Page 12 of This Time I'm Keeping You
“Don’t tell me to shut up.”
“I won’t if you stop being an idiot.”His eyes were narrowed now.
Why was he angry?She was the one he’d humiliated.Had his behavior today erased some of the hurt he’d inflicted in college?Yes.They’d both changed.He’d grown into a hot hunk of a man, that she was sure….Her thoughts trailed off as she looked at him.
“What?”
“Are you married, Nick?”
“No.Why?You want to put your hand up to be my wife, Tinker Bell?”The frown on his face eased.
“No.I just wondered is all,” she mumbled.
“No significant other either.”
She ignored the relief.Nick Atherton was nothing to her.Angry with her reaction, she started punching in her neighbor’s number so she could feed Poppy’s cat tonight.The bank could wait until tomorrow.Then she made the last call, the one she was dreading.
“Hi, Aunt Jenny, this is a friend’s phone.I’m totally fine, but I had a minor accident.Don’t freak out,” Poppy added quickly as her aunt shrieked.“I’m okay, truly.They’re just keeping me overnight for observation in the hospital.But I won’t be able to FaceTime you later, okay?”
She loved her aunt, but she could be dramatic.After a few seconds of listening to a list of things Poppy needed to do and how quickly her aunt could arrive in Brook, Poppy said, “You are not flying here to look after me!If anyone needs to fly, it will be me to you.”
She looked at Nick, who was listening to the conversation with a small smile on his lips.
“I lost my phone, Aunt Jenny, so don’t try calling me,” Poppy said.“No, there is no one you can talk to about my condition because the doctors are not—” The phone was pulled out of her hand.
“Hi, Aunt Jenny, this is Nick.It’s my phone, so you can call me if you want an update on Poppy.”
“Give it back!”Poppy tried to grab the phone, but he just walked away from the bed.
“I’m a close friend of hers.”
“Don’t tell her that!”If Aunt Jenny thought she had a close male friend, her life would be hell.She’d be harassed from sunup to sundown.There would be endless hours of relentless interrogation.Her aunt believed Poppy should be married and producing babies for her to spoil.
“Yes, we went to college together and reconnected recently.”Nick was a regular Chatty Cathy now.
She tried to climb out of bed, but the movement hurt her wrist.
“You just stay in bed, honey.I’ve got this,” Nick said with a smirk on his face.
Poppy looked for something to throw at him.Only her coffee cup was handy, and she wasn’t giving that up.
He sent her a smug look as he continued to talk.Even annoyed with him, she couldn’t help but admire the way his butt looked in those faded jeans that were worn in all the right places.He was a front-page-of-a-glossy-magazine hunk.
Poppy could only imagine what she looked like but didn’t have the energy to care.Closing her eyes, she tried to ignore the pain in her body.
“Sure, I’ll make her rest, and she’ll call you in the morning.Yeah, you too, Aunt Jenny.Take care now.Poppy sends you her love,” Nick said before pocketing his phone.
“I’m too tired to be angry with you now, but I will be tomorrow when my aunt appears on my doorstep demanding to meet Nick.”Poppy yawned loudly.“You never understood personal boundaries.”
“Four siblings.Personal boundaries weren’t something any of us understood.”
“Your siblings have my sympathy.”
“Why?I’m a great older brother.”
“I’m sure.I mean, I guess you had to grow up at some stage.”
He mock glared at her.
