Page 90 of Poppy Kisses
“All of it. I had a pretty quiet life until you breezed into town.” When uncertainty flickered in her gaze, I pushed a springy lock of hair behind her ear. “Suddenly my quiet, single dad life became fun and exciting. I got to date and live with a sexy woman, but I was worried how Auggie would take it. I still am, and I’m concerned over how it’ll disrupt things between us. I don’t know what I’m doing.” But I was terrified of getting it wrong and sending Poppy careening to another state.
“Just talk to me, okay? We need to talk to each other.”
“It won’t be easy.”
“Why?”
“Talking never worked before.” Over and over, I’d ask to have a discussion. I’d ask for validation. I’d ask for love. I’d gotten a divorce for all my attempts.
“Maybe it’d work now.”
“I’ll promise to if you promise not to make plans to move on me.”
“I don’t just move when—” When I cocked a brow, she chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Fine. No moving and all the talking. Deal?”
“Deal. And you have to build a client list. And come up with a name.”
“You can’t tag stuff on after we agreed,” she joked, but the alarm in her eyes told me the humor was superficial.
She wasn’t keeping her roots shallow to ditch me. Another failure terrified her. “I know you are. But you have something you didn’t have then—us. Support. We’ve got your back. You want to change your center’s name? I’ll make a new sign each time. You lose students? Auggie will do a commercial gushing about you. You’ve got this. We’ve got this.” I flattened my hands on the small of her back and smoothed them up and down her body. Between the waning adrenaline from the last couple of days and having a beautiful woman in my arms, my dick stirred to life.
“You’re amazing. You know that?”
“It means a lot to hear it.”
She snaked her arms around my neck. I got harder, and she ground into me.
I moved us to the wall until her back was against it. “I’m gonna take your pants off now.”
“I was hoping you would. It feels like it’s been forever.”
It had been. I was supposed to hold her after that night in the field. Two days and I was a starved man.
I claimed her mouth and swept her shirt up. I had to feel her satiny, soft skin before I dragged her shorts down. I dropped to a squat as I did it. Damn, she was right at face level. Perfect. A growl left me.
She knocked my cap off and pushed her fingers through my hair. I was hitching her leg over my shoulder when a series of knocks resonated through the house. I jerked and nearly toppled us both over. Her fingers locked around my hair as I steadied us.
“What the hell?” I muttered.
Then the front door cracked open and Auggie’s yell filtered upstairs. “Dad? Poppy?”
Crap. Auggie couldn’t catch us. One problem at a time.
“Yoo-hoo!” Hassie called.
This time, my groan resonated with all my dismay.
Poppy shoved my head back, and I landed on my ass. Shit. I grabbed her shorts and tossed them to her. “Yeah? Uh, be right down!” I shouted.
Her eyes were wide as she danced around to get back into her shorts. She caught my eye and the absurdity of almost getting caught like two teens hiding from Mom and Dad hit me. I grinned, giving her a wink.
She rolled her eyes, but a smile played over her lips.
“This is going to be an exciting couple of weeks,” I said and left the room to run interference with my kid and my ex. They might’ve interrupted us now, but I could be a creative man.
ChapterTwenty-Three
Poppy
