Blue Lines: The Assassins Series: A Loveswept Contemporary Romance (2 page)

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It wasn’t until a month later that Piper found herself sitting in the middle of the
bathroom floor with tears pouring down her cheeks. She was still damp from her shower,
the water dripping from her long hair that lay against her back.

How did she not know better? He hadn’t talked to her or even noticed she was around
until that night. Of course, he said all the right things and even when he called
her a week later to talk, he was as nice as he could be. He explained that their night
together was a mistake. He wasn’t the kind of man to settle down. He’d never meant
to hurt her, he assured her of that, but he couldn’t let this go any further than
it already had.

If Piper had been honest with herself, she would have known that Erik was probably
just using her. Their night together was fabulous, the sex the best ever, and he was
sweet as can be. But then he was gone. Did her love for him cloud that much of her
judgment? How could she have been so stupid?

Glancing at the little stick she held in her hands, her eyes blurred again, tears
dripping down her cheeks, making it hard to see the two little blue lines that told
the truth.

Piper was pregnant.

With Erik Titov’s baby.

Piper would never forget the moment she first met and fell in love with Erik Titov.
It was at a family gathering almost two years ago. She also would never forget the
amazing night they’d spent together almost six months ago to the day. But more than
anything, she would never,
ever
forget the phone call she’d received from him telling her that that evening was just
a mistake and should never have happened.

Running her fingers through her blondish brown hair, she got up from her chair. Her
blue eyes were watery with tears as she thought back to that night. Piper remembered
it like it was yesterday. There was no way she could forget even the smallest detail.
That night would be burned into her brain for an eternity, and even though it had
happened so fast, she knew that she would never be the same afterward.

One phone call
.

That’s all it took.

“I’m sorry Piper, I don’t want to hurt you. You have to believe that, but this isn’t
going to work. I can’t be the man you want. That night was a one-time thing. This
is about my issues and I shouldn’t have let things go as far as they did. There is
just something about you, and no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t stay away. I’m
sorry if I hurt you, and I hope we can still be civil since we are family. Again,
I’m really sorry.”

Shaking her head, Piper wiped away another countless tear as she replayed that phone
call over in her head. Why was she still doing this to herself? It had been almost
six months!

Piper wasn’t sure why she’d told Audrey and Elli, her two best friends, before she
told her family about the pregnancy, but she had. She had kept her secret for long
enough and
needed
to tell someone. Elli’s reaction was much different than she’d expected; rather than
freaking out she was consoling and offered Piper a place to live as she sorted through
the details of the pregnancy and her future.

Elli told her, “Go to my house in Sweetbriar and pull yourself together. You need
to tell Erik; he needs to know. It will hurt everyone in the long run if you don’t.
Don’t do this to yourself, or him, and more important, to your unborn baby.”

Piper couldn’t have agreed more now, but typical Piper, she had waited until the very
last moment. Now she was scared to death to tell him. What would Erik think? Would
he hate her? Oh God, what would their families think? She knew keeping the pregnancy
secret wasn’t her best decision but she couldn’t bring herself to tell anyone. No
one even suspected. And she hadn’t even seen Erik to tell him. But she was ready to
share her secret now; she was starting to show, and in all reality, it was about damn
time.

Because Piper was almost six months pregnant.

She knew it was insane to have waited this long, but initially she wasn’t sure what
she was going to do. As the days turned into weeks and then months, she had run out
of options. And really, she knew in her heart that the only option was to have this
baby. Giving the baby up for adoption just wasn’t for her; Piper loved kids way too
much and really wanted her own. It’s just that she had always thought she would have
been married first. Once her decision was made she knew she needed to tell Erik, but
when she finally called him, a girl had answered his phone.

Piper didn’t even say hello; she just hung up and kept her secret for another month.
And then another month, and so on. The more she sat and waited, the more her child
grew and the more she knew she was doing the wrong thing. She had no one to talk to
about it. Reese and Harper, her sisters, would kill her when they found out who the
father was, and she was scared shitless of what Erik would think.

