Read Online Loving Piper by Charlotte Lockheart - Free Book Online

favorably, on him earlier.
    In one motion, he turned toward her, placed a hand on one shoulder and pulled her closer.
    “Rob, I—”
    His lips were suddenly pressing lightly on her own. His other hand lifted and loosely touched the side of her face. She closed her eyes, a wave of pleasure rolling over her. She leaned into him to deepen the kiss. Then both his hands were framing her face for one brief moment before he moved away, dropping his hands to his sides.
    “I shouldn’t ha—”
    “It’s okay, Rob, it—”
    “No, you don’t know, I’m not—”
    “I know enough.” Piper said, raising her hand. “Don’t worry, please don’t worry. We don’t have to do this again. It was a mistake, but a small mistake.”
    “Yes, a small mistake.”
    “As I said earlier, I’ve got some things to take care of.” Piper smoothed her sweater over her hips, looking for nonexistent pockets, any kind of refuge in the awkward situation. What was she doing, she thought, waiting for permission to leave?
    “Good night.” She was already walking out of the living room toward the door to the downstairs.
    “Yes, uh, well, again, thank you very much for this today. Very kind of you. And, uh, good night.”

Chapter Six
    “MM-MMM, DELICIOUS . Hard to believe these two are in the same test group. That last one was redolent of a Dumpster, with shades of dog poop in an oil barrel thrown in.” Rob smiled and let his head loll in pleasure. He had a reasonably well developed nose, but at this moment his enjoyment stemmed from the large creative descriptor territory and the lingo that went with it more than the actual wine tasting. Wines were such fair game. No hurt feelings, no tippy-toeing around what he wanted to say. Just spit it out, literally, and then spit it out.
    He’d signed up for the monthly tastings and was on his third session. He appreciated the oblivion of sinking into the myriad dimensions of wine. It required one hundred percent concentration, and that was good. There was no room for other thoughts. As instructed, he considered the body of this latest offering, then got stuck on the word body . The image of a beautiful woman who resembled Piper invaded his mind and he lost his concentration. Then the sommelier, Gerald, resumed his talk, pointing out the nicest features of the wine and where it was lacking.
    “And remember, folks, next month, please bring a guest with you if there’s someone who might be interested. We’d like to get the word out about the sessions. Ontario is producing some spectacular vintages and I want to raise the wine IQ here in Toronto.”
    There was a little more chatter about baco noir grapes and then the class dispersed.
    Rob had enjoyed his walk to the tasting, which was held in the back of a small restaurant on Bloor St., and the return trip was equally pleasant. Even though it was a few weeks before classes started up at the nearby University of Toronto, the kids were coming back to the city and the street was lively. Actually, he thought, it was vibrant at any time of the year, and that was something he appreciated about his neighborhood. His house was a few blocks north of Bloor, far enough away to keep his street quiet most of the time and close enough that he could walk out and buy almost anything he needed. He could eat almost every type of ethnic food that was available anywhere in the world, see plays, hear live music, go to the film festivals, attend lectures.
    Occasionally he gave some of those lectures himself, glad to be in touch with students and the interested public at large. It was a relief from battling forces that sometimes seemed insurmountable. He’d realized even in his student days that a career in the world of environmental assessments was not for the timid. He particularly enjoyed the Q&As at the ends of the lectures. That’s when things really got interesting, rough and tumble. Yeah, he liked it when some of the aggressive business admin kids showed up. They