She couldn’t understand how he didn’t see that she was imploring him to do what was best for him and his family.
Since he was there—and because if she didn’t say something, she’d probably lose her mind and jump him—Poppy asked, “Is Charley really mad at me?”
As Turner inhaled, he shrugged. “She’ll get over it.”
“Does Faye want my head?”
“She’s used to sisters causing trouble.”
“I’m not her sister.”
“Yet,” he said, his smile growing. “Wherever you are is where I’m supposed to be. I won’t give up.”
“You like determined women,” she murmured, recalling what Charley had first told her about him. “How about Zo? How was prom?”
His lower lip shifted as he pondered. “Didn’t hear anything much about it. Guess it went fine.”
“Damnit,” she said, her head dropping to his chest.
“What’s wrong? Something I should know?”
‘Yes’ was the answer to that question, but it wasn’t her business to say.
Toying with the fabric of his shirt above his belt, Poppy knew she should put distance between them but couldn’t. “I don’t suppose there’s any chance that you…”
“I finish here in an hour. I know where your bedroom is.”
Shocked, she smacked a hand to his chest, pushing herself away from him. “I’m a nice girl, Mr. Maddox. I don’t know who you think you’re talking to.”
Bowing forward, he wasn’t shy about bringing his smile to within an inch of hers. “Perfect elegance.”
“Turner Maddox,” she said, forced to squeeze his shoulders to pressure him back. If she hadn’t leaned back, away from the path of his mouth, he’d have reached his goal. “I was going to ask if you brought anything of mine with you.” Like her cellphone so she could call Charley.
It didn’t seem he was in a listening mood. “You’re doing it to me,” he murmured. “Stop fighting it, baby… Stop fighting me.”
“We’ve always been good at this part,” she said. His head rested on hers. The physical part, the chemistry, they excelled at that. The rest was more complicated. “I want what’s best for you, First.”
“We’ll work that out together… when you’re ready.”
Was she ready? She wanted so much, but could give so little.
“Oh my!”
Grammie’s exclamation separated them. When Poppy followed the older woman’s line of sight to the sky above the waves, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
A sky banner with her name on it. A plane, in the glorious blue sky, pulling a banner… Dumbfounded, she stumbled a few steps forward unable to tear her eyes from the letters in the sky proclaiming, “I love you, Poppy Granger.”
Someone touching her shoulder startled her from her stupor. Almost immediately, rage hit her.
“I’m going to kill him,” she hissed, whirling around to storm back to the house.
It was too much. Beyond that it was ridiculous. Her business was not the world’s business. Her association with Holden was through her sister. As far as Poppy was concerned they were acquaintances. She was closer to the Maddox sisters, who she’d known for a fraction of the time she’d known Holden, than she was to him. What a slime.
Marching up the terrace, she threw open the door beneath the stairs and strode inside. It was Tiller she needed, and his office was her aim, but the sound of voices in the dining room stopped her in her tracks.
“It’s a risky move,” a male voice, Newell, from the office. “The position is unenviable.”
“The family are being held prisoner,” Tiller said. “The girls can’t go out. Their relationships are being pulled through the wringer.”
“I don’t know what game he’s playing,” her father said. “Is it war with my family or my company?”
“Could be both,” Sunfield said; he was from the office too.
“Poppy is a beautiful woman,” Newell said. “If his affections are genuine—”
“I’m supposed to let a man court one daughter and then another?” her father asked. “He didn’t just see Violet, they got all the way to the altar.”
“And Poppy?” Sunfield asked. “If she has pull with him—”
“The only way she has pull is if she wants to be with him,” Tiller said. “Holden Abernathy is a man used to getting what he wants. I think if his intentions are honorable, he’d do whatever it took to make her happy.”
Plotting for business or plotting her life? Poppy didn’t need the reminder of what she hadn’t enjoyed about reality on the Adler Estate.
Knocking, as though she hadn’t just been eavesdropping, Poppy pushed open the door with a smile on her face and went inside. The four men were on their feet near the window. Although they called it the