Wingman Wednesday-Caution: Filling is Hot

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To celebrate the re-release of Caution: Filling is Hot in all it's scrumptious glory, I'm sharing this scene today. Enjoy. Oh, and keep reading. I'm also posting some fun stuff from Betty Bliss of Coming Attractions fame.  

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When Chad’s guests arrived thirty minutes later, the steaks were just about to go on the grill, the potatoes were nearly done, the salad looked beautiful, and the bottle of red wine was uncorked and breathing.

Piper hid out in the kitchen when he went to greet his friends. Taking a peek around the corner, she saw him show them into the living room. Her heart dropped into her nervous stomach when he came back for her.

“Come on,” he coaxed. “They want to meet you.”

She shook her head and backed away. “I’m not staying.”

“Of course you are.” Without giving her a chance to argue, Chad took her by the hand and tugged her through the archway. She half hid behind him when his friends looked up and he announced, “Tonight’s dinner might not have happened if not for the cool intervention of this woman here. Piper Frost, take a bow.”

His grin got even bigger when she rolled her eyes at him. Looking at the bewildered couple, she explained, “He ruined his roast.”

“We’re having roast?” the woman asked.

Chad gave a quick little headshake and screwed up his face. “Not anymore. Now it’s steak.”

“Now it’s edible,” Piper amended with a laugh.

“Piper, meet my two oldest friends.”

“Oldest?” The woman shuddered.

Chuckling, he corrected himself. “My closest friends then—Brent and Pam Fuller.”

“Hello,” Piper said, a tad bashfully.

“Hi,” said the Fullers at the exact same time, and in the exact same way. They all laughed at that.

Then Chad rubbed his hands together, poised to play his part. “Anyone interested in a glass of wine?”

Pam raised her hand. “If you’re pouring, I won’t say no.”

He glanced at her husband. “Brent?”

“Sure. I’ll give you a hand.”

Chad looked at the two women. “Why don’t you ladies get acquainted? We’ll be right back.”

With that, he walked out, placing the unofficial hostess duties squarely on Piper’s shoulders.

“Might as well sit down.” Piper motioned to the couch.

“Good idea.”

Once seated, the inevitable awkwardness returned. Piper gave a helpless laugh.

“Why don’t I start us off? Tell me, how long have you known Chad?”

Pam’s brows pinched together as she did the mental calculation. “Hmm, I guess it’s been what, twelve years now?”

“So you can vouch for him then?” she joked.

“I’ve done it before,” Pam said with a twinkle in her eye. “When I introduced him to my best friend, Chelsea.”

Piper’s smile collapsed. “Oh god. I walked right into that one. I’m so sorry.”

Smiling kindly, Pam shook her head. “Don’t be. It’s not a decision I regret. Not even a little. Chad made her happy.”

“You must miss her.”

“I do. But it gets easier over time.” Her expression softened and she smiled at Piper. “I’m so glad he’s finally going out again. You have no idea how much we’ve worried about him.”

“Oh no. We’re not dating.” Piper rushed to correct her. “It isn’t like that between us. We’re just friends.”

Clearly taken aback for a moment, Pam didn’t get an opportunity to pursue it further because the guys returned. Brent strolled over to his wife and handed her a glass of wine, then settled into the nearest wing chair.

“I guess this one’s for you.” Chad handed the extra glass he carried to Piper. He claimed the remaining chair.

“Hold it,” Brent said before anyone could take a sip. “I want to make a toast.”

Pam stared, hard, at her husband, trying to communicate something to him while Chad shot him a stern look across the coffee table. Brent merely winked at him and sat forward, holding out his glass. “Here’s to round two.”

                                                                          ♡

Chad’s eyes bulged in alarm. The idiot was going to ruin everything! He shook his head, silently pleading with his friend to shut up.

Brent simply grinned and ignored his expressive glare. “Let’s call it flank steak.”

Flank steak, my ass, Chad thought as he leaned in to rap his glass against the others. Luckily Piper didn’t appear to read anything more into it, but if he didn’t haul Brent aside and explain a few things to him, pronto, all his best-laid plans were going to come crashing down on his head.

The opportunity came only minutes later when Chad invited Brent outside while he checked the steaks. The ladies moved to the kitchen table where a platter of munchies awaited. From the deck, he watched them draw fresh vegetables through the dip while they chatted like old friends.

He gave the steak an inattentive poke and leaned back to peer around Brent. He couldn’t believe he was actually spying on them through the screen door. His ear perked up at Piper’s laugh. She shook her head at what she was hearing. By body language alone, he could tell when Pam said, “I swear!” They fell over themselves laughing.

That probably wasn’t good. What was she telling Piper, anyway?

“Um, Chad?” ventured Brent. “Are you going to flip that steak or do you want me to do it?”

“Hmm?”

Brent laughed. “Oh man, you are gone.”

Chad’s spun on him and whispered in a harsh tone, “Don’t say that.”

“Just stating the obvious.”

“Please.” Chad pressed the air with his hand and lowered his voice. “If Piper hears that, she’s out of here.”

Brent twisted open a beer, his drink of choice, and frowned. “I don’t get it. She likes you. Even I can see that, and I’m not the most perceptive guy in the world.”

“Yeah.” Chad flipped the last steak and closed the lid. “But that old boyfriend of hers did a number on her. I’d love to track him down and punch him right in the face.”

Brent’s eyebrows shot up at Chad’s simmering anger. “What did he do?”

“Used her, drained her, and threw her away.”

“Prick.”

Chad sneered in disgust. “Big time.”

Brent nodded slowly. “And now he’s casting a shadow over your love life.”

“Looks that way. Let me have some of that.” He held out his hand and Brent passed him the beer. Chad took a swallow and handed it back.

“If that’s the case, can I say something?” Brent asked cautiously.

“Maybe.”

“You need to pull it back a notch.”

Chad chuckled at himself, at the situation, at the whole bloody mess of it all. “How am I supposed to do that?”

“You can’t take your eyes off of her. A blind man could see how you feel about Piper. It’s obvious. That’s all. You should know that if you think you’re going to pull this off.”

Chad closed his eyes and groaned. “Shit.”

Treat yourself to Caution: Filling is Hot today!

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