After much wrangling, Piper ended up with a mulberry knit that had long, tight sleeves and a hem that nearly made it to her knees. The dress was high in the front but had enough dip in the back to be nightclub appropriate. Coop also insisted on a minuscule cobalt-blue bodycon dress that was only saved from sluttery by a longer, sheer black overlay. One glance at the final tab and she got light-headed. “I could have bought fifteen dresses at H&M for what one of these cost.”

“Your big mistake was not making him buy a couple more,” Heath said as they stepped into the sunny early-October afternoon.

A middle-aged man coming out of Starbucks spotted Coop and called out to him. “Hey, Coop! You’re the best!”

Coop waved at the guy.

“Piper’s gonna need shoes,” Champion said.

“She’ll have to put it on my bill, because I can’t stand listening to any more of her complaining.” Coop acted as if she weren’t standing right next to him. “I never met a woman so averse to spending my money.”

She sighed. “Unlike you two rich boys, I have to get back to work.”

“Don’t forget where your real job is,” Coop warned. “And next time you’re late, I’m docking your pay.”

“Yes, sir.” She peeled off toward the parking garage.

***

As the two men watched her disappear, Heath shook his head. “She doesn’t have a clue, does she?”

“Nope.” Coop refused to say more.

They passed a men’s boutique featuring plaid pants he wouldn’t have been caught dead in. Splashes of fallen leaves brightened a black-and-white store awning. More leaves lay like rusty fifty-dollar bills on the sidewalks.

“She kind of sneaks up on you,” Heath said. “It’s those legs.”

It was the whole damn package. Piper’s curves were right where they belonged, with nothing exaggerated, everything strong and efficient. But mostly it was her eyes. And her irreverence. And that crazy kind of decency lying underneath all her attitude.

“She reminds me of Annabelle,” Heath said. “The first time I met her.”

Coop knew what he meant. Annabelle had the same kind of feistiness. But there was a big difference. “Annabelle’s sweet and Piper’s a viper.”

“Obviously you haven’t spent enough time around my wife.” Heath glanced toward a bra and panty set in the window of Agent Provocateur.

“Just as long as the two of them never meet,” Coop said.

“I think it’d be entertaining.”

Coop shuddered. He liked Annabelle, but he didn’t like the way she wanted to poke her nose into his relationships. “Make sure it never happens.”

“I’m promising nothin’, pal. And for the record... Why did you really want me here?”

It took a few beats too long for Coop to respond. “Exactly what I said. You have more experience with women’s clothes.”