the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen her wear.
“This is for me?” she asks, covering her face, which is growing red.
“Yup,” I say, taking her hands from her face and pulling her over to it. “What do you think?”
“It’s . . . beautiful,” she breathes out, looking over every inch. “I only wish I knew how to play. Something this beautiful has to be played—not just looked at.”
“Take a seat,” I say, pulling her over to the bench, and she does as I ask. “I’ve hired someone to give you lessons, if you’re interested.”
Her eyes turn to mine. “Really?”
I laugh and nod. “Yes, I thought it was about time you finally got to do something you’ve always wanted to.”
She offers up a soft smile. “Thank you,” she says quietly, leaning in and brushing her lips against mine. The kiss is soft and teasing, and I can’t help but wonder if this is how things could always be with us. I pull away before the thoughts can go too far. “Play me something.”
She rolls her eyes but places her fingers on the keys. Slowly—and terribly, I might add—she starts playing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” She plays the whole song then lets her hands fall into her lap. “I’m not very good,” she says, looking down at her hands like a child who’s in trouble. “Okay, I’m awful.”
I place my hand under her chin and tilt her head back until our eyes meet. “It was beautiful, just like you. Will you play it again?” I give her a smile and she quickly returns it before starting up the song for a second time.
The two of us spend the day sitting at the piano and playing around. Neither of us knows how to play properly, but that doesn’t stop us from having fun. We play, talk, and laugh as the hours just fly by. The next thing I know, I’m getting a call. I pull my phone from my pocket and answer it.
“Hello?”
“Mr. Lewis?”
“Yes.”
“This is Johnny from the Audi dealership. I’m just calling to let you know your car is all finished. You can come and get her.”
“Wonderful news. Thank you.”
“Who was that?” she asks when I hang up the phone.
“The dealership. I can go pick up the car. Want to ride along? Finally sit in the thing you destroyed?”
She giggles. “Sure, but I’ll need to get dressed.”
“That makes two of us.”
We each go to our rooms to get dressed for the day. When she walks out, I can’t do anything but watch her walk closer to me. Her long legs are accentuated by black skinny jeans that look painted on. The knees are ripped out and there are random slashes across them, giving me small peeks at her skin. She’s wearing a pair of ankle boots, a tight crimson shirt, and a black leather jacket. She looks hot as hell.
“Why are you staring at me?” she asks, blushing as she looks down at herself.
“I didn’t realize I was.” I shake my head clear of all the dirty thoughts she suddenly pushed into it. “Ready?”
She laughs. “You’re so weird, but yes. Let’s go pick up my competition.”
I snort as I take her hand in mine. “There’s no competition.”
“She’ll win every time, huh?” she asks with a hint of amusement in her voice.
“Not even close,” I reply, pulling her toward the door.
It’s easy to see that Poppy doesn’t see what I do when I look at her. I guess that’s my past self’s fault. I didn’t treat her very well before, and the funny thing is, I didn’t even care. I couldn’t be bothered to care. In my eyes, she was nothing but a frustration—a constant screw-up. But these last couple of weeks have changed me in more ways than I thought possible. I was born and raised to think that if you didn’t have money, you didn’t matter. I didn’t realize that was something I could even overcome or change my way of thinking about. But that’s the kind of person Poppy is. She’s good to the core. She doesn’t look down on anyone. In her eyes, everyone is on exactly the same playing field, with no one person ranking higher than another. She does good and brings out the good in others around her.
We pick up the car and I can’t help but want to spend a little time behind the wheel. We take a long drive through the city and all around it, cruising slowly to enjoy some sites while speeding