Playing with Piper (Menage MfM Romance Novel) (Playing for Love Book 3) by Tara Crescent Page A

t’s, and I’d sent Grant & Thornton a copy of all the paperwork.
    The timing couldn’t be worse. Owen, Wyatt, and I have been spending every waking moment at Aladdin’s Lamp , getting it ready for the contest. I’ve been cooking the new dishes we’ve concocted, again and again, until I can make them in my sleep. We’ve found a new meat supplier, we’re auditioning two vegetable suppliers and we’re getting new appliances in the kitchen. Next week is also the first round of the contest.
    Already I’m stretched to the max. Now I have to deal with my parent’s latest passive-aggressive move? I slump into a chair and rest my head on the table, and I struggle not to burst into tears.

17
    Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.
    Sun Tzu, The Art of War
Wyatt:
    O wen and I have just walked into Aladdin’s Lamp when my cellphone rings. I glance down at the display, but the caller id is blocked. Shrugging, I pick up. “This is Wyatt Lawless,” I say, as Owen heads to the back to look for Piper.
    “Hello, son.”
    I haven’t heard my father’s voice in twenty years.
    Everything stops. I can’t hear the honks of the cabs, or the rumbling from the subway under my feet. The bustle of Manhattan recedes into the background.
    My palms are damp and my fingers white where I grip the phone. My pulse races. One thought dominates. I can’t have this conversation here. I can’t be overheard.
    Pushing the door open, I go outside. Leaning against the brick wall, shaded by the newly installed blue and white awning, I take a deep breath. “What do you want?”
    He responds to my question with one of his own. “Why don’t you want to meet me, Wyatt?”
    Why don’t I want to meet him? Is he fucking kidding me with this shit? “Why would I want to meet you?” My voice is hard as steel, but my hands are shaking. “It’s been twenty years. You think you can just waltz back into my life and pretend everything’s fine?”
    “I’m your father. You’re my son.”
    “You forfeited the right to call me that when you walked out on mom and me.”
    “When was the last time you stepped foot into that house, Wyatt?” At my silence, he laughs grimly. “Can you really blame me for leaving? Your mother would rummage through the trash and take out every empty can I discarded. She wouldn’t let me throw away anything. You remember the stacks of old newspapers in the living room, Wyatt? You remember the milk crates of old tin cans that lived on the couch? There was nowhere to cook a meal. No space to sit and drink a pint.” His voice is heavy with self-pity. “One day, I reached breaking point. I couldn’t take it anymore.”
    I want to hang up, but I can’t. My fingers refuse to press the disconnect button. I keep listening, the words hammering into my brain, bringing back images of a past I’ve done my best to forget. Finally, when he stops talking to draw breath, I interrupt. “You abandoned a thirteen year old child when you left.” The sun’s beating down, but I’m chilled to the bone. “There’s nothing you can say that will excuse that. I have nothing to say to you.”
    I end the call. For a very long time, I stare into the street, seeing but not registering the cars, the pedestrians, the rhythm of the city.
    Finally, I rouse myself out of my stupor. My father is meaningless. I have a restaurant to fix.
    But when I walk into the restaurant, I see Owen sitting at a table, gazing helplessly at the tears streaming down Piper’s cheeks.

18
    The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.
    Audrey Hepburn
Wyatt:
    M y heart twists painfully in my chest when I see Piper crying. I cross the room in long strides and pull up a chair next to her. “What’s the matter, honey?”
    Her shoulders shake with her sobs, but she doesn’t reply. What happened, I mouth to Owen, who shakes his head. He doesn’t know either.
    It kills me to see her so upset. A wave of wrath for whoever caused