expected to see was Turner walking down the sheet-wood path that had been put in place for the construction guys working on the guest house her father was building. He was carrying a massive beam of wood on one shoulder, going about his business like he had every right to be there.
“First,” she said without thinking.
Obviously, her volume had been high enough for the air to carry the word to his ears because he paused and turned around to look up at her.
“Baby,” he called. “How’d you sleep?”
“How did I… What are you doing here?”
“Working,” he said, still holding the hefty beam on his shoulder. “Got hired today.”
“You got… Wait there, don’t move.”
Ducking back into the room, Poppy pushed down the window before fleeing her bedroom. She didn’t even know what to say to him. She just wanted to know how, why, what was going on.
Running down the stairs and doubling back to go out onto the stone terrace, she hurried around the library to discover he was exactly where she’d left him.
“You didn’t want to put on shoes?” he asked, checking her out.
Like that mattered. She thrust her fists to her hips. “First, what are you doing here? How did you even…” When she figured it out, Poppy sighed. “Grammie.” His perusal hadn’t managed to rise higher than her chest. Although he was definitely a fan of her breasts, he’d never been a letch and she didn’t think it was the time for him to devolve into a caveman. “Turner!”
Sucking in a breath, his gaze jumped to hers. “Sorry, I was thinking I forgot to hang up my jacket.”
“What are you—” Her attention flicked down to see that, yeah okay, her nipples were happy to see him and the sheer satin of her baby doll didn’t leave much to the imagination. “You’ve seen me naked, Turner. Can you be mature?”
“Hope the boss doesn’t catch me checking out the heiress.”
“Turner,” she said, stepping closer, avoiding the wood on his shoulder. “What are you doing here?”
“Working,” he said, clearly aware that he’d said that already. “Figured it might be tough to get an apartment, but I knew it wouldn’t be tough to find work. I have skills, Candy.”
“I know you have… I don’t mean here, I mean in the state. What are you still doing here? I thought you were going home.”
“I am home, sweetheart,” he said, snagging a tendril of her hair on his finger to twirl it around. “You’re beautiful when you wake up.”
“I didn’t wake up. I didn’t sleep. I was worried about you driving back overnight.”
“I didn’t drive anywhere.”
“Grammie told you to stay,” she said, figuring out what must have happened. “You know what she’s like, Turner. You listened when I talked about her. You shouldn’t encourage her.”
“I knew the minute I hit the road that I wasn’t going back without you. If you want us to live here, this is where we’ll live. I’ll find somewhere to stay, get a regular job. A steady nine to five gives us more time together. That’s something.”
Flabbergasted, Poppy wasn’t sure who she was talking to. “You’re moving here?”
“I told you that last night.”
“And I told you to go home.”
“Do you know there’s a construction site on your land?” he asked like she hadn’t spoken. “Grammie hooked me up with the foreman: Aitken. He’s a good guy. She said I can stay in the house, but I’ll find something in town as soon as I can.”
“What about the Venture? Your buildings?”
“Ritchie’s taking care of emergencies. I have to figure out what the Venture will get on the market as it is before I decide whether it’s worth paying someone to finish the rest of the renovations.”
Her mouth dried. Poppy didn’t like it. Didn’t like the suggestion, the idea that he’d sell the Venture or that anyone other than Turner would work on the place.
“Why are you talking like this? You can’t abandon your family.”
“I’m not abandoning them; I’ll always do whatever I can to support them. I just live here now… You’re my family too, Popkat.” Still balancing the wood on his shoulder, he ducked to kiss her cheek, then rose enough to murmur in her hair at the front of her ear. “Go upstairs and put on some clothes. Don’t need the guys drooling on my girl.”
She wasn’t his girl; that was what she’d been trying to tell him. He wasn’t getting it. Poppy didn’t understand what she was doing wrong.