Back To Us (Shore Secrets 3) by Christi Barth

Knew the basic shape of his legs, the crisp, dark hair covering the tanned skin. Her knowledge stopped there for a long time, since they never went all the way while dating. But as of June of this year, she also knew what he looked like in his underwear. And some things, once seen, couldn’t be unseen.
    The sexy sighting occurred because their old drama teacher still lived in town, and the four of them made it a point to visit her a handful of times a year. He’d built an elaborate three-story green-and-yellow birdhouse for Fran Lacey’s eightieth birthday. Just thinking about that sweet gesture, and all the time it must’ve taken, melted Piper’s heart. Ward came across as all stoic and badass, but he could be so darn thoughtful it could take your breath away.
    Hands shaking from Parkinson’s, Mrs. Lacey had insisted on cutting slices of birthday cake for them all. A tremble, a slip, and moments later the knife was in Ward’s thigh. Ella and Casey had stayed to calm down the distraught woman, which left Piper to drive Ward to the hospital, despite his protests. Said protests that were ignored due to the steady drip of blood down his leg.
    So she’d been there, gurney-side, holding his hand for the first time in nine years. He professed not to need her to stay. But he didn’t let go. And then a nurse cut off his pants. They’d pulled off his shirt earlier to stem the blood on the drive. Which left him naked except for the thin and revealing cotton of his boxer-briefs. Black, of course. The image of his long, lean, muscled body had burned itself through her retinas deep into her memory banks.
    Her dry eyes blinked involuntarily, making Piper realize she’d been both staring and completely zoned out. She blamed the exhaustion. Or the headache. “Shoes are the way to a woman’s heart, Ward. And they last longer than most relationships.”
    He turned toward her, with a shake of his head that dismissed her comment. “Anyway, when we were out on the boat, Gray mentioned how upset you were last night.”
    Guilt washed over her. “Oh, no. I called too late, didn’t I? Did I completely ruin their evening?”
    Another brusque head shake. “Their evening was over. All you ruined was Gray’s chance at a good night’s sleep. He’ll survive.”
    She’d been on the phone with Ella for almost two hours. In that entire time, she hadn’t once given a single thought to the man in the bed next to her best friend. “I’m still not used to Ella living with him. That was rude of me. I’ll have to make up for it. Maybe I’ll take him some apology brownies.”
    An amused smile quirked up the corners of his lips. “Piper, the man lives in a hotel with a CIA-trained chef at his beck and call. You don’t need to take him brownies.”
    “A bottle of wine, then.” She jumped up, scribbled a reminder on a sticky note and put it in the middle of her keyboard. “Or you could do me a favor. Call him with some trumped-up problem in the dead of night? Even the score?”
    “That’s exactly why I’m here. To do you a favor.”
    She’d been kidding. But she certainly wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Piper sank into her desk chair. “I’m intrigued.”
    After an aborted motion that made her wonder if Ward could possibly be nervous, he fig-leafed his hands. “I’m sorry your dad’s such an ass.”
    “In general?”
    “Yes. And specifically, about your port line. I wish you’d told us you were working on it.”
    “Wouldn’t have made a difference.” In fact, opening up to her friends would only have made the whole thing more painful. They would’ve been so supportive. They would’ve been even more upset than Piper at every dead end she hit. And then she would’ve felt like she was letting them down too. Bad enough she was letting down her dead grandfather. “The project’s dead in the water.”
    “I’d like to help.”
    Sweet. There he went, flashing his big gushy heart again when she least expected it.