Page 76 of Poppy Kisses
Her lips parted. “That’s understandable.”
“When I thought about who I was marrying, it hurt to think about meeting someone he didn’t know. He was already missing everything, and he’d miss being a grandpa.” I let out a long breath. At some level, I’d known why I made the decisions I had, but I had still been too close to the loss.
“Oh, Jensen.” She scooted closer, bending her legs until she was sitting at the edge of my lap. “That makes so much sense.”
I ran my hands up her legs. “It was immaturity.”
“It was also really sweet and innocent.”
“Well, she wasn’t.”
Poppy didn’t reply. Her steady gaze remained on me as if she was waiting for me to elaborate. “Did she cheat on you?” she asked when I didn’t say anything.
“She says she didn’t.” I was probably a dumbass to have believed her. I could leave it at that, but Poppy had opened up about her dating life. “Who knows? I went for a full physical after I moved out, and I was honestly a little surprised it came back clear. Every little itch was making me paranoid.”
“Why did you think she cheated?”
“You left before she got really popular.”
“She got even more popular?”
I gave her a pointed look. “When all grades merged into one for high school, and then she got noticed by upperclassmen? You bet. We didn’t date until senior year was almost done.”
She held up a hand. “Wait. You and Hassie weren’t high school sweethearts?”
Surprised, I shook my head. She’d been gone. Had she assumed I’d been tied at Hassie’s hip until the divorce? “She dated other rodeo guys and Trey, the quarterback.”
“He played football?”
“Puberty loved him. He grew like a foot the year after you left.”
She laughed. “Ohmigoodness. I missed it all.”
“You missed awkward high school dances where all the kids cleared out early to party in a pasture?”
“There was some of that in Billings.”
“I could’ve challenged you to a dance-off.” It would’ve made those nights more fun. Having Poppy around during those days might’ve changed everything.
She chuckled. “So how did you two start dating?”
I dragged in a deep breath. I’d been so fucking stupid. “I’d gone out a little here and there, but no one stuck, probably because of my Hassie infatuation. But she was with some guy from Dickinson. So I asked Becky Lee to prom. Remember her?” She pursed her lips and tipped her head back and forth. “Well, she was nice and she liked me, so I asked her to prom and we started dating.”
Her eyes flew wide. “And you being with some other girl made Hassie jealous?”
“I liked to think she finally saw my potential and realized what an ideal mate I was,” I said wryly.
“Sure.” Her reply was light, but her eyes were guarded. “That’s what happened.”
“Whatever the reason, I fell for it. She laid it on thick at prom, and by the next day, I broke up with Becky and went all in with Hassie. I followed her to Texas, then to Colorado, and when she got injured, I took care of her. I was a dutiful husband, taking freelance jobs around her schedule until all her partying took a toll on us. When Auggie started to ask where his mom was and why she didn’t want to play with him, I decided that was it.”
“I’m sorry,” she murmured.
“Not your fault.” But it helped to have someone understand. Mom did, but I hadn’t let her in on everything that had happened. I skimmed my hands up Poppy’s legs. “Unless I blame you for moving away.”
She laughed. “What? Like, you would’ve asked me out?”
I gave her a steady stare.
