Page 42 of Poppy Kisses (Return to Coal Haven #3)

Chapter Twenty-Six

Poppy

The Perez house was bustling with people.

My brothers were out on the lawn, milling around with my dad.

I was in the room that would be my office.

We’d hauled a few chairs up and the tub of hair styling supplies that Clover had brought was covered in curling irons and spray bottles.

Violet had brought a full-length mirror that rested against the wall.

This morning, I had gone out to breakfast with my sisters. When our parents had gotten to town, they went straight for the diner. All my family was in city limits and were here to watch me get married.

My stomach fluttered, and I was so damn excited for tonight I was tempted to rush to the justice, say my vows, and hide away in the house with Jensen where we didn’t have to pretend we were crazy about each other.

He really liked me.

But he hadn’t said he loved me.

I wrestled with one unruly curl. Should I have kept my hair down? I plumped the stray lock, but the damn thing hung right down the middle of my forehead. I twisted it and tried to secure it in the delicate pile Clover had made on the top of my head.

More curls slipped loose.

“What are you fussing with that for?” Clover was in front of me, a frown line bisecting her forehead.

She wore a pale-green summer dress. All my sisters were in their dresses, each having picked out the same style but in the colors they preferred.

Violet and Lily both had chosen a lilac shade, and Daisy had a light yellow.

They were like a bouquet of wildflowers in my future office.

I scowled. “There was a line going right down my forehead.”

Lily’s hair was pinned off her face, and she had a leg crossed under her skirt, her heel bobbing. “She was thinking about tonight and getting the house to herself with her man.”

I let out an indignant gasp. “How did you know?”

Daisy smirked and exchanged a knowing glance with Lily.

Violet chortled. “We’ve each had the same thoughts on our wedding night.”

“Well, not mine,” Lily said. “I wondered, then I found out soon enough. But the excitement to have him and the house to ourselves never fades.”

Lily and Eliot were married by the same justice as I would be today, but it’d been an office ceremony.

Then they’d gone their separate ways. Their one-year anniversary celebration was different.

They’d been the picture of wedded bliss, and I was certain they had snuck off at least once while we’d all been there.

“Did you…” I brushed my hands down my shorts. I hadn’t changed into my dress yet, thankfully, so I couldn’t get sweaty handprints on it.

Lily tilted her head, waiting for me to finish.

The thoughts swirling in my head were chaotic. Wishful. Fanciful. Should I even be thinking of this? It didn’t matter. I was. “Did you feel like your first anniversary was the real start?”

Her teasing smile faded. “Are you wishing this was the real start?”

So much. “What if it’s just a little real?”

Both Lily and Violet leaned forward in their chairs.

“You and Jensen?” Violet prompted.

“It felt inevitable. We couldn’t help ourselves.”

“Aw.” Violet’s blue eyes shimmered. “That’s so sweet.”

I pressed a hand against my belly. “I’m really excited, but if you look at it, we only just started dating. Will this whole year be a wait-and-see thing? Will we be afraid that we’re not doing enough to get Aunt Linda and Dad to sign off on us?”

“You don’t have to do anything,” Clover said, fussing with my hair. She pinned the rogue curl in place. “We can see that you two like each other.”

“But it’s only like.” I huffed out a breath. There, I said it. “I think I’m in love with the man I’m going to marry, but he hasn’t said it.”

“Have you?” Lily asked.

I shook my head. I might be a hypocrite, but I wanted to hear it first.

The four of them stared at me.

Understanding filled Daisy’s eyes. “It’s hard to put yourself out there when you’ve been hurt before. I almost ruined things between me and Alder because I didn’t trust myself to open up.”

“I’ve only dated duds.” I didn’t realize how dudly they were until Jensen.

“I’m not talking about you,” Daisy said gently and went to stand by the window.

Oh. I worried the inside of my cheek. “I’m rushing him.”

“You’re getting married today.” Clover gave my shoulder a squeeze. “It’s hard not to feel like today should signify more than the start of the clock.”

Violet crossed to the window. “And Hassie’s here.”

She was here because of the wedding. Because of me. “We’re not rekindling our friendship anytime soon.”

“Right,” Daisy said, “but also, Hassie’s here.”

The butterflies in my stomach careened to the sides. “Yeah, it’d have looked worse to not invite her. I’d invite her a million times for Auggie, but I hope…”

When I didn’t finish, Clover narrowed her eyes. “Has she been saying shit?”

