Page 14 of Poppy Kisses
Daisy crossed her legs under her. “Would he be the one I heard one of the playground monitors say could strip her down like he stripped her grandma’s cupboards?”
Violet snickered. “That’s gotta be him. Look, I’m all in with Evander, but I think we can all agree that if Jensen made a Cabinet of the Month calendar, he’d raise some money.”
“Maybe he can do that for your center,” Clover suggested.
“You guys are not helping!” I said indignantly.
“I think we’re helping, just not the way you hoped.” Clover was suddenly serious. “I think you knew the decision that would work the best, and you wanted us to agree. But, Poppy, you hated being so far away from family. You love Coal Haven as much as the rest of us, and you light up when you talk about forming your own center here. Even Debbie’s willing to throw you clients.”
She had said she’d hire me, or I could start my own clinic. I’d been too enraptured by the idea of being my own boss to get hired again. There was a niche in the area, and she’d even had to turn down the school’s requests for her to hold workshops for the teachers.
“You know what you want to do, and you know what you’re afraid to do,” Violet said. “But it’s you who has to decide.”
* * *
Jensen
I put the lid on the stain and admired my work. The cabinets were mine, for the shop I was trying to keep functioning and filled with projects. As it was, I had four old chairs—none of them matched—and two tables I was refinishing for a previous client. Bit projects like that helped supplement income, but they wouldn’t sustain a career.
I’d found an old set of cupboards at the thrift store in Dickinson. The irony that I was staining them to later mount so they could hold all my stains wasn’t lost on me. The small dose of humor kept the dread at bay.
Job hunting sucked, but I was getting closer to filling out applications. Much of it was seasonal or required that I be away from home before school and beyond. I had Mom to help, but she went south for the winters, and if I told her an inkling of my issues, she’d cancel all her plans. I couldn’t have that. I would not be the adult son holding his mom back.
I took my phone out and snapped a few photos of my efforts. My website needed new blood—and a fresh set of eyes, but I hadn’t heard from Poppy. I had looked forward to hearing from her again—about an answer of course.
I couldn’t believe I’d suggested we marry. Who’d have thought I’d entertain the idea of saying vows again? I didn’t have an issue with the vows themselves. It was that the other party hadn’t been interested in upholding them, but the agreement Poppy and I would have mitigated that.
An engine sounded from outside.
Had Mom stopped by? She usually waited for when Auggie was out of school, but maybe she needed to talk to me about something private. Like that “friend” of hers in Phoenix she constantly referred to. Dad had passed almost twenty years ago, and Albert was the first man I’d heard her mention.
I popped my head out the door. Poppy paced next to her SUV.
My heart sank, yet I soaked her in. She wore a different set of pants today that didn’t mold over her ass nearly as thoroughly as her running tights. They were black sweats that cuffed at the ankle that she paired with a long-sleeved shirt. Now that thing hugged her curves, draping over her tits to pool around her generous hips. Poppy looked like she had thighs that could crush a man’s head while he begged for it.
“Hey.” I might as well get the rejection over with. After the radio silence for the last two days, I had assumed she was avoiding me and I’d never see her again. She’d decide she couldn’t live in a town where she might run across a guy who’d rather marry her for tutoring than pay her.
Poppy jolted and spun around. “Hey.” Her gaze jumped from the house to the shop. The old farmhouse was white, but between Mom and then me as the owners, it’d been well cared for. The floors inside creaked like an old place, same with the stairs, but it had all its charm.
She twisted her fingers together. “Can we talk?”
“Come on in.” I pushed the door open wider and waited for her to enter.
When she did, she slowed to a crawl, her wide gaze taking it all in. I had different sections of cabinets. All served a purpose, but had also been for marketing images to show off my skills. Her attention landed on a bar in the corner with an immaculate granite countertop and a TV mounted over it. Rows of juice packets and mineral waters lined the back instead of liquor bottles.
The corner of her mouth tipped up. “A juice bar?”
I laughed. “I never made that connection, but yeah. It keeps Auggie entertained when he’s home. If he’s home sick, I have a chaise lounge under that tarp he can lie on.”
“Oh, that’s a good idea.” She crossed her arms, pulling her shirt tight over the swells of her breasts.
I waited for her to start, but she just rocked on her heels, a nervous energy circling her.
I’d rather have an answer than wonder how much better I could do if I didn’t fuck up my name in emails. “It’s all right if you say no. I mean, it’s a wild proposition, right? I just thought, you know, two birds, one stone. I’d hate to see that house?—”
“I’ll do it.”
I shook my head, making sense of her words. Just like that I was engaged again, and I had no fucking clue how to feel other than I was glad it was with a friend this time. “You’ll do it? Get married?”