How could she tell a man who hadn’t wanted anything to do with her that she was pregnant
with his child?

Shaking her head, Piper closed her eyes as the sun warmed her face. A nice breeze
was coming off the large lake that sat behind Elli’s little country home. Piper would
always be in debt to Elli Adler. Ever since they were children, Elli had always taken
a special liking to Piper. They had that type of relationship, the kind that only
sisters share.

All four girls—Elli, Harper, Reese, and Piper—were best friends, attached at the hip.
Wherever the older girls went, Piper and Reese were close behind. Harper and Elli
didn’t seem to mind since they included them in most everything they did. But now
that they’d all grown up they didn’t get to see one another as much. Harper and Elli
were both happily married, and Reese was running a huge dance studio in the heart
of Nashville—everyone was busy with their families or their careers. Then there was
Piper, jumping from job to job, hoping she’d find something she could enjoy.

She had always loved drawing, and becoming an illustrator for children’s books was
a dream come true
. Up until now, she had tried just about every job imaginable—Piper had worked as
a nail technician, sold jewelry, and even tried manning the registers at a Wendy’s.
But as soon as she started drawing for her friend Emmaline and then got paid for doing
something she loved to do, she decided to focus on her artwork, hoping for that special
break. She had tons of authors and agents looking at her work, which is what had to
happen if she was going to succeed.

“I see you moved in pretty well.”

Piper let out a startled shriek before turning to see the culprit. Harper smiled as
she came over to hug her tightly. The fact that Piper didn’t hear her coming down
the dock really proved how deep in thought she was. The house was in a secluded area
with a huge yard and trees, so it was easy to get lost in time while enjoying the
beautiful day.

Putting a smile on her face, Piper contemplated if now was the time to tell her sister
about the baby. Fortunately she had worn a huge T-shirt over her maternity shorts
this morning, thus hiding the bump of her belly.

“Yeah, the house was pretty much done when I moved in—all I needed were my things
and a few other odds and ends. Fortunately it all fit in the truck. I did bring those
gray sofas from the apartment, though. Dad brought those over …,” she answered with
a shrug. In reality she should have burned one of those sofas.

“Really, so everything’s good? I’m still surprised you moved out here.”

“Yeah,” she answered, “I needed to. I wasn’t getting any drawing done in Nashville,
and since I moved here I’ve already finished three pages for Emmaline’s book. Being
by the lake is so beautiful and inspirational.”

Harper smiled and said, “That’s great.”

Nodding, Piper assured her sister, “It is. I really love it here.” Then she asked,
“By the way, where’s Ally?”

“With Jakob. I needed to talk to you without her little butt distracting us.”

Piper frowned, wondering if Elli could have already told Harper about the pregnancy.
“What about?”

“Well, first, I need to know if you’re still coming for dinner this weekend. Jakob’s
parents are coming to town. Mom and Dad will be there, too, and Reese, if I can pull
her out of
that damn studio.”

Oh, shit. Piper had totally forgotten. Everything was getting so complicated. She
loved Alla and Cooper, Erik and Jakob’s parents. They were fantastic people, and both
thought very highly of Piper, but what would happen when they found out that another
Allen woman was having one of their grandchildren? Not only that, what were Piper’s
parents going to think? Oh God, it was all getting so stressful, and the more she
waited the worse it got.

Pulling her thoughts quickly back to the conversation, she nodded and said, “Sure.”

“Good. I think if Erik can get his dick out of all those females he’s been chasing,
he might show up, too. I’ve been so disgusted with him lately. Have you seen what’s
been in the tabloid magazines and all over the Internet about him?”

Fortunately, her family knew nothing about her previous relationship with Erik, nor
of her ongoing infatuation for the man.

She knew what Harper was talking about since she had seen everything the trash rags
were saying about him and it wasn’t good. Apparently since leaving Piper’s bed, Erik
had jumped on anything that had a vagina and legs. He went from supermodels to actresses
to country music stars. Piper couldn’t remember the last count, but she knew at least
two women had come forward saying he was the father of their babies. It was crazy
and disgusting and something was seriously wrong with Piper because she still loved
him.

