asked, her voice beseeching him to tell her the truth. She reached out and grasped his sleeve, determined to make him stick around and talk this out. Not knowing was driving her a little bit crazy. Her imagination was beginning to run amok. “We’ve always been able to tell each other everything. What’s changed?”
“We were kids then,” he said testily, pulling away from her grip. “You can’t expect everything to stay the same, Piper. Life doesn’t work that way. I wish it did, but it doesn’t.” With a shake of his head, Braden turned away and began walking back toward Main Street. His jerky movements were full of frustration and anger. Once again, he’d left her feeling crushed.
As he stormed away, Piper inhaled a deep, steadying breath. His words had cut her to the core. Piper knew she hadn’t imagined their tight bond. Everyone in town had borne witness to it. If Braden didn’t care about her, he wouldn’t be helping her turn things around at the Snowy Owl. Piper knew she wasn’t a fanciful person. She’d always been firmly rooted in reality. Something wasn’t right.
Always trust your instincts. Those words of advice had been given to her by her father many years ago, and she’d always made it a point to heed his wise counsel.
She couldn’t let go of the feeling that Braden was hiding something from her. She’d felt this way for a long time now, and it was only heightening as time went by. Her mind overflowed with questions. Why would he be taking off again when he’d only just returned? Wasn’t this his chance to bond with Sage and celebrate the Norths being one big whole family again? He was a hometown boy who’d always adored Owl Creek. What was he running from? What was so wrong that he couldn’t stick around and face it head-on?
Piper pressed her hand against her chest. She was battling a sharp pain that wouldn’t let up. The very thought of losing Braden made her want to sob and kick and scream. Just when she was beginning to count on him, he was going to disappear from her life. And in leaving Owl Creek he would be breaking her heart all over again.
Chapter Nine
All the way home Braden chided himself for kissing his best friend. What in the world had come over him? It had been a stupid and impulsive act. Without a doubt, any man in his right mind would be over the moon to kiss a woman like Piper, but he wasn’t just anyone. The secret he was harboring complicated the situation. It had him so tied up in knots he was actually considering the idea of leaving Owl Creek again so he wouldn’t hurt Piper any more than he already had. After all, he’d done it once before.
More and more he was realizing how much Piper had blossomed from his gangly sidekick into a stunningly beautiful woman. For so long he’d gazed at her through the lens of a childhood friend. Now, with each and every day, his eyes were opening more and more about the strong and independent woman Piper had become over the past few years.
There wasn’t a single thing about her he didn’t cherish. She had pluck and grit, and she brightened any room she entered.
The random impulse to kiss her had caught him off guard. He’d acted on pure yearning. But it had been all wrong. There were just so many reasons he shouldn’t have done it. Crossing lines in their friendship wasn’t wise. Piper had always felt like home to him, but he had to tread carefully with her. He didn’t want to risk blurring the lines between friendship and romance. And with this huge secret sitting between them, he shouldn’t have made a big move like that.
