what, were they in the fourth grade? unfortunately, when it came to sisters, every discussion lowered the i.q. in the room to an elementary level. boys? grab gram’s croquet quilt. career? better put on some tea. stumped your toe this morning before you got in a cold shower and the rest of the day went downhill from there? scoot closer, i’ve got you. so, there they were after piper’s date, in her bed with gram’s quilt, a couple of mugs of something steaming, and heads close enough that they could have used telepathy for this conversation. it had been a while since piper had gone out with anyone. her love life had went from shakespearean tragedy to harlequin novel to total flatline. it was a gift, really. ever since she was young, piper had a certain way with romance. they promised when she’d grown older that it would all come together. if only she knew where those assholes were now, she would be tempted to risk personal gain to get her revenge. about ready to throw in the towel altogether, she met a guy at the club. not exactly a fairy tale meet cute, but it was a spark. she took the chance and accepted the dinner invitation. it turned out to be… nice. piper told paige how he opened every door, listened when she talked about herself, and even opened up about himself without painting himself as some byronic hero or too-good-to-be-true guy. could it be— was this what they called normal?“ we… didn’t. he wants to wait. i don’t know how i feel about that. i should like that, right? i mean, how many guys don’t want to play tonsil hockey just to get one step closer to your underwear drawer. that’s not a red flag, is it? ”
