Found (Lost & Found #2) - Scarlett Finn Page 0,100

for a favor. A big favor, so putting the guys in a bad mood wouldn’t be a great start.

“Okay! Okay!” a male voice came from the other side of the door just a second before the click of a lock and the slide of a bolt. There were a few more sounds before the door swung open to reveal a damp-haired Ritchie wearing only a pair of jeans. “Charley.” He sighed. “I’m not even surprised.”

Tipping up her proud chin, Charley showed him a grin. “You shouldn’t be.” She stepped forward, attempting to go in, but Ritchie pulled the door closer to himself to block the way. “Don’t be a toad. Let us in.”

“We’re not open yet.”

“Which is why we’re at the back door,” Charley drawled like it was obvious. “Move or Turner will kick your ass.”

“Hard to do from a thousand miles away,” he said, then switched his focus to Poppy. “Married, huh?”

“Think it’s a crazy idea?” Poppy asked, her heart rate jumping.

Ritchie offered a half-shrug. “He asked you, didn’t he? From a guy’s point of view, I’ve gotta say, taking all the planning bullshit out of it would be a godsend.”

“You’re a real romantic, Ritch,” Charley said.

He blinked at the younger woman. “Your brother is a practical guy. He didn’t propose to Poppy ‘cause he wanted to think about flowers and music and dresses. He did it ‘cause he wants to spend his life with her. Nothing more romantic than that.”

When he put it in such plain and obvious terms, Poppy was encouraged. Though Charley’s comment was slightly worrying.

“You don’t think it’s romantic?” Poppy asked.

Charley gasped. “No! I do! I do! I love the idea! You know I do.”

“How you gonna get him to sign the license without tipping him off?”

“Gross as it is,” Charley said, following the words with an excited laugh, “she has a plan that involves using sex as a distraction.”

“That’s a plan I’d get on board with,” Ritchie said. “Right there in the clerk’s office? Wow, you’re a ballsy woman.”

“Not right there in the clerk’s office,” Poppy said, almost sighing at him as he smiled. “Just because we have a license doesn’t mean he knows we’re going to do it the next day.”

“Which is why we’re here,” Charley declared, poking Ritchie’s ribs. “Now let us in. We have to talk to Naught.”

“He’s in the basement,” Ritchie said, looking at the ground. “Busy working like us regular stiffs have to.” Propping his shoulder on the door frame, he hooked a thumb into his pocket. “So billionaire… never thought to mention it?”

“Turner knew,” Charley said, though Poppy wasn’t sure if that was a defense or an accusation. “He knew everything all along.”

Ritchie’s brows rose at her.

“People seem to be offended by that,” Poppy said. “He’s the man I’m marrying, shouldn’t I tell him everything about me?”

“You didn’t know you were going to marry him when you met him,” Charley said, whirling around to face her. “You still told him.”

“Not the very first day.”

Though it hadn’t been much after that, so the defense was weak. “I always felt comfortable with him.” That word didn’t feel like quite the right one. “I was always drawn to him.” A better explanation. “Your brother has an… energy about him.” Her words became more wistful. “Just being near him, it… does something to me.”

“Okay, yeah,” Charley said, shaking Poppy from her daze. “Let’s not talk about what my brother does to you anymore. The less said about that the better.”

Ritchie laughed. “Better get used to it, Charley-Clown, I don’t think those two will be shy about claiming ownership of each other.”

“You haven’t been around them this past week,” Charley said, wearing a look of disgust. “They’re all over each other all the time.”

Used to the Maddox sisters’ feelings on their brother’s prowess, Poppy wasn’t offended. She smiled to show her pride in their relationship. “Not in front of people,” she said, thinking they didn’t mind holding hands or whispering to each other. Anything more than that, anything too physical, couldn’t be done in front of parents. “We keep the real affection for behind closed doors.”

“They moved out of the actual big house, just so they could have sex,” Charley said, laying her incredulity on Ritchie.

Turner’s friend was even more amused. “Think Turn’s got himself the perfect woman.” He stepped aside. “Come on in, I’ll go get Naught.”

They shuffled through the door and a hallway until Ritchie opened the door that led to the bar. He disappeared, leaving them alone, and Charley went