Page 75 of Brewing Up a Bad Boy

“All right, celebration time,” Liberty said.

“What’s the good news?” Sera asked as she joined them.

“All three of us have something to celebrate,” Poppy said, sitting down next to her friends after pouring them each a glass of champagne.

“We do? Are you and Alistair serious?”

Her cheeks got so hot, she was pretty sure it looked as if she’d been baked in the sun. “I don’t know. I meant your official engagement, Liberty moving in with Merle and the really nice offer I got from Lancaster-Spencer.” Really, it would have been better to lead with that. No questions or guessing what the celebration was about.

“Nice! Have you accepted it?”

“Of course not. It’s a WiCKed Sisters product, so we all have to decide,” Poppy said. Her sense of fairness wouldn’t let her cut her friends out of success that had been earned by all three of them. Amber Rapp didn’t just love the tea but the entire experience.

“It’s tea, so whatever you decide is fine with me,” Sera said.

“Yeah, same,” Liberty chimed in.

“Really? What if the bagged tea product means people don’t come here? What if our business slows?” Poppy asked. “I don’t want to be the source of anything like that.”

Liberty shook her head. “Business will slow. Amber will release a new album in a few months, and something else is going to engage her fan base. We will still be here doing what we did before she stopped in.”

“Yeah, our success isn’t tied to Amber. It’s all down to the three of us,” Sera said. “I think putting our products in shops is a nice next step. That business class I’ve been taking on Skillshare was talking about that.”

“So I should do it?” Poppy asked.

“If it’s a good deal. No underhanded clauses like whatever happened when you married Alistair,” Liberty said. “I can read it if you want me to.”

“I’d love that. Both of you, actually. It looks good to me. I was clear that there would be no option or first right of refusal on any other blends I produce,” Poppy said.

“Perfect. Champagne time,” Sera said.

“To magical journals, intuitive tarot readings, tea that warms the heart and soothes the soul,” they all said together, clinking their glasses and taking a sip.

As they laughed together, Poppy reflected that this here was the closest she’d found to a home. These two women, this shop, the men and parents and friends they’d drawn to them. Poppy wanted to believe that this was all she needed, but she knew that in her heart, she was including Alistair in the mix.

He wasn’t even really here for longer than the summer. Could she have fallen for him again without any thought to the consequences?

That was one hundred percent a yes.

He’d changed. But change alone wasn’t going to make them suddenly live in the same country or want the same things.

His dreams... She didn’t know what they were. He was determined not to return to Lancaster-Spencer, which she totally approved of. But what was next for him?

Was she going to just wait for him to tell her? Or was it time to ask him and tell him that she wanted more?

“Can we go to Hanging Hill on Monday night? It’s the seasonal blue moon,” Poppy said.

“Of course, why?” Liberty asked.

“Alistair.” No use pretending there was any reason other than that man.

“Definitely. Want to talk?” Sera asked.

“It’s nothing bad. I just don’t know what to do. He’s here for the summer. I mean, I knew that when he came back. But my heart is starting to count on him. To expect to see him every day... It’s so much more than it was before.”

She was rambling, but that was how she felt about Ali right now. Just this gush of need, want, craving, all wrapped up in the joy of sharing everything with him.

“I’m scared.”

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