just sat there looking at the thing without saying anything. Something about his lack of movement tickled her anxiety.
“What?” she asked. “Is everything okay?”
“I… am trying to figure out the best way to proceed.”
“With what?” Turner asked, food in his mouth. Apparently his appetite was just fine. Though he was the only one who’d been doing physical work all morning, so he deserved his sustenance. “Who was it?”
“The office,” he said, looking straight at his friend. “I’ll talk to you about it later.”
“Later?” Turner asked.
“I can leave you alone,” Poppy said, rising onto her knees. “If it’s something private.”
Preston seemed open to that. Turner, on the other hand, grabbed her wrist and yanked her closer again, preventing her from going anywhere. “If it’s something about me, Poppy doesn’t have to go anywhere.”
“It could be personal,” she murmured. “After all he’s done for us, I think it’s only right that you should give your friend—”
“There’s been an offer on the Venture,” Preston said, silencing Poppy and changing the mood around their picnic. “I got a call about it earlier. I wanted more information before bringing it to you, so I had the other side submit the offer in writing.”
“How much?” Turner asked. “Do they want us to finish the work?”
“Wait,” Poppy said. “An offer? You mean an offer to buy the building?” Preston nodded though he didn’t look at her. Poppy’s attention snapped around to Turner. “No. You can’t.”
“I told you that we were getting it valued. If we decide to sell—”
“I don’t want to sell,” Poppy said. “No.” Shifting to her knees again, she faced him. “Baby, you don’t have to do this. Not for me or our future. Please don’t do this.”
“I think maybe you’ll want to see the offer before dismissing it out of hand,” Preston said.
Poppy didn’t want to. Slumping down, she used Turner to keep herself upright. “Why does that make a difference? Either he wants to sell or he doesn’t.”
Scrolling through his phone, Preston brought something up on the screen and then reached across the blanket to show it to his friend. Poppy deliberately turned her head away, not to give them privacy but because she wouldn’t entertain it.
“Jesus,” Turner said. “That’s not even in the ballpark of what we expected. It’s got to be ten times what it’s worth.”
“Ten times what it’s worth finished,” Preston said, putting his phone aside again. “And they’re willing to take it as is. Even with only half the units complete.”
“This doesn’t make sense,” Turner said. “Why would someone pay over the…” He grew rigid. Poppy wasn’t even looking at him and yet she felt the tension vibrate through his form. “Who made the offer?” The deep menace of his tone was knowing, like he already knew the answer to his own question, which could be why Preston was reluctant to answer. “It’s Abernathy… right?”
She couldn’t believe it. Holden had already screwed with their lives in so many ways, it shouldn’t be a surprise that he’d want to mess with Turner’s livelihood.
“Holden?” Poppy asked. “Why would he want to buy the Venture?”
“ ‘Cause he thinks I’m all about the money,” Turner said. “If he can buy me off, maybe I walk away.”
“Wait,” she said, trying to figure it out. “This isn’t an offer for the Venture, he’s paying you to leave me.” Shoving away from Turner, she found herself at the head of the picnic blanket, her ire flashing between both men. “Of all the… Does he really think that I’d… that you’d…” Growling in frustration, she appealed to the sky. “I should’ve done so much more than punch him.”
“Hey,” Turner said, stroking her arm. “We don’t give him power, right?”
“How can you be okay with this?” she asked, misdirecting her anger. “How can you just be fine with someone trying to pay you to leave me? That’s saying you’re a man of no integrity. A man with no morals. A gold-digger. A—” Something occurred to her, which took some of her anger. “How does he even know about us?”
“The Maddox family disappeared from where the media could get to them,” Preston said. “He won’t have missed that. The press know that they’re here. And your guy wasn’t subtle about breaking into the estate. The cops were called. There was a scene… We can’t discount the possibility that he’s paid off someone on the inside either.”
“A spy?” she asked. “On the estate?”
“You have staff,” Preston said on a shrug. “There’s the extra security guys and the construction guys, you