“Not directly.” I twisted my fingers together. “But she was double-checking that all this was fake yesterday. I think she hated seeing me, Jensen, and Auggie playing together.”

Violet clucked her tongue. “And I’m sure it digs under her skin to think about you and Jensen playing together.”

We played so hard together. “She doesn’t know a life where he’s not obsessed with her.”

“Linda and Darren just arrived,” Daisy said.

The nerves in my gut went wild. “It’ll be fine. Right?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Violet asked, and since she was the logical one, I calmed.

Why wouldn’t today go all right? Everything was in place, and I was in love with the groom. He might not be there yet with me, but my aunt and uncle didn’t have to know and neither did my parents. Maybe when the year was over, we’d get our own one-year anniversary celebration.

“It’s starting soon.” Clover took my dress off the hanger. “Once he sees you in this dress, he’s going to haul you away in front of everyone.”

It was go time. I looked at my empty ring finger. The ring and band would be on it before the end of the day. A symbol of our deal, but I was no longer satisfied with that. Marriage first. Hopefully, the love came later.

* * *

Jensen

The justice of the peace was chatting with Poppy’s dad. Alder and Jasper had veered into talk of cattle ranching and horse breeding, and while I was mildly interested in both, I couldn’t concentrate. I kept scanning the small, intimate crowd for Poppy.

I was comfortable. No tight western vest. No new pair of boots pinching my feet. I was in an old polished pair of cowboy boots, loose gray slacks, and a comfortable dress shirt. No pinching ties. No clinging suit coat. Just me.

Awareness prickled over my skin, and the jitters were right there, threatening to make my hands tremble.

I yearned for the calming presence of Poppy.

She’d understand how I felt with this almost-but-not-quite sense to the day.

How I wanted to be excited and then remembered I wasn’t supposed to be while also considering that everyone should think I was, so why couldn’t I be excited again?

Poppy knew how I felt.

Did she know how I felt about her?

She knew I liked her. I couldn’t keep my hands off her. But she didn’t know how much I liked her. She had no idea that times like now, I craved her, and it wasn’t just sexual. She didn’t know I loved her.

Her aunt wandered by, looking uncertain.

“Hi, Linda,” I said. “Thanks for coming.”

Her salt-and-pepper brows lifted. “Hello, Jensen.” She glanced around. “Is the house open for guests? I’m afraid I have to use the restroom.”

“Absolutely it’s open for guests. Poppy and I were hoping to show you the renovations.”

Pleasure filled her face. “Of course. I’m looking forward to it. I hope I’ll still get a tour when the ceremony is done.” She walked away, picking over the grass in her low-heeled sandals. The wind fluttered her wide-legged pants.

I really did want her to see the place. In the next few weeks, I’d go over the pictures of the cabinets I made and installed and write up a description. Poppy would look at it, and we’d carry on like we’d been doing for the last two months.

I couldn’t wait.

As I was turning, Hassie approached. She wore a backless pink dress that was more like a long nightgown with sheer fabric and a thigh-high slit. I didn’t recognize the cowboy boots, but she had needed a horse trailer to haul all her footwear, and she likely hadn’t pared down.

She’d been talking to Auggie. He was brandishing our rings to anyone who would stop long enough to admire them.

Hassie’s features were pinched. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

I suppressed a groan. “Yeah, What’s up?”

Laughter rang up from the group of my future brothers-in-law.

Hassie twisted her lips. “Is there somewhere a little more private?”

Ah, hell. What was this about? “I want to stay out here, but we can move closer to the house. The porch?”

That way, I wasn’t going off alone with my ex on my wedding day.

“Yeah, I guess that’ll do.” She walked ahead of me, her steps determined.

I lifted my gaze to the window that would be Poppy’s office. I couldn’t see movement, but the ceremony was supposed to be starting soon. Was she at the stairs? I’d love to see her descend, in whatever dress she had chosen, with those twinkling eyes.

Hassie didn’t go up the porch stairs but angled to the right by some bushes I didn’t get trimmed. Wrong time of year and Poppy hadn’t cared if they looked a little shaggy.

Hassie folded her arms and leaned in. “Are you sure about this?”

“About what?”

She shook her head in that duh? way that had rankled when we’d been married.

“The wedding? Why wouldn’t I be?”

She gave me a pointed look and then turned to the line of chairs.

Aspen was chatting with Auggie. She’d already seen the rings.

My future father-in-law, Weston, ushered his wife to the chairs.

Poppy had invited Eliot’s family, and knowing about the trust requirement for a marriage, they’d gathered with us to make it more believable.