Page 77 of I'll Keep Her Safe

Honestly, I’m beginning to think they’re all right.

“What if… what if it feels too late?” I ask quietly.

“Too late?!” Marty scoffs. “If you live to be my age, you still have fifty years left. That’s not too late, my boy. That’s a lifetime.”

A lifetime.

I sigh, tugging my phone from my pocket to check the time. My pulse jumps when I see a missed call from Poppy, but before I can call her back, an ambulance screams past. My heart seizes as I watch it tear down Fruit Street and stop outside my house.

Oh my God.

I leap from the bench, forgetting my plants, forgetting Marty, forgetting my bike. Adrenaline floods me as I start down the street toward the house. It’s not rational, it’s instinct, impulse, to get to Poppy. The back doors of the ambulance burst open, and I break into a run, my heart slamming in my ears.

Has something happened to her? Is that why she called? I haven’t seen her since lunch. What if Kurt showed up? What if she’s hurt? What if he’s done something to her?

My chest clenches with fear as I arrive at our house, and the paramedics wheel a stretcher from the ambulance. But they cross the street. It’s only then that I notice the crowd gathered on the stoop opposite. I should be worried about that, but all I can feel is relief. The sweet wash of relief that it’s not Poppy who’s hurt.

I just need to see her, to be sure.

She’s in the kitchen, watching through the window when I burst in, breathless.

“Wyatt,” she says in surprise. “Did you see what’s going on out there?”

I stare at her worried face, my breath coming in short, sharp bursts, my lungs burning.

She’s okay. She’s safe.

Her brow knits as she examines me, bent double from my sprint down the street. “Are you okay?”

“I’m…” I take a moment to catch my breath as Sugar rubs against my shin. “I’m okay.”

What matters is thatshe’sokay. It’s not Poppy who’s hurt, it’s someone else. And while I’d preferno onewas hurt, all I can think about is her. What if it hadn’t been someone else? What if I’d lost her before I even had her?

Holy shit, what am Idoing? Why won’t I let myself be with the woman I…

Shit. The woman… I think…

The woman I’m in love with.

“Wyatt,” Poppy says, touching my arm in concern, and that’s when it happens. That’s when I finally give up the fight, once and for all, and crush my mouth to hers.

27

Poppy

Everything feels right with the world again the moment Wyatt’s lips meet mine. He’s frantic in his kiss, hands on my back, in my hair, tongue claiming mine with a ferocity he didn’t have in Napa.

And I’m all too happy to cooperate.

He walks me back against the counter, hips pressing forward as his hands try to touch every inch of me, to hold me close. Finally, he breaks for air and pulls me tight into him, holding me as if he’s afraid I’m going to slip away the minute he lets go.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispers into my hair. He’s wearing the brown leather jacket he wore at Bailey’s party, and it makes him look dangerous. It makes him look hotter than anything.

But I’m going to need a bit more from him before this goes any further.

“Why?” I ask, drawing away to gaze up into his wild, amber eyes.

He shakes his head, stroking my cheek. “I saw the ambulance and I thought… Fuck. I thought something had happened to you. And I realized…” He trails off, letting his forehead rest against mine. “I made a mistake, pushing you away. Telling you this couldn’t happen. Life is so short, Poppy. We should be together. For real.”

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