forth to the city can be enough of a bore to put us off.”
Forty miles might be a lot just to go to a party, but to say it was a trek was laughable. Being chauffeur driven in a luxury limo was hardly schlepping it.
They did have other towns, closer towns, where they could go for dinner or a little light shopping. What Violet meant was the people. Society. Those in her age range who had a similar mindset and loved to play; those were the people she wanted to consort with in the city.
“We should go,” Primrose said to her sister. “Grammie’s always saying that it’s fun to live out in the real world. We should do it… We have a brother who can hook us up now.”
Charley’s words. That wouldn’t have come out of Primrose’s mouth if she wasn’t parroting what she’d just heard.
“Yeah!” Charley exclaimed. “I bet you could work with Poppy and me!”
Violet blinked before she frowned. “Work?”
Poppy just smiled, but Primrose laughed. “We don’t have to work if we don’t want to. We could pay Turner in advance.”
“Would we have to sign something?” Violet asked.
No doubt her almost brush with a marriage certificate had made her wary of putting pen to paper.
“I could ask Preston to check it out first.”
That offended Poppy. “Implying my fiancé might try to scam you?”
“No!” Primrose said, quick to backtrack. “I just like it when Preston does his lawyer thing.”
“So weird,” Charley muttered.
“Not as weird as some other things,” Zoey said.
“What things?” Faye asked.
The younger Maddox squirmed. “Everything is changing… I can’t be the only one who’s noticed. I’m with Case. Turner’s got Poppy. Charley lives in the Venture, and she’s hung up on creepy, liar Leicester… Faye and Kev are on the outs… Everything is different.”
“Doesn’t mean everything is bad,” Primrose said. “Our family has benefited from knowing yours.”
It meant a lot to Poppy to hear that acknowledgment. Her sisters weren’t the types she might consider obvious friends for the Maddox gang, but it was amazing, humbling, to see the two families coming together.
For a score of seconds, all of them reflected, basking in the sun. Poppy didn’t hear anyone approach. His voice was her first clue.
“I thought the point of moving out of the main house was to get privacy,” Turner said.
Standing at the edge of the deck, shades over his eyes, her fiancé surveyed the scene. He tossed the tools in his hand down near the wall.
Despite the sunglasses over his eyes, Poppy could tell he was scowling. “Our sisters came to visit,” she said.
“The sun is better here than on the terrace at the house,” Primrose said. “You don’t mind, do you?”
“Don’t ask him that,” Faye said, quick to interject. “You won’t like the answer.”
“He doesn’t care,” Charley said. “He just pretends to be grumpy.”
“It’s a great act,” Casey mumbled, obviously intimidated.
“I’m gonna take a shower,” Turner said.
He only got a step before Poppy sat up, raising her arms toward him. “No, come here first.”
“I’m sweaty,” he said, though he did alter his trajectory.
“I know,” Poppy said, lacing her voice with innuendo as he sat facing her. Coiling her arms around his neck, she tried to pull him down with her. “I missed you today.”
“That,” Zoey exclaimed just as Turner’s mouth met Poppy’s. “That’s different… It’s freaky.”
“It freaks me out,” Charley agreed.
“What are they talking about?” Turner asked, though his mouth didn’t get an inch from hers.
“Ignore them,” Poppy said, kissing him again. “How was work?”
“Fine ‘cause I thought I was coming home to my girl.”
“I’m here.”
“With an entourage.”
“Hey, brother,” Charley said, leaning over to force herself into his peripheral vision. She got close enough that Poppy relaxed her arms to give him room to turn his head. “Will you extend Mom’s house?”
As he sat up, Poppy was forced to let go so she sank back into a reclined position again.
“What for?” he asked. “How many rooms do you want?” He looked at her. “I thought we were getting Faye a house.”
Poppy shrugged. “Consensus seems to be for an extension.”
“Just because Charley shouts the loudest doesn’t mean it’s what we all want,” Zoey said. “I think a house is a good idea.”
“Because you want to get laid in the basement,” Charley said. “Mom won’t let it happen.”
As the sisters descended into their own discussions, Turner arched a brow at her. Poppy raised a shoulder in a contrite half shrug. He exhaled in a way that made her think he might have rolled his eyes before he