I wanna appreciate what I’ve got while I’ve got it,” he said, admiring more than just her chest. “I don’t tell you enough how beautiful you are.”
“Yeah, okay, Romeo,” Poppy said, reminding herself that she was already in enough trouble with this guy. “Once your sister’s asleep, I’ll come down to yours. Remember it’ll be late, we don’t finish until one AM for the next five shifts.”
“You’re off Friday?”
“And Saturday.”
“Wonder if I can persuade Mom she needs Charley for a couple of days.”
She popped the door open. “Don’t get your mom involved in this. The two of us are screwing it up just fine by ourselves. Thanks for the ride.”
Hopping out of the truck, she took her time about going over to join Charley. Poppy’s life was so entwined with Turner’s that she couldn’t see any way out. Their relationship was supposed to be temporary. That meant one of them would have to walk away eventually. But how? Losing him meant losing everything she’d built, her home, her friendships, maybe even her workplace, and Naughtie’s was the only nightlife she knew. Poppy had got herself into one helluva a mess and she was the only one capable of liberating herself from it. Trouble was… she really didn’t want to lose any of it.
THIRTY-TWO
Poppy and Charley just got through with their fifth shift of the week and were looking forward to two days off after getting some much needed rest. It had been a long week between various work issues and Charley stressing over David and Mindy’s burgeoning relationship. They’d finished at one AM, and had returned to their apartment and gone to bed without saying much.
Sleep wasn’t coming easily though; Poppy had been awake for a while. Lying in the dark, wishing Turner was there beside her, she fantasized about fun ways she might wake him up if he was present. Even if they couldn’t be together, her ideas shouldn’t go to waste. So Poppy rolled over and grabbed her phone to text and ask if he was awake.
While waiting for his reply, she thought about the day beyond the night. Charley planned to have a private sit-down talk with David over lunch later. That freed Poppy up to meet Zoey and Casey, who she’d talked to on the phone a bunch of times that week, both separately and together. Being the first to know them as a couple was a big deal; Poppy was honored to have their trust.
Less than ten minutes after her text went through, Poppy heard a knock on the apartment door. A knock? Was he insane? She leaped up and grabbed her nightshirt to button it over her breasts in case Charley heard the knocking and got up too.
Rushing out of the bedroom, Poppy grabbed her key from the hook on the wall and unlocked the front door to open it.
Recognizing Turner, a whisper of a laugh left her lips. “Why are you knoc—”
Her words stopped when he stepped aside to reveal someone standing behind him.
“Hi, Poppy.”
“Primrose,” Poppy said, stunned to see her sister. “What are you… Why…”
“I need to talk to you, Poppy.”
“How did you find me?”
Primrose wasn’t usually so meek. “I went into Grammie’s bedroom at the house while she was in hospital.”
Alarm speared her. “Hospital? What happened?”
Edging forward, Primrose side-eyed Turner. “Can we maybe talk in private?”
“No,” Poppy said, shaking her head and pulling her door closer to her. “No, I don’t want to talk. Why was Grammie in the hospital?”
“Poppy, you can’t just run away from your family.”
Shaking her head, she began to back away, closing the door more. “I’m sorry, Primrose. You’re wasting your time.”
Closing the door, Poppy retreated, her clasped hands rising to her racing heart. Her sister. Her actual sister. In her life… in her new life.
She was still in a stupor when Turner came through the door and closed it at his back.
Without hesitating, he stalked over to pull her into his arms. “She’s your sister,” he said, holding her close.
“I don’t want to go,” she admitted in a whisper. “She’s going to ask me to go back. She wouldn’t be here for any other reason.”
“You can’t run away from who you are forever. You have to hear her out.”
Her heart began to slow. Maybe it was his embrace that did it. His words certainly didn’t inspire confidence. This was it. The moment she’d dreaded. Poppy wasn’t as naïve as she probably appeared to him. She’d wondered about how long their arrangement could last and what would