Sad but true. The Erik she was with that night was nothing like the Erik that was
whoring about. Something was going on with him, she was sure of it. There was a reason
for all of his escapades, because she knew there was a good person in him. She’d seen
it firsthand. Piper refused to believe she was just a complete and utter idiot.

Turning her attention back to Harper, she caught the last bit of what her sister said:
“Not only is he making the team look bad, but he is making Jakob look bad, too. He
needs to clean up his act.”

“Yeah,” Piper agreed.

Piper looked out at the lake, wishing like hell they were talking about anything but
Erik.

“Anyway, the whole family under one roof, it’s bound to be a great time.”

Piper cringed. “Loads,” she said.

Harper smiled as she looked out at the lake. “I always did love this view. I’m glad
Elli is letting you stay here.”

“She said I could buy it from her if I wanted to. With having the twins now, and of
course after building their new beautiful five-thousand-square-foot mansion, she said
they’ve outgrown it.”

Harper nodded and smiled at the mention of her best friend’s newest additions. Piper
was excited for Elli, too; hell, everyone was. But that poor woman had been pregnant
for three years straight. Her husband, Shea Adler, captain of the Assassins hockey
team, the same team Elli owned and managed, wanted a huge family. And boy was he getting
one. They now had two beautiful girls and handsome twin boys. They were very blessed
and living in total bliss. Piper could only hope that one day that would happen for
her. At that moment, it didn’t look like it could.

What Elli and Shea had, Piper wanted with Erik. She wanted to marry him and have more
of his children. But the way he was acting now, marriage was not a possibility—he
was acting like a douche and she just didn’t understand it. He was known for having
a wild side but after their night together it looked as though he’d amped up his waywardness
even more.

Piper was usually a happy person, but lately it made her sad to think that her child
was bound to grow up without knowing his or her biological father. Sure, Erik would
probably come and visit every once in a while, but he wouldn’t be there like a full-time
dad would. He wouldn’t be there in the morning to play, or at night for bedtime. It
was heartbreaking to think about, but she had known this when she decided to keep
the baby.

The way Erik was acting, he probably wouldn’t even own up to being the father, let
alone have an interest in his child. How sad was that?

“That’s good,” Harper said. She looked over, meeting Piper’s sad gaze. “Are you okay?”

“Sure, I’m just tired,” Piper said quickly, waving her off.

“Hmm, okay,” Harper said, eyeing her the way only an older sister would. Her face
changed after Piper guessed she was satisfied with the lie, then Harper said, “I need
to ask you something.”

“Okay?”

Harper looked down and then out to the lake again. She took in a deep breath as if
preparing herself for what she was about to say, “The doctors have told me that I
need to stop trying for a baby.”

Harper wanted another child very badly, and Piper wished that it could have worked
out
for her, but after five miscarriages it wasn’t looking as if it was going to.

“I’m so sorry, Harper. How are you holding up?”

Harper shrugged her shoulders. “Not good, but Jakob said we could adopt if I wanted,
or get a surrogate.”

Piper smiled. Jakob was amazing. “That’s awesome, Harper!”

“Yeah, I want you to do it,” she quickly blurted out.

Piper stilled. “Excuse me?”

Harper smiled, turning to her before placing her hands on Piper’s shoulders. “I want
you to have our baby. You are the perfect person. I trust you. You are home all day
now with your new job, and you take great care of yourself. I don’t want a stranger
having my child: I want you. I want someone I can trust.”

Piper could only blink as she looked up at her beautiful older sister. How could this
be happening? Here she was having the hardest time figuring out a way to tell her
sister she was pregnant. Of course, if Piper weren’t already pregnant she would have
definitely considered doing this for her; she loved her sister, loved Jakob, and knew
how much they both wanted another child. But she couldn’t help Harper now; she had
to tell her, the whole truth. OMG. She took in a deep breath, her eyes clouding with
unwanted tears as she whispered, “I’m sorry, Harper, I can’t.”