it off like a pizza? Ding dong, Dominos.” She rings an imaginary doorbell, looking skeptical.
“That’s the reality of my life. I do the work, assume the risk, but ultimately, the prize is someone else’s. I’m on to the next job with deposits in my account. Poppy, it’s what I’ve done for almost a decade. I live and work in the shadows, disappearing and reappearing at will.”
It’s a harsh summary of my life. One that I thought I was comfortable with . . . until now. Because I want Poppy to see me, to accept me, even if it’s the worst version of myself. It’s an impossible request, especially of a woman like her. But I’m asking anyway.
Slowly, I drop to my knees, taking her hands in my own. “Poppy, you . . . I . . . can you understand?”
“Understand that you’re not a petty thief who swiped my laptop but some super-skilled mega-art-thief come to life?” she asks, sounding impressed, not horrified. And still a bit in denial, even as I admit to the truth. “You do realize how bad boy sexy that makes you?”
I shake my head, blinking hard to keep myself from falling apart. “Don’t romanticize it, Poppy. This is serious. You said it yourself. You don’t want or need a bad boy. You deserve a good man.”
“I know. And I know that you, Connor Bradley, are both a bad boy and a good man. If you’d told me I was crazy or tried to lie your way out of it, I would’ve kicked your ass and told you to get the fuck out. But your honesty is unexpected, especially after so many lies.”
There’s still a hard edge to her words, a reminder that lying to her is not okay. But otherwise, she seems . . . accepting?
“Seriously?”
She should be throwing things, screaming and calling the cops on me. Part of me wants to shake her and rattle that sort of drama from her so I can write all of this off as a bad idea.
Logically, I should be grabbing my go-bag and getting the fuck out of here. But she’s got something I can’t leave behind. My heart.
Whether she knows it or not, it’s hers.
But maybe she does because her eyes soften and her hands clasp mine tighter. “Maybe. I haven’t decided yet. I’m still mad.”
She waits a long moment, letting that sink in, and then she leaps at me, shoving me backward onto the floor before climbing on top of me and clinging to me like a koala on a eucalyptus tree. I wrap my arms around her, my hands cupping her ass, gripping her tightly and never wanting to let her go.
She bites me on the chin but soothes it over with a gentle kiss, and relief washes through me like a tidal wave. I don’t deserve her, never have and probably never will, but I’ll fuck up anyone who tries to take her from me. For now, though, I cuddle her, letting her cling to me no matter how much Nut and Juice want to sniff around our heads wondering what the hell we’re doing at their level.
She lifts her head, and I kiss her lips softly. There’s still fear in my heart, still disbelief that this can be real or long-term. Most of all, though, I’m terrified that the darkness in my life will tear her away from me.
“Are you sure, Poppy?” I ask. “There’s . . . a lot of crazy shit in my life.”
Poppy shrugs, petting my chest lightly as though she can wipe away the small, and well deserved, swats she leveled there before. “As sure as I ever am.”
I wish she could say with absolute conviction that she’s sure, but it’s a lot to take in, so that’ll have to be enough for now. I’m still worried about losing her. I’m honestly not sure if I even have her in the first place.
Carefully, we sit up, and I lean back against the front of the couch with Poppy in my arms. The floor is less comfortable than the couch, but at least in this position, the dogs aren’t sniffing my ear anymore.
“How did you figure it out?”
Poppy shifts in my lap, perfectly content to be where she is for the moment. “That fucking asshole detective came by today, asking questions like I would help him out after he blew me off about my laptop being taken.”
I freeze, stiffening. Poppy feels it and leans back, looking me in the