didn’t say that. I didn’t know it. Not until I came here.”
“Now you know it?” he asked. Poppy nodded. “How?”
“Because love isn’t subtle… It’s not something you can ignore or resist until the eleventh hour. If he’d meant it, I’d have known it.”
“You walked away,” he said and again she nodded. “From the wedding. You never went back.” Her slow blink was enough of a confirmation. “This is the dress you were wearing when you walked away from your life.”
“I couldn’t be a part of it anymore, Turner. My life never fit me. I never fit… anywhere.”
“Until now,” he said like he knew it.
“Until now.” Because that was a truth impossible to deny. “I know it doesn’t change anything. I would never ask you to be something you’re not or to compromise yourself. I just… I want you to know who I am. It’s important that I don’t lie to you. It’s important to me.”
“And I appreciate that. It’s important you know you’re safe here. You’re safe with me.”
Pulling herself even closer, her forehead almost touched his. “I feel anything but safe with you… I feel everything with you. More than I’ve ever felt with anyone.”
“I want you in my life,” he confessed, his hands sliding down her legs, under her skirt, closer to her ass. “I want to be a support for you. To be stable. Someone you can rely on… That’s why we can’t be together.”
He pulled back enough to press a kiss against her forehead then unhooked her legs to steady her on the ladder before retreating.
Physically, she had her balance. In every other way, Poppy couldn’t find her equilibrium. “What?”
“Painting is done almost last,” he said, checking out her work from ten feet away. “And is there a reason you chose a two inch trim brush to paint the broadest wall?”
Sliding her hands down the ladder at either side of her, Poppy kept her composure. “The cans are heavy and I thought I’d make a mess if I tried to pour it into the tray things… more of a mess… And the other brush was too big and sloppy… The roller thing didn’t fit in the can and Chester said not to get too much paint on it anyway.”
“Did you bring all this stuff over yourself?” he asked, retrieving his phone from his back pocket.
She nodded. “There was other stuff Chester said I could bring over later,” she said, watching him focus on the phone. “Oh, wait until you hear. I learned about this incredible thing!”
His brows bobbed as he tossed her a quick glance. “What?”
“Layaway,” she declared, earning herself a laugh. “I didn’t know such an amazing thing existed. What a smart idea, right? Is that like a new thing?”
His smile was broader when he next looked up while taking the phone to his ear. “You’re gorgeous, Candy-Cane,” he said and winked as presumably his line connected. “Hey, champ, what you doing racking up my tab without authorization…” Turning away, he wandered toward the open balcony doors. “What’s the boss told you about stuttering? Little brunette was in today loading up on the blue heather… Uh huh… Yeah, I do. Look, put it all on my card and I’ll pick it up next time I’m over with the truck… We’re not… Well, did you ask her?” He turned around, wearing a smile as he zeroed in on her again. “Yes, she is… No, I don’t think any guy has a chance of that. Yeah…” He frowned. “That’s tonight? No, I’m out… Customer’s always right, squirt. Do as you’re told.”
Hanging up the phone, he tucked it into his pocket again.
Clinging to the top of the ladder, she swung herself up to straighten her legs again. “That was Chester?”
“Yep.”
“You know BJ’s Hardware.”
Sauntering back in her direction, Turner’s head bobbed. “It’s Ritchie’s place… The guy you met the other day.”
“When I was naked?”
“Yeah,” he said, rubbing the side of his neck. “I’m trying to block that part out.”
“You know, if painting isn’t next on the list, I can return everything. You didn’t need to pay for it.”
He shrugged, his fingers curling around the rung just beneath her hip when he reached her. “I’ll use it eventually.”
“How did you know the paint color?” she asked, checking the name wasn’t obvious on the cans.
Turner didn’t blink. “It’s the color on my bedroom walls.”
A burst of laughter escaped her. “It is?” He just nodded. “Oops. Sorry.”
“I don’t have a problem knowing you’ll like my bedroom,” he said like it was a