the bed, holding the device in both hands, her arms resting on the mattress. “Hello, beautiful.”
“Auntie Poppy, we’re missing you here.”
“I miss you too, beautiful,” Poppy said. “How are you? Are your brother and sister there?”
So far all she’d seen was Emmie’s face filling the screen. After asking Emmie leaned back just enough to show Noah at her side.
“When are you coming home, Aunt Poppy?” Noah asked.
“Yeah,” Emmie said. “Grama’s teaching us how to make new cakes. You need to try them.”
“I would love to, honey,” Poppy said, ignoring the heat gathering behind her eyes. “Do you like living with Grama?”
“She makes lots of cakes with me,” Emmie said.
Noah pushed his weight against his sister, trying to muscle her aside. “Aunt Charley showed us videos with Granpa. Uncle Turner is in them too.”
“He is,” Poppy said, curling her arm to rest her head against it. “They’re really good videos.”
“We’re going to make videos of us,” Emmie said, pushing in front of her brother again. “Will you come and be in our videos?”
“When is Uncle Turner coming home?” Noah asked, more direct about pushing his sibling.
“Be nice to each other,” Poppy said. “You’ll see Uncle Turner soon, I promise.”
“Do you live in a castle?” Noah asked.
Emmie huffed at her brother. “Aunt Poppy is a real-life princess. Yes, she lives in a castle.”
Poppy laughed. “I don’t live in a castle. I’m not a princess… You’re the princess, baby girl.”
The little girl’s face contorted in confusion. “Princesses can only marry princes. Uncle Turner isn’t a prince… How can you marry him? He’s not a prince.”
Emmie’s instant grief came in time with Poppy’s panic. “Oh, uh… sweetie—”
“They in love,” Noah said. “People in love have to get married so they can have babies.”
Excited, Emmie gasped. “I can look after your babies! Can I look after your babies?”
“Honey—”
“They has to get married,” Noah said, tussling with his sister.
“I get to be a bridesmaid,” Emmie said, bouncing up and down. “Can I walk down first, not Ashlee?”
“You have to walk with Ashlee,” Noah said. “She’s too slow.”
“You walk with her,” Emmie huffed. “I want to walk just me… or, oh…” She grabbed the phone to pull it right up to her face. “Can I walk with Uncle Turner?”
Poppy smiled. “Grooms don’t walk down the aisle, honey. They just wait at the altar for the bride.”
“Noah can wait with him then. Uncle Ritchie will be there and Uncle Naught… Is Uncle Preston coming home soon too? We have to try on dresses, Aunt Poppy. Can I wear pink? Or yellow like the sunshine?”
All the talk of weddings wasn’t easy to hear. The kids were so excited about the prospect of a wedding and cousins, Poppy didn’t want to be the one breaking their little hearts.
“Okay, guys, there’s a lot to think about before then,” Turner said, taking the phone from her. “We’ve got to go just now, okay? But we love you.”
“Will you have babies I can look after, Uncle Turner?” Emmie asked.
“We’ll see, Sprog, okay? Now go find your mom and your sister. Behave yourselves.”
“Love you!” Emmie chirped before making lots of kissy noises.
They said their goodbyes and hung up. Poppy stayed on her knees by the edge of the bed, her chin propped on her stacked hands.
“You okay?” Turner asked, stroking her hair.
Exhaling, Poppy wasn’t sure what was in her head. “I barely know them and I miss them,” she murmured. “The thought I might never see them again…”
“You’ll see them again,” he said, his fingers tangling in her hair. “They’re your family if you want them to be.”
Peeking up at him, Poppy didn’t know whether to be flattered or suspicious. Using the kids to bring them together would be a sneaky move. Turner wasn’t like that; everything about him was genuine.
“I missed you every minute,” she said, shifting to rest her head on his thigh. “The minute I walked out of your place, I knew that getting over you wouldn’t be easy.” She closed her eyes, enjoying how his fingers moved through her hair in a rhythmic motion. “What we were couldn’t have gone on forever. It was never supposed to. Being your sex toy, sharing your bed, it was the greatest thrill of my life… You were the greatest thrill. The best lover I ever had. The only man I wanted to…”
She didn’t finish. The potential of that sentence hung heavy in the air between them.
“How early did you know that you felt something for me?” he asked. “Something real?”