came from a man Poppy couldn’t see. Still, she identified its owner in a heartbeat.
Rising from the window seat, her lips curled. “Listen to him, Holden,” Poppy said. “Unless you want him to give you a lesson on what it really is to truly love me.”
Holden’s lips thinned in a clear sign of him restraining his rage. He didn’t like to lose, not in business and not in life either it seemed. Sucking in a breath that expanded his chest, he marched on and out of sight.
No one else came into view, not until they heard the gallery door closing, indicating that Holden was gone. Her sisters started forward at that point, but were stalled in their tracks when the men came into the library to join them.
Primrose was the one to break the silence. “What happened?”
“He won’t be bothering us again,” Tiller said.
“From now on, no man will be given permission to marry my daughters without strict screening,” Clark Granger said. “We will not go through this again.” His patience was no doubt stretched, though it was some consolation that he wasn’t exuding fiery anger. “Will Trey Hanover be darkening my door with that request?”
Obviously that was a question for Violet. The eldest Granger took her time about opening her mouth. “I… I don’t know, Daddy. I… maybe.”
“Maybe?” he asked with a note of surprise. “No more accepting marriage proposals from men who are maybes. You shouldn’t even think of discussing marriage with them until they are more to you than a maybe. Mother, did you teach them nothing?”
“Lessons are ongoing,” Grammie said, containing her amusement, though not very well. “We’ll do better next time.” Marigold rose from the desk. “Now are we going to eat as a family or just stay in here and rehash the past?”
It didn’t take Grammie long to move on. Holden was in their rearview and could stay there. The future was a much more optimistic view.
When Grammie reached Violet and Primrose, the sisters began to walk with her. The men waited for them to exit and then went after them. All except Turner, who paused when he noticed she was still in the window.
Rather than head for the dining room, she sat back down in the window seat.
“Candy-Cane?”
Hearing that they were free was great, what it meant would take longer to sink in. “You can go and eat.”
“Yeah, right,” he said, wandering toward the window. “I’ll go eat when you’re ready. What’s going on?”
Standing in front of her, Turner loomed over her in a way that was reminiscent of the first time she’d offered him wine in her bedroom. “I love you.”
Swinging around to sit at her side, he slid a hand to her inner thigh, pulling her toward him. “I love you too. Abernathy will withdraw the bounty. Once he has, Tiller and Preston will figure out a statement to release to the press. Something about wishing each other well but it will be clear that there’s no relationship.” She nodded. As her gaze descended, he tightened his grip to give her leg a shake. “Having second thoughts about what we talked about now we can have a future?”
“No,” she said, eager to reassure him. “I guess I’m just… I’m relieved, but I’m tired. You know?” Poppy coiled her arms around his. “You can go back home now, give Ritchie a break. Preston will have to get back to work too.”
“Yeah. Doubt Pres will be in a hurry to leave. Him and Primrose are just getting started.”
“We’ve never been together at home. You and me.” Resting her head against his arm, she enjoyed the caress of his fingers as they stroked her thigh. “Home…”
The Venture had been her happy place. So many joyous things had happened to her there. It was where Turner and she had their courtship. It was where they met.
“The Venture is your home. Or wherever else you want. If you want to start over somewhere new, we can. Do you want to look at new buildings?”
“You love working on the apartments at the Venture,” she said. His passion was obvious and it was probably added to by the memories of learning his skills with his father and grandfather. “We could get another. Something that needs your love and attention.”
“Go into business with Ritch, like you said.”
“Yes,” she agreed, sitting up straight to look at him. “I want you to follow your dreams, to have everything that you want, but…”
Swallowing her trepidation didn’t erase it. Something had been on