Page 23 of Poppy Kisses
It would actually be a big deal. I wouldn’t feel like I was accomplishing anything while working in his upstairs bedroom. I’d be under his roof, with his ring on my finger, for longer than planned. Longer to keep the ruse. More time to fumble the plan.
Linda waved his words away. “If you’re doing work there, I’m sure you can get in just fine. It’s only if you want to live there that you have to be married.” She paused and took in the property, her gaze swiveling to the big, white farmhouse, then the shop. “Are you selling?”
This time, it was Jensen going rigid. This was the house he’d grown up in. All his memories of his dad were in this house. We hadn’t talked about what we would tell people. I’d stay here until our year was up. Even pretending to sell must be stopping his heart.
“No,” I said quickly. “No immediate plans to move.” Not until after the year was up when I’d move into my own place. The Perez house.
“Oh.” Again, Linda’s expression was unclear. “So…when?” She shook her head. “Sorry, don’t feel obligated to invite me. I just want to calculate when the year requirement will be fulfilled.”
“No, of course you’re invited.” My invite wasn’t to put on a show. I liked my aunt and uncle. She was hard to get to know, but I didn’t want her feeling left out. “We’ll have it at the Perez house even.”
Jensen’s gaze was on me. What was I saying?
I was coming up with a wedding plan on the fly. I looked to Jensen. If he minded, he didn’t show it.
He gave me an encouraging nod. “I like that idea.”
Emboldened, I let the floodgates down. “The backyard is really pretty. We can do it at sunset and have a cozy reception in the house.”
Aunt Linda’s face lit up. “That will be beautiful. A summer sunset in that yard is one of the things I miss.”
I’d almost forgotten the house used to be her home.
“Then we have time to go dress shopping,” Lily suggested.
Delight warmed my insides. I hadn’t been able to do any wedding shopping with my sisters, and Clover wasn’t engaged. Even when Daisy and Alder married the first time, it was a simple wedding. Daisy hadn’t needed or asked for much help. “That would be fun.”
I snuck a peek at Jensen and found him staring at me, curious.
“What do you want me in?” he asked.
Running shorts and nothing else. “A tux would be too fancy for a backyard sunset wedding.” I nibbled the inside of my cheek. “What do you want?”
“I’ve been through this before. It’s what you want.”
He said it like he wanted to reassure me, but a part of my growing enthusiasm deflated like a week-old balloon. He’d done it all before. He’d had his dream wedding with his dream bride. This wedding would be mine, and any excitement I got out of it would be for me alone. Jensen would go through the motions. Would he be fending off nostalgia the whole time? The wistfulness and the what-ifs? He’d be remembering when he’d gotten everything he’d wanted.
“Slacks are fine,” I said woodenly, and his gaze flickered. A slight divot formed between his brows as if he heard the tone change but couldn’t figure it out. “I don’t want a fancy dress. We can even do snacks and refreshments.”
“Both Rattler’s and the Purple Petal cater,” Alder said. “Let me take care of the food. Our gift to you two.”
Daisy nodded.
“Lily and I can handle the decorations,” Violet said. “And Clover will tell us what she’s going to do when she’s in town next.”
I missed Clover. I was close to my sisters, more so since they’d settled in Coal Haven and it was easier to gather us all in one place. But Clover and I were Irish twins, and we’d acted like twins growing up. Our curfews had been the same, our clothing styles, our personalities. Clover and I were the middle kids of middle kids.
I could talk to her about Jensen’s comment. It wasn’t his rodeo, and he’d been left by his rodeo queen.
ChapterFive
Jensen
The older kids were spread out so far they were in the pasture beside the shop. Poppy was warming up her legs for our kickoff. She rotated her foot while her toe was stuck in the ground. Then she did slight knee bends before doing circles with her hands on her thighs.
I should get my head in the game and quit ogling her. I hadn’t played a sport since I graduated high school, so I swung my arms a little to make it look like I cared.
I did care, but not about our kickoff. Poppy had gotten quiet during the wedding planning. Her expression had lit up when she suggested the idea of a Perez house wedding. First, I had feared she’d feel cornered. Our little elopement had turned into a full-blown wedding. The guest list might not be large, but the ceremony might upset the balance of our bargain. When did reality and fantasy mix?
