Page 43 of Poppy Kisses (Return to Coal Haven #3)

Mom took a seat next to Magnolia and grinned. She hadn’t looked so relaxed at my first wedding. That whole time, she’d kept her mouth in a tight line and had smiled congenially. Today, she acted like she was happy.

“This looks serious,” Hassie hissed, fluttering her hands to take in everything around us.

“Because it is.” I gave my head a shake. Why would she care so much? We were done. “We’re both adults. We know what we’re doing.”

“Our son doesn’t. Look how excited he is.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“You can tell him this isn’t real, but it is. It’s a real wedding. There are real guests. You and Auggie and Poppy playing a happy family isn’t real, and our son can’t tell the difference.”

Anger heated the back of my neck. If I’d been wearing a tie, I’d have to remove it. “I can worry about us just fine, like I’ve been doing for five years before you suddenly decided to show up and act like you’re a good mom.”

Her gasp probably drew attention, but I couldn’t look.

“How dare you drag my parenting into this conversation? I’m not the one who hit up a practical stranger to get married so he could work.

I’m not the one who’s getting married, so someone he barely knows can get a house.

I’m not the one who’s going to stand up there in front of everyone and say very real vows in order to fake a marriage so she can get this house. ”

A squeak resonated from behind me. Linda stared at us from the top of the stairs, her mouth gaping open.

My world went cold, ice crystallizing in my veins. Shit.

The door opened, and Poppy’s sisters spilled out. They stilled when they saw me, Hassie, and Linda. I saw a stack of curls and a white dress moving behind the women on the porch.

“Geez, stop right in the way, why don’t cha?” Poppy spotted us as she muscled her way through. She took in the tension, and her eyes widened.

My shock was wiped away. Goddamn, she was gorgeous. Curls framed her radiant face, and her white dress hinted at all the lush curves underneath.

Linda stared at her and her expression went stony. “Is it true?”

Hassie put her hands on her hips, a smug look on her face.

“Is it?” Linda snapped, and we all jumped. She was such a low-key person I hadn’t thought it was possible for her to make a whip-snap sound. “Are you two doing this only to fool me?”

Her voice carried over the lawn. The guests had gone quiet. Auggie was frozen in place at the end of the row of chairs.

Poppy opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

Weston rose and started in our direction. Linda’s husband was hot on his heels.

“This whole evening is a farce?” Linda’s voice pitched up. Hurt was etched into her face.

Despair filled Poppy’s expression, and it gutted me. She was losing everything, getting humiliated, and it was because of my ex. Because of a childhood crush I’d been too afraid to leave behind.

“What’s this?” Weston asked.

Linda’s expression was aghast as she stomped down the stairs. “It’s a scam. All of it. For the house! Well, no need to go through with it on my account.” She tucked herself into her husband’s side. He glowered at us.

I circled around Hassie and took the stairs to Poppy’s side. She was still frozen, devastation sinking into her lovely features, and I didn’t want her to feel alone. “Can we talk about this?”

“What’s there to talk about?” Darren blinked rapidly. “I can’t believe this. My wife is not a fool.”

“I didn’t think she was,” Poppy said hoarsely.

“How ’bout we find out what they have to say,” Weston said. A heavy line crossed his brow, but he at least seemed willing to listen.

“Well, the secret’s out now.” Linda huffed. “They took me for an idiot and—”

“I love her.” I slid a hand around Poppy. She was stiff as a nail.

There. I was doing it. Putting myself out there for a woman to cast off.

Once again, I’d laid it all out there. I was free-falling, and Poppy was the only one with a safety net.

But this time, I wasn’t doing it for me.

I didn’t need the confirmation. I needed her to know. I wanted everyone else to know.

A small gasp came from Hassie. Weston tipped his head, and his gaze softened. Linda huffed, and Darren rubbed her back. Everyone’s stares prickled across my skin, but the only one I cared about was Poppy’s.

“You do?” she whispered.

“So damn much,” I continued, opening myself wider in front of the crowd, and she relaxed into me. “Maybe we came up with this plan to get into the house sooner. You have to admit, leaving a trust like that is a shitty thing to do to grandkids.”

