Page 82 of Half Baked

“You really love me?” I whisper, my face tucked in against his neck.

“I really love you, with everything I am.”

My heart feels as if it is going to explode in my chest. To hear those words from him, I can’t imagine anything better. But that’s all the more reason to think about this without him standing before me.

“Then would you let me have some time to think about this?” I ask gently.

Hayden swallows, worry swimming in his gaze. “Of course,” he says, his voice scratchy. “Call me when you’re ready. I’ll be at home.”

“Thank you, Hayden,” I murmur, brushing a kiss across his cheek.

He smiles sadly as he takes a step back. “We’ve come a long way; I remember when you would have never thanked me for anything.” And then he steps out onto the wharf.

I watch him until he disappears into the parking lot, then I turn to find the contract sitting on the counter. Picking it up, I take a deep breath and read through what he’s offering.

Chapter 38

Hayden

After taking the long way home, I park in my garage and throw my head back against the seat. I didn’t expect to admit as much as I did, it all tumbled out once I got started. Because really, there’s no other way to explain my actions.

I love her. I love her so fucking much it hurts. And I can’t watch the dreams of the woman I love stolen from her because of something so out of her control as problems with renovations.

Getting out of my Corvette, I head inside to change. Laps in a pool won’t help me right now, I need the steady power of ocean waves.

Beckett must already be with Stevie, because I’m greeted by silence as I move into the east wing of the house. The hall echoes with the sound of me closing the door from the garage, and I can’t help but wonder if I just thrust myself into this loneliness once again by pushing Poppy too far.

Stopping in the kitchen, I open the fridge and withdraw the iced lavender tea Poppy had mixed up the other day. Upstairs, there will be the sweatshirt of mine that she borrowed, still thrown over the armchair in my closet and still smelling of her.

I wonder if these will be the last pieces of her that get left behind.

Without bothering to pour a glass, I lift the pitcher of tea to my lips and drink the familiar flavor down. It tastes like kissing Poppy in the mornings, before she starts sampling all her baked goods.

I’m ready to abandon the empty pitcher and head for the stairs when the chime from the front gate sounds. Turning for the front of the house, I see a baby blue Bronco coming down my driveway.

Hope stirs within me, only to be closely chased by concern. That took no time at all. Would she agree to the contract this quickly?

No, she is a planner. She likes to read through things more than once. Highlight the smallest details and have a list of negotiations. It’s more likely that she is here to turn me down.

Heading out the front door, I cross the drive and take a seat on the edge of the fountain just as she parks behind my car. Every step felt too heavy, and my body is weighed down by anticipation as I sit and watch her.

She jumps out, contract in hand, and slams the door before stalking towards me. My God, she’s so wonderfully fierce. Stamping her feet down, she comes to a stop only a step away from my reach and huffs. “I can’t accept this.”

My stomach plummets to depths I didn’t know existed. I don’t move; I can’t move. “Why not?” I rasp.

“For starters, you’re not capable of being asilentpartner. Not if we want to continue to be as passionate as you claim we are. Honestly, Hayden, this whole thing is a joke. It gives you no rights, obviously it’s still just a handout.”

“Poppy, I didn’t?—”

Her hand lifts to stop me mid-sentence. The motion is sharp, determined. When I fall silent, she continues. “So, if I am going to agree to this, I have my conditions.”

She crosses her arms and smiles at me. Andthat smile. It’s a brilliant light in the darkest storm of my heart.

I shoot up and quickly close the distance between us. “Let’s hear them, then,” I say, my voice thick.

“It’s a fifty-fifty split or nothing. If we’re going to be partners, then that means equal partners.”

Blinking back at her, I turn those words over in my mind. They aren’t at all what I expected. I couldn’t have heard her correctly.

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