Page 80 of Strung Along

Poppy shakes her head, quick to clarify. “Not in the way you’re thinking. I just mean, you haven’t mentioned him all that much recently, and I know you’ve been really busy, so I shouldn’t be surprised. I’m being selfish, is all. Greedy for yourattention and to spend more time with you. I wish you would have told me the extent of your feelings and that you were talking to that stranger before you knew who he really was. We’re here for you, Anna. Boy talk is like the best part about having a best friend.”

Suddenly, it’s not guilt that floods my belly; it’s appreciation. Such a strong, crippling sense of appreciation and love that my eyes start to burn and drip all in a matter of seconds.

The lack of female relationships I’ve had outside of the one I share with my sister didn’t mean much to me until I met Bryce and Poppy, and now that I have, I don’t think I’d be able to survive without them. In just a couple of months, they’ve integrated themselves so fully into my life that I’ll fight tooth and nail to keep them here.

“Don’t cry, baby,” Poppy hushes, sliding my feet from her thighs to crawl toward me on the cushions.

She brings me into her arms, and a beat later, two more wrap around me. My best friends cocoon themselves around my body as I cry. Cry because I’m happy and overwhelmed and healing. Because I’m so grateful for the things that brought me here, good and bad.

“I love you guys,” I whisper through a hiccup.

It’s Bryce who replies. “We love you more.”

32

BRODY

Me: Fancy coming with me to the city tomorrow? I’ll be there at 10 if you say yes.

Banana: What do you have planned, Cowboy? Miss me already?

Me: Missed you from the moment I watched you leave.

I sentmy original text as a long shot after my flight from hell back to Calgary last night. Turbulence doesn’t usually bother me, but the sky was on a mission to punt us to the ground. With a swirling stomach and a new appreciation for the ground, I strode out of the airport with one thing on my mind.

Annalise Heights.

We didn’t get enough time together at the wedding, and I want to make up for that. Sending her off in her brother-in-law’s SUV was like having my favourite dessert drifted beneath my nose and being told I couldn’t take a bite out of it. Except I did have a taste, and it was delicious. Still taste her two days later.

Even as I pull up in front of her house this morning, I’m desperate to see her. See her and feel her and kiss her. It’s likeI’ve gone back in time and become a teenage boy again with a crush to end all crushes. My grandmother would never let up if she knew the way I’d been thinking recently.

I leave the truck running as I climb out and step over the snowy curb onto her clear sidewalk. I’ve taken to shovelling for her, not wanting her to have to do it herself. The appreciative grin she gifts me every time she steps outside and sees that her sidewalk is clear is more than worth the effort.

Christmas is fast approaching, and I’ve been itching to invite her to the ranch to spend it with me. It’s not my place, though. Not when she probably wants to spend the holidays with her family. The bond she shares with them isn’t one I would ever think to try and get in the middle of.

Anna’s already slipping out her front door and onto the porch before I’ve made it halfway up the sidewalk. Picking up my pace, I take the steps two at a time and take the key from between her fingers, locking up for her.

“I was going to do that myself,” she chastises me.

“When’s the last time I haven’t come up to your door?”

“Fair enough.”

I tuck her key back into the pocket of her jacket and dip my head to kiss her warm lips. She hums in the back of her throat before resting her hands on my chest and nipping at my mouth.

“Mornin’, Buttercup,” I breathe.

“Good morning indeed. Is this going to be my greeting every time you pick me up from now on?”

I take one of the hands lying on my chest and carefully lead her down the wooden stairs. “If I have anything to say about it, yeah.”

On solid ground again, she grabs my arm and leans into my side, our legs moving in time. The walk to the truck is too quick.

“Can I know what we’re doing today, or is it supposed to be a surprise?” she asks once I’ve opened the passenger door for her.

“I’ll tell you once you get your fine ass into my truck.”

Unable to help myself, I emphasize my point with a sharp smack to her left ass cheek. I watch with a twitching dick as it ripples beneath her tight jeans with the force, the sight damn near enough to tempt me to grip her hips and fit her ass right to my groin.

---