Piper Manning’s about as tough as they come, she’s had to be. She raised her siblings and they’ve thankfully flown the coop. All she has to do is finish fixing up the lake house her grandparents left her, sell it, and then she’s free.
When a massive storm hits, she runs into a tall, dark and brooding stranger, Camden Reid. There’s a spark there, one that shocks her. Surprising her further, her sister and brother return, each of them holding their own secrets. The smart move would be for Piper to ignore them all but Cam unleashes emotions deep inside of her that she can’t deny, making her yearn for something she doesn’t understand. And her siblings…well, they need each other.
Only when the secrets come out, it changes everything Piper thinks she knows about her family, herself…and Cam. Can she find a way to outrun the demons? The answer is closer than she thinks—just as the new life she craves may have already begun.
BUY LINKS
“I was very
clear,” she said when the alcohol burn cleared her throat, eyeing the whole
group, most of whom were also first responders and worked with her at the
station or hospital in one form or another. “We weren’t going to mention my birthday,
much less sing to me about it. Twice.”
Not a single one of them looked
guilty. “To Piper,” Ryland said, and everyone raised a glass. “For gathering
and keeping all us misfits together and sane.”
“To Piper,” everyone cheered,
then, thankfully, conversations started up all around her so that she was
finally no longer the center of attention. Everyone was well versed in her
ways, which meant they got that while she was touched that they cared, she
didn’t want any more attention. Easily accepting that, they were happy to enjoy
the night and leave her alone.
“So, did that hurt?” Jenna
asked, amused.
“What?”
“Being loved?”
In tune to the sounds of the bar
around them—someone singing off-key to “Sweet Home Alabama,” rambunctious
laughter from a nearby table, the clink of pool balls—Piper rolled her
eyes.
“You know one day those eyeballs
are going to fall right out of your head, right?”
Ignoring this, Piper went back
to what she’d been doing before being so rudely interrupted by all the love.
Making a list. She was big on bullet journaling. She’d had to be. Making notes
and lists had saved her life more than once. And yes, she knew she could do it
all on a notes app on her phone instead, but her brain wasn’t wired that way.
Nope, she had to do everything the hard way and write that shit down by hand
like in the Dark Ages. She flipped through some of her pages: Calendars,
Grocery Lists, Future Baby Names (even though she didn’t plan on having
babies), Passwords (okay, password, singular, since she always used the
same one—CookiesAreLife123!).
And then there were some random
entries:
Life Rules
• Occasionally maybe make an
effort to look nice.
• Don’t cut your own bangs no
matter how sad you are.
• Never ever, EVER, under any
circumstances fall in love.
She also
had a bucket list of wishes. Oh, and a secret secret bucket list of
wishes . . .
Yeah, she clearly needed help.
Or a little pill.
“New journal?” Jenna asked.
“Maybe.” Piper’s vices were
simple. Basically, she was an office supply ho—a never-ending source of
amusement to Jenna, because Piper was also a bit of a hot mess when it came to
organization and neatness. Her purse, her car, her office, and also her kitchen
always looked like a a disaster had just hit. But her journals . . . those were
pristine.
“How many journals have you
started and either lost or misplaced since I’ve known you—a million?”
Piper didn’t answer this on the
grounds that she might incriminate herself.
Jenna pulled out the pack of
stickers that were tucked into the journal. They were cute little thought
bubbles with reminders like doc appointment, empty dishwasher, and caffeinate.
“I feel like stickers are
cheating,” Jenna said.
“Bite your tongue, woman.
Stickers are everything.” So were pens. And cute paper clips. And sticky notes
. . .
“Come on. There’re far more
important things than stickers.”
“Like?” Piper asked.
“Like food.”
“Okay, you’ve got me there.”
“And sex,” Jenna said. “And that
should go above food, actually.”
“I’m
going to take your word on that since it’s been a while.”
“Well, whose fault is that?”
Jenna leaned in, trying to get a peek. “What’s today’s entry?”
“A list for figuring out what’s
next on fixing up the property.” Piper and her siblings had inherited from
their grandparents a house and some cottages on Rainbow Lake. “It still needs a
lot of work. I’m in way over my head.”
“I know.” Jenna’s smile faded.
“I hate that you’re going to sell and move away from Wildstone.”
Wildstone, California, was
Piper’s hometown. Sort of. She’d moved here at age thirteen with her two
younger siblings, Gavin and Winnie, to be raised by their grandparents. But in
the end, Piper had done all the raising. It’d taken forever, but now, finally,
her brother and sister were off living their own lives.
And hers could finally start.
From
Almost Just Friends by Jill Shalvis, published by William Morrow.
Copyright ©
2020 by Jill Shalvis.
ABOUT JILL SHALVIS
Photo Credit: Susan Sweigle
New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold and visit her website, www.jillshalvis.com, for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-
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