Page 81 of I'll Keep Her Safe

Wyatt presses his eyes shut, as if in pain. A ripple of uncertainty moves through me, but it vanishes the moment he slides his hand into my hair, kissing me deeply.

“God, Poppy…” he murmurs, voice thick with emotion. “I love you, too.”

There’s a lump in my throat as I swallow. “You do?”

“I do.” His eyes are liquid amber as they move over my face. “I love you in a way I didn’t even know was possible.”

My heart squeezes hard, like it can’t quite believe it’s lucky enough to have Wyatt’s love.

“Yes,” I say, blinking the moisture from my eyes. “That’s exactly what it feels like.”

He pulls me tight against him, and I realize what a huge deal this is for him, letting himself be with me—love me. He rode his bike today, too, at his own suggestion, and I’m sure he wouldn’t have done that a few weeks ago. I can’t help but wonder if I’ve been good for him, reminding him it’s okay to be happy, to put his needs first for once. Just like he’s been good for me, pushing me to explore my cooking more. Today was proof of that; proof that people like my food, that they’re willing to pay for it, that I could do something with that passion if I believed in myself enough. And Wyatt has helped me to believe in myself. His love has done that.

I think back to our conversation on the plane, when he lit up, talking about people growing their own vegetables. He deserves to do something with his passion, too.

And as I snuggle into his chest, an idea blooms in my mind. I could help him using my marketing skills. Tomorrow, I decide, I’m going to talk to Daisy. I’m going to see if she can help me put my plan into action.

28

Poppy

It’s only been one week, but I’ve already had more of the guys reach out to order lunch from me. After seeing the food that was served on Monday, my phone completely blew up. Wyatt also suggested reaching out to his neighbors, Kyle and Violet, who run a company with a large team of their own, but I told him to hold off until we’re doing this properly.

What I didn’t say was I’m not sure if we’ll ever get to that point, not when every commercial kitchen I’ve looked at is an unfathomable amount to rent, even with the extra money coming in from more orders. And Idefinitelydidn’t say that I keep thinking about how I could have used the money Kurt stole from me to make it happen. That would only get Wyatt fired up again.

But I’ll try to make this work. I’ll find a way. I have to. And the first thing to do is to get the licenses I need.

My alarm goes off at 5 a.m. and I roll over, silencing it before it wakes Wyatt. Ever since we made things official a week ago, I’ve slept in here. Well, we spend half our time sleeping, half our time having sex, but that’s a pretty good deal. I’m happy to miss sleep for him.

Wyatt’s arm snakes around me in the dark, pulling me into the heat of his body.

“You’re not getting up already, are you?”

I sigh, nestling back into his warmth. So much for not waking him.

“I’ll have to get up soon,” I tell him, wriggling my ass against the hardness I can feel there. “You have ten minutes.”

His hands stray down to squeeze my breasts. “I can work with that.” He tugs my nightgown up, sliding a hand between my legs to stroke my clit, his breath hot on the back of my neck, his cock growing harder against my backside. After a few minutes of teasing, he wordlessly thrusts into me, hands gripping my hips as we move together. It doesn’t take long for us both to reach our climax, then I roll over to kiss him good morning before disappearing to the shower, despite his protests. I’d much rather stay in bed with him all day, but I have much to do.

In the kitchen, I set about making the lunches for today. I have four different sites to drop orders to, and while it’s convenient to use Wyatt’s truck, that’s not exactly a long-term plan. I should really have a vehicle of my own, as well as possibly hiring some help, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

He appears at the bottom of the stairs a little while later with a yawn, fresh from the shower, his hair damp and mussed. I run my eyes over him appreciatively, then follow with my hands. It’s such a novelty that I get to touch him whenever I want now, and I’m still getting used to it.

He walks me back against the counter. “It kills me every time you put this apron on,” he says roughly, his hands skating to my hips, where he squeezes. “I don’t know why, but it’s so Goddamn sexy.”

I giggle, rising to my toes to kiss him. I’ll have to remember that.

With a sigh, he pulls himself away from me, grabbing his coffee. “I’ll see you at the site around twelve?”

“Definitely.” And I watch him go, counting the minutes until I’ll get to see him again.

It’s1:45 by the time I finally get home from delivering the lunch orders, and I have to rush to meet Daisy outside the house at 2 p.m. She’s been busy all week with work and a couple of photography gigs, but that’s given me time to take the first steps of my plan, including putting together the basics of a marketing plan and a new website for Wyatt’s proposed business. He knows nothing about my secret project, and that’s exactly how I want to keep it until I’m ready to show him.

“Hey.” Daisy waits on the stoop when I step outside after a quick play with Sugar and a bite to eat. “You ready?”

I nod, smiling as she pulls me into a hug, her camera around her neck between us.

“Thanks so much for agreeing to do this,” I say, and we walk toward the Fruit Street Community Garden. When I told her about my idea to create a website and marketing plan to show Wyatt what’s possible with his passion for vegetable gardening, she was eager to help.

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