Wrapped in Lace Read Online Free PDF Page A

come to attention with one glance.
    “Why don’t you two sit next to each other?” my grandmother suggested, taking each of our hands. “You can catch up.”
    I felt like I was in a movie, and they were doing the scene in slow motion. We both moved to the end of the table and gingerly sat next to each other as everyone else took their seats, too. Heads were lowered as Nana started to say the blessing. I kept my head down, but my eyes were on Piper. Her eyes were closed, but I could tell she was just as surprised as I was. Her chest was rising and falling a little too quickly, her skin a little pink. I was struggling to get over what a beautiful woman she’d turned into when her blue eyes opened, catching me staring.
    *
    PIPER
    “Stop it,” I mouthed to him, but I knew I was smiling. Drew flashed me a naughty grin. I couldn’t believe this was happening. The one time I flirt shamelessly with a man, he turns out to be the boy I used to make mud pies with. The dating Gods must hate me!
    “Amen,” everyone said and lifted their heads.
    Chatter started around the table as everyone reached for their napkins and poured drinks. I felt his fingers graze my thigh gently as he placed his napkin in his lap. Did he do that on purpose? I chewed my bottom lip, trying to decide.
    “What’re you drinking tonight?” he whispered.
    Yep, he totally did that on purpose. “Shut up,” I whispered back through my smile. “I’m never drinking again.”
    Bowls and platters of food were passed around, and each time Drew handed me something, he made sure his fingers brushed mine. He was grinning like a fool, delighting in watching my body react to his. I was trying to have a couldn’t-care-less attitude, but I was failing miserably. Luckily, everyone else was too busy stuffing themselves and making small talk to notice. Despite the friendly chatter, there was a heaviness to the room that I couldn’t put my finger on. The Landons were never a tense bunch. My granddaddy and I had been here a number of times, and it never felt like this before. But then again, maybe it was just me and the thick sexual tension in my body.
    “How long have you been back in town?” Drew asked, pouring some gravy over his mashed potatoes.
    I didn’t look at him. I couldn’t look at him. I’d led him on before almost puking in his lap. “About a year. I moved back in with Granddaddy after Grandma passed.”
    “What do you do?”
    “I teach art at the elementary school,” I answered, staring down at my plate, my appetite suddenly gone.
    “Miss Piper is the best teacher,” Jack chimed in, his mouth full of food. “She lets us paint upside down like Michael Angel.”
    The entire room laughed, and I gently corrected him. “Michelangelo.” Then I shifted my body slightly towards Drew. I didn’t want to look him in the eye, so that meant I was staring down at his tan, muscular arms. Sigh . I’d been wrapped in those just a few hours ago. “I tape paper to the underside of a table to show the children how Michelangelo had to paint the Sistine Chapel upside down.”
    Drew smiled at me again. He really had to stop smiling at me. “Did you go to art school?”
    “Yeah, Virginia Commonwealth.”
    “My little Piper has her work in galleries in Charlotte, Raleigh, and even Atlanta,” my granddaddy said, beaming proudly.
    “Granddaddy likes to brag,” I said, looking down and moving my food around on my plate. “I’ve only sold a few.”
    “You should show Drew your work,” his grandmother said.
    “Oh, I’m sure he. . . .”
    “That’s a great idea,” Drew interrupted. “I’d love to see your work.”
    He couldn’t possibly be serious. I knew he was very successful. He was McAdenville’s claim to fame, other than the Christmas lights, and there was no way he’d care about my sketches. I was a nobody in the art world, while he was taking the furniture world by storm. He’d even been commissioned to do a piece for the Governor’s