Once he was out of sight, she turned her attention to the other end of the hallway. Zoey would be there, waiting for her. It wouldn’t be fair to leave the teen in suspense any longer than necessary. Heading along the wide space, Poppy heard the kids and Stephanie directing them, but no other voices.
That was good. Everyone would be in the drawing room already.
She opened Zoey’s bedroom door to see her sitting on the end of the bed. “Are you ready?”
Zoey looked up, took a breath and nodded once. “I’m ready.”
SEVENTEEN
“You knew.”
Poppy stopped next to the bed when Turner spoke and turned to see he was wearing a smile. “Yes.”
Leaning on the door he’d just closed, Turner crooked a brow. “You set that up, getting the family together in the living room before dinner.”
“Yes,” Poppy said, sitting down on the bed. Straightening her legs, she let her shoes drop from her feet as she sank back onto her elbows.
Turner boosted off the door to saunter her way. “How long did you know?”
“It wasn’t a bombshell. Charley knew, you heard what she said. I thought the whole family suspected.”
As he approached, she raised her leg and he caught her ankle, sliding his hand up her calf as he got closer to the edge of the bed.
“Never really thought about it.”
“But it doesn’t bother you,” she said. His knee rose to the edge of the bed behind her thigh. “You don’t love her any less.” He coiled her leg around his hip, descending onto the bed above her. “You have something else in common.”
“Don’t think we’ll be trading sex stories.”
After he kissed her, the corners of her lips curled. “I can’t tell her how to please a woman and you specialize in it.”
“You remember?”
She laughed. “Yes, okay, it’s been a while, but being pleasured by the man I love is not something I’ll ever forget.”
“I don’t need to remind you then.”
“I definitely didn’t say that,” she said, grabbing his face. “I’m in the mood to drink wine and soak in the tub… why do you think I dragged you upstairs early?”
The family had listened to Zoey and accepted the news as well as Poppy expected. Charley sort of laughed as she shrugged it off with a, “well, duh” kind of attitude. The twins were stunned and didn’t say anything for a few minutes. Poppy had a feeling that was more to do with being included in what may have been deemed an “adult” conversation at any other time.
“You get the bottle,” Turner said. “I’ve got the corkscrew.”
His next kiss kept on going, tangling itself around her heart as tendrils of heat curled in her belly, arousing the need between her thighs. Being a part of Zoey’s liberation had freed some part of her as well. The Maddox family didn’t pepper the teen with questions. All Valerie wanted was her daughter’s happiness, which was something she’d told Poppy she wanted for all of her children.
Dinner had actually been a more upbeat affair than usual. The Maddox females were riding high and Grammie didn’t waste the chance to embrace their positive energy.
Poppy had already noticed a change in Zoey who was brighter and more confident in her engagement with others.
Her lover’s hand skimmed its way up her body to her breast. The possession in his touch gave her the warning that if she didn’t slow them down soon, stopping wouldn’t be easy. Somehow the moment passed her by and she didn’t do the smart thing.
The bedroom door opened, making the choice for them. They stopped kissing and both turned to see who was interrupting them.
Without so much as blinking, the baby toddled across the room toward them.
“Ash?” Turner asked, rolling off her to sit up on the edge of the bed. “What’s wrong, honey?”
The little one didn’t say anything, she just took her uncle’s hand from his knee and used all her body weight to tug on him. He got up to go with her, stooping to keep the baby’s hand. It was adorable. All Poppy could do when he cast an apologetic look back her way was smile. Family meant everything to him no matter how small they were.
Before they got to the door, Emmie came dashing inside. “Shh!” she said, running around the door and collapsing against it to push it into the frame. “We’re hiding.”
“Why are we hiding?” Turner asked.
Ashlee let him go to join her sister, holding the door closed, not that it