“Let him help,” Poppy murmured, stroking Turner’s chest. “He wants to be just like you.”
“A soft touch?”
“Strong,” she said, still sliding her hands over him. “Capable… hot.”
“Okay,” he said, stealing another quick kiss. “Come on then, Sport. You should tell your mom, where is she?”
“With Aunt Zoey and Grama,” Noah said, marching over to take his uncle’s hand.
“I’ll stay with the girls and tell Faye where Noah is if she needs him. You won’t be long.”
Zoey would probably appreciate having some quiet time with her mom and sister. They didn’t need to interrupt that. Noah would be safe with his uncle and Poppy would stay to reassure his mom if she came looking for him.
“Be good,” Turner said, laying an exaggerated evil eye on his nieces before being led from the room by his nephew.
“Now we can watch a princess movie,” Emmie said, running across to the concealed entertainment unit. “We can pick from a zillion.”
It wouldn’t take Turner and Noah the length of a movie to retrieve what they needed from the construction site. Still, Poppy wasn’t going to dampen Emmie’s enthusiasm. The young girl had an energy about her, wild and excited, she threw all of herself into everything. A lot like her Aunt Charley.
The family’s acceptance of her was humbling and even her friend was softening when it came to allowing her into their ranks. The Maddoxes meant everything to Poppy and it was Turner’s love for her that afforded her the opportunity to be one of them.
EIGHTEEN
Once the boys came back with their tools, Poppy left them alone with Emmie directing while Ashlee slumbered in front of the movie.
All Turner had asked of her was a corner, so Poppy took some time to prepare one for them while her love did his thing fixing Noah’s bed.
When Turner came back into their bedroom, she leaped up from her perch to hurry over to him. “Come with me.”
“What?” he asked, allowing her to lead him from the room. “Where are we going?”
They went down the stairs and out onto the lit terrace. Staying close to the wall, she crept along with him behind her, being quiet, feeling like a teenager sneaking out. If her parents saw her dragging Turner out onto the dark grounds, they might wonder what was going on, but she didn’t see them chasing after her.
“I showed your sister something today,” she said, once they were out of earshot of the house. “I think it’s something you might like too.”
“Okay,” he said. “You know I have to work tomorrow?”
“Yes,” she said, guiding his arm around her shoulders to pull herself tight to his side. “It’s not that late. It just feels late. It’s only about ten o’clock. I promise to have you asleep by midnight.”
“Two hours, huh?” he teased. “Must be quite a trek.”
“It’s not far,” she said, peeking up to assess his expression. “Doesn’t mean you won’t work up a sweat.”
His smile descended to her head, burying itself in a kiss in her hair.
The music room wasn’t far away, but it was surrounded on three sides by trees, which gave them great cover. Even if the lights were on, it wouldn’t be immediately obvious from the house.
The rear stone wall of the music room wasn’t much to look at, it didn’t give any hint as to the curved glass frontage at the other side of the structure or the domed glass ceiling. As she took the key from her pocket to unlock the door, Poppy was nervous, hoping Turner would like the space that meant so much to her.
“A locking door. I like it already.”
The main door locked, though the doors to the deck didn’t. Poppy didn’t worry about letting him know that just yet. She led him into the hallway and paused at the internal door, bolstering her confidence before taking him inside. Her grand piano stood to the right and she’d come down while he was fixing the bed to open the doors and turn on the deck fairy lights. She’d put drinks out there for them too.
“I have candles I can light as well,” she said as he scanned the space. “I just didn’t want to leave them burning when I came back to the house.
Intending to light them, Poppy let him go, but he snagged her hand to yank her back to him. “Best corner I’ve ever seen.”
The space had secrets that she hadn’t intended to tell him straight away. His hand swept her hair away from her face