Page 95 of Poppy Kisses
I narrowed my eyes. She talked a good game, but then she always had. The problem was that I’d bought into her claims each time. She hadn’t cheated on me; she just had to flirt to get ahead. Don’t hate the player; hate the game. She had to go to the tailgate parties. I no longer believed her, butshebelieved it. In her mind, Hassie was always right. “Okay.”
She pouted, not hiding her disappointment. “You never gave me credit.” She took a step forward, and I took one back. Her gaze turned shrewd. “Are you and Poppy a thing?”
I didn’t want Hassie to interfere with the flame flickering between me and Poppy. As much as I wanted to confess, I’d honor the agreement Poppy and I had. “I told you the deal, and we don’t have to be a thing for her to be important to me and Auggie.”
“But you’re not committed?”
She was nothing if not persistent. “We’re helping each other, and Auggie likes her.”
Fire flashed in her eyes. Should I have left the last part off?
She worked her jaw back and forth as if she didn’t like that answer. “Okay. Well. I’ll pick Auggie up tomorrow. He said he wants to ride a pony, and Honey has a few that would be good for him.”
“Good night.” I didn’t watch her leave. I had a bedroom door to knock on and a shower to invite Poppy into.
ChapterTwenty-Four
Poppy
In the week since the missed practice, Hassie hadn’t been around at all on practice night. She’d gone out of her way to be accommodating, but she hadn’t stayed away from the house.
Jensen and Auggie had ridden to practice with me. Our player numbers had stabilized. Aspen was unloading two bags of balls. Jensen grabbed both of them and started for the fields. He’d been helping more when he didn’t have quick jobs in his shop to do or clients to meet with.
I walked with Auggie, and Aspen fell into step next to us.
He kicked a small pebble across the gravel parking lot. “Who’s all coming next weekend?”
“Clover will be here to see your practice next week, and Jasper will arrive on Friday. He’s staying with Alder and Daisy.” Clover and “The Douche” would get a room. I didn’t ask if it was our other sisters who didn’t want him at their home or if Clover subconsciously didn’t want them to witness how he treated her.
“I like Clover. What’s Jasper like?”
“He’s funny but serious.”
Auggie scrunched his nose, then nodded.
“Ooh, that’s right—it’s right around the corner.” Aspen gasped and she clutched my arm. “I never checked on how much time you need off for a honeymoon.”
“No, it’s fine.” Heat licked across the back of my neck. I hated to lie to a friend and do so in front of a kid who was also in on the lie. “We’re not going anywhere for a while. Maybe we’ll see what next summer holds, but since I’m just moving and opening my center, you know…” I let her fill in the rest.
I peeked at Auggie, and he almost looked relieved that I didn’t fib that much. We would have to see what next summer held. Maybe Jensen and I would want to stay married.
What a crazy thought.
Was it?
Or had we been inevitable? Had we had to grow up and learn who we were as individuals?
It was too much to think about in the minutes before practice.
Jensen had dropped a bag off at one of the goals where Aspen and her team practiced. Then he’d kicked a few balls to Hadley and her crew. She spotted me and her face lit.
“I hope you don’t mind,” Aspen said as she veered toward where her team was gathered in a loose group. “I told her to talk to you about a tournament in South Dakota.”
A pit formed in my stomach. Before I could ask where, Hadley had reached us. Auggie ran off, and Jensen nodded toward me. A silent signal that he’d get warm-ups started.
“Hey, Coach,” Hadley said. “Ready for the big day?”
I’d just been talking about the wedding, but my brain scrambled to keep up. Yes. In a little over a week, I was getting married. We had resumed our sneaking around, and we’d had to be a little sneakier since Auggie was present most of the day and we never knew when Hassie would appear. “Getting there.”
