Page 7 of Spotlight on Poppy

When the song ended, she looked over at Josh, mouth open in shock. "Oh my god, that was amazing," he said. She beamed at him.

"Great Job, Poppy," Damien said. He removed his hand from her stomach but the hand on her back remained in place. "You’re really talented, you could go far with a little more training." His hand started rubbing her back.

Poppy looked over at him and he winked at her. Poppy was undone. She couldn't believe this man was her soulmate. She needed to learn more about him.

After rehearsalthe cast generally went down the street to the Elbow Room for a couple rounds of drinks and some karaoke. It was one of the few bars in their sleepy little town and one of Poppy's all-time favorite places.

"Hey Poppy, you headed to the Elbow Room?" Josh asked her in his casual welcoming way.

"Of course, I am going to check in with Steve before I head out. I’ll meet you down there."

"Sounds good." He finished packing up his bag and got ready to head out.

Poppy walked to the back of the theater where the director and Damien were talking.

"Good rehearsal tonight Poppy, I think we are really coming along," said the director.

"Thanks, I just wanted to come and ask you if you guys wanted to come down to the Elbow Room with us." She looked over to Damien. "It’s a local karaoke bar we go to after rehearsal sometimes."

"I don't think I can join you tonight," said the director. Poppy wasn't really too concerned if he would join, he very rarely did. But she was very much hoping that Damien would come.

"I would love to go. I want to live the small town life while I'm here," he said with a wink. That was the third wink he had given Poppy tonight. Poppy couldn't remember the last time anyone winked at her, let alone three times in one night.

"Great, would you like to walk with me? It's just a few blocks down the street."

"Sure, let me just finish up here and I’ll meet you outside."

"Okay, that sounds great. I’ll meet you outside." Poppy smiled at him. Her heart fluttered with excitement as she went down to the front of the theater to collect her things. She packed up and looked around. She was the last cast member there, most of them were already down at the bar.

She walked out and sat down on a bench and pulled her phone out. She was dying to text Hannah and tell her about everything. Tell her about the spell. Tell her about Damien. She even wanted to tell her about Josh and the weird moment she had with Josh before Damien came. There were definitely some sparks there. But with Hannah in Scotland on her honeymoon, she decided to just take a selfie in front of the theater.

The door to the theater swung open and out came Damien, he had this swagger and confidence that seemed to pull her in. He was just what she had asked for in the spell. He had a life bigger than this little town. He could help her to finally have a big adventure. And he was absolutely gorgeous, so that always helped. And really, Poppy would much rather have a handsome Broadway star than a time traveling highlander. Things were much simpler that way.

"Hi Poppy, lead the way to your local watering hole," he said with a grin.

"Excuse me?" she asked, a little taken back.Watering hole? What did he think this was, the wild west?

"It's just an expression, Lead the way to the bar. I am interested in seeing how you all live."

He put out his arm and Poppy took it, and they walked down to the bar.

How we all live?Poppy thought. That was kind of a weird thing to say, but he was from New York City though, so this place probably did seem pretty small to him.

Oh well, he was here, and she had work to do to make sure this love spell worked.

CHAPTER5

Josh

There was a chill in the morning air as Josh walked down main street. He was helping his sister out at the Mystic Falls Inn. It was one of his many jobs. Money had always been tight for him and his sister growing up, so Josh became a jack of all trades. He did a little bit of everything from tending bar, driving Uber and being a handyman. Today that was his job. His sister was the general manager at the local inn, and she often hired Josh to fix things up.

His task for that day was sanding down and staining the gazebo at the inn. He needed to get this done before the weather turned too cold. And with it being late September, he was already pushing it. He needed to finish the sanding today.

Walking to the hardware store for some supplies gave him a moment to think. The events of last night had thrown him. First, there was the electrifying moment with Poppy. He could not get the feel of her hand in his and the look in her eyes as she slowly licked her lip out of his mind, and he didn’t know what to make of it all. And then there was the interruption and that guy. Damien St. Cloud. His name was as pretentious as he was.

He set the supplies down on the counter and Theo Williams, the owner of William’s Hardware, started to ring him up.

“What are you working on today?” Theo asked.

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