Linda rolled her lips in. No, she couldn’t argue.

“But I also wish I could tell Annie Duke that the unfair trust was the best thing to have happened to me.” My time with Poppy streamed through my head.

All of it. Since I’d met her on the first day of kindergarten.

How she smiled when she sauntered into the shop or when I appeared at her office door.

Every time she didn’t make me work for her affections, she showed me how she really felt.

Poppy made love easy. “It was a way to keep Poppy in my life. I could help her, and she’d help me.

” I turned her toward me. My heart could’ve slammed out of my chest from the emotions exploding inside it.

“You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. ”

Her lips parted and some of the fear got wiped out of her eyes.

“When I saw your face on that screen,” I said, ripping the rest of myself wide for her, “I wanted more. I haven’t quit wanting more. Poppy Duke, I want everything.”

Her big eyes grew watery. “You really fell in love with me?”

“I fell so fucking hard, four-ten, and I’ve been a scared idiot about telling you, but I’m saying it now. I love you. So much. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want the last two months to be our next fifty years.”

“I’ve been wanting today to be real,” she whispered.

Euphoria filled me. I could float away. “It is.” I tilted her chin up and kissed her. “It will be. Will you marry me, Poppy Duke?”

“Yes,” she said with a brilliant smile.

“We can wait.” I wanted this day to be special for her. I knew what it was like to look back on a wedding with less than enthusiastic memories. “We can invite more people. Do it bigger and better if you want.”

“Everyone I love is here. Including you, Jensen Hollis. I love you.” She put her hands on my shoulders and ran them down my arms to intertwine our fingers. “I’m going to make sure you always know it. You’ll never have to ask, and I want to announce it in front of the world tonight.”

I pulled her closer. This woman was everything I had ever wanted. “You already did.”

“Dad?” Auggie’s voice interrupted us.

I blinked and my emotional high dipped. How bewildering was this moment for Auggie to witness?

Hassie put her arm around his bony shoulders and scowled at us. “You’re confusing him.”

“He’s a smart kid.” I looked her in the eye when I said that. Then I turned a smile to Auggie. “Hey, bud, I fell hard for Poppy, and I want to marry her. She’d be my wife and your stepmom.”

He scrunched his face up. “For a year?” His gaze darted back and forth like he was worried he’d spilled our secret.

He didn’t need to worry, and I gave him a smile to let him know. He’d done nothing wrong. “No, Auggie. For forever.”

He cast a worried look at Poppy. “Would you still tutor me?”

“Absolutely,” Poppy said. “You’re still going to be the first student at Poppy’s Brilliant Minds Tutoring.”

“Poppy’s Brilliant Minds?” I asked.

She nodded and placed her hand on my chest. “You’re making my sign, like you said, and Auggie will be my first official kid getting tutored in my new office.

I’ve talked to five families who are changing centers officially, and two more queries are waiting in my inbox.

I haven’t been able to tell you with everything going on. ”

This woman drove me wild.

Auggie grinned at Hassie. “Mom, I get to have Poppy as a stepmom.”

My ex’s expression flickered through shock and dismay before she forced a pleasant facade. “Yeah, hon. I heard.” The muscles in her jaw popped. “It’s…exciting.” She swallowed. “I hope it works out.”

“Thank you,” Poppy said to her and gave my fingers a squeeze. “It means a lot.”

Hassie offered a small smile. “I should take my seat.” She tugged Auggie with her and led him back to his spot.

Poppy turned her attention to Linda. “I’m sorry for the trouble, Aunt Linda. Next year, you might feel like you’re in a tough spot, but it won’t matter if you don’t sign off. I’ll find another space to rent. Do what you feel is right. No one is telling us whether we’re legit or not.”

Indecision rippled over Linda’s delicate features. Her gaze softened. “I really do want the best for you.”

“When it comes to Poppy,” I told Linda, “my competitive side comes out. I’ll make damn sure there’s no one better. Now, if you all don’t mind, I’d like to watch a gorgeous woman walk down the aisle to me.”