Page 78 of Wicked Love

From the other room, my phone interrupts the quiet, and I can tell by the alert that it’s my mom. I groan.

“Do you need to check that?”

“Yeah, that’s my mom. I should get home. She and Mrs. McGregor are trying to work out the kinks in the household.”

Poppy stirs against me, tilting her face up to look at me. “A little more drama than you’re used to?”

I nod. “Yeah. You can probably tell I don’t love the drama. Unless it’s Penn’s.” She laughs and I smile down at her. “Becca is with Mrs. McGregor, and they’ve done the bedtime routine countless times without me when I’m on the road. But I didn’t prepare Becca for that tonight, so I should get back.”

“I understand. I think it’s commendable how hard you work to keep her routines. That’s a challenging endeavor.”

I lean down, catching her lips in a lingering kiss. Her hands land on my face and it warms everything inside me. I want nothing more than to lose myself in her again, but I force myself to pull back.

“Tonight was…” I trail off, searching for the right words. “Really nice.”

She smiles before biting down on her lower lip and nodding. “It was.”

I get out of bed reluctantly and get dressed. Poppy pulls her sweatshirt over her head and I make a face, bending down to kiss her temple. “It’s a shame to cover that body up.”

Her eyes are lit up when she looks at me, and I think thatshe is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I feel like the darkest part of the night to her sun.

My thumb caresses her cheek and then I walk out of her room. She follows me to the door, her arms wrapping around herself as if bracing for the cold.

“I’ll see you soon, probably tomorrow at Briar Hill,” I say.

“Bowie,” she says suddenly.

I pause, smirking. “Yeah?”

She hesitates, taking a deep breath. “I need to tell you something.”

My heart skips a beat at the seriousness in her tone. “Okay.”

Her eyes skate over my face and she reaches up, smoothing away the furrow in my brow.

“What is it?” I ask. My phone buzzes again and I wince.

She shakes her head, smiling. “It can wait. Sleep well.”

My eyes narrow, but her smile deepens.

“Really,” she says. “I’ll see you…later.”

I give her a lingering kiss, hating to leave her. “Later,” I say, putting my hands in my pockets and walking out. I turn and look back at her. “Night, Poppy.”

She leans against the doorway in nothing but her oversized sweatshirt and my mouth goes dry.

We smile at each other and I leave, a bit shaken up by all that just happened. And we didn’t even have any popcorn.

I follow the sounds of Becca and Mrs. McGregor laughing in the kitchen. Mom’s door is still closed.

“How’s it going here?” I ask.

“Good,” Becca says.

Mrs. McGregor nods. “It’s been a good night. We had a little snack and Becca’s had her shower.”

“I’m glad. Thank you.”

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