I tell you that, we’ll be starting out on a lie. I’ll always be with you, that’s all I can promise. We’ll weather anything.”
“Even when you’re not trying to seduce me, you seduce me,” Poppy said, pulling herself closer. “If you ever actually figure out how much of an effect you have on women, you’ll be dangerous.”
“I don’t care about women. I care about woman. You. I feel this…”
The way he inhaled and his eyes dropped wasn’t a sexual move, she sensed a conflict in him. Learning how to read him was a great step, but she’d rather he didn’t have to be so torn up for her to get there.
“Responsibility,” she said. “You feel responsible for me. Like you said, you’re all in with women. You like to be able to fix things and to be in control. You feel like you need to fix me and I’m stopping you.”
“You’re not broken, Candy,” he said, brushing her hair away from her temple. “We’re broken right now, us as a couple, and that’s on me. I should’ve gone all in from the first second I saw you. Pretending I didn’t love you, pretending I wasn’t there… that’s what got us here. I should never have let you walk away.”
“First,” she whispered, hooking her arms beneath his to hold herself against him.
They were broken and Poppy had no idea what to do.
“Just let me be here, huh?” he said. “I need to be close… just in case.”
“In case I drink wine?” she asked, slipping her flat hands into the back pockets of his jeans. “You know what happens when I drink wine around you.”
“No, I forget, remind me.”
She squeezed his ass, reminding herself of the day they’d met. “Can I just sleep here?” she asked on an exhale, pressing her body into his.
“Nothing would make me happier, baby.”
“Nothing?”
“Short of us being naked and horizontal.”
She laughed and leaned back. “That’s what I thought. Though after Charley moved in, we did vertical more than once.”
“All you’ve gotta do is say the word.”
“Honey,” Poppy said, pushing up to her tiptoes. “I don’t have to say a thing. I didn’t have any problem taking what I wanted before, did I?”
“Yours for the taking.”
“Goodnight, First,” she said, rising to kiss the corner of his mouth. “Go entertain your friend.”
Letting him go felt unnatural, but she didn’t have a choice. Until Holden was dealt with, they were treading a dangerous line. Poppy didn’t want to hurt Turner, never in a million years. He’d once said he couldn’t give her what she deserved. At the time, she hadn’t understood. But she understood now.
Poppy couldn’t give Turner what he deserved, no matter how much she wanted to. It was all about holding. About restraint. Where Turner was concerned, that had never been an easy feat.
SEVEN
The men were in some meeting by the time Poppy made an appearance the following morning. Her decision to procrastinate after her workout was a deliberate choice to avoid the breakfast table. Getting too used to seeing Turner at family meals was bad for her mental health. While he was on the estate, it was happy and comforting to see him. One day, probably soon, he’d leave and she’d only have memories of him being around.
She and Grammie had spent most of the day together and enjoyed lunch outside again. Grammie had tired, so Poppy escorted her to her bedroom and settled her in for a nap. She didn’t leave until her grandmother was sleeping. It was odd seeing her indestructible grandmother as anything other than indomitable.
She was thinking about going to the music room or maybe taking a nap herself when she heard the squeal. The happy sound of unadulterated joy called to her. Creeping in the direction of the noise, she smiled when she heard the laugh that followed. Young, innocent, alive, coming from the bedroom opposite hers.
Poppy didn’t exactly mean to spy, but the door was open and the bed stood on the opposite wall, so she couldn’t avoid seeing him. Turner sat on the edge of the bed, holding his phone up suggesting he was on a video call.
“Your wish worked,” Turner said, adjusting his position and pressing a button on his screen, though she didn’t know what it was until another delighted scream filled the space.
“Aunt Poppy!”
That was Emmie’s voice. It was so unexpected that joy propelled her across the room. “Sweet girl,” Poppy said, taking the phone from Turner’s hand without permission. She hunkered down on the floor by