Page 2 of Shattered Dreams

My heart lurches as I stare into her eyes. We both adore my best friend—though we haven't seen him in months. It hurts that my daughter asks about him every night before bed.

"I don't know, honey. I'll text him later. He's busy with his writing now."

Poppy's eyes grow wide. "Is he going to write me a book? He promised."

I grin, reminding myself to feed Kieron's ego to fulfil my little girl's wish.

"Can you text him now?Please?"

"If I do, will you listen to the story?" I lean forward to retrieve my phone from my jeans pocket.

"Yes, yes, I promise!" Poppy extends her pinkie finger—her ultimate pledge. "Pinkie promise!"

I laugh as I glance at my screen, freezing when I see the missed calls from Roman.

Eleven missed calls.

I frown as I send him a text.

He replies instantly.

I'm on my way home. Will explain when I get there. Don't answer the door or the phone to any reporters until I'm there, OK?

Reporters?

I look up to see Poppy watching me expectantly.

"Well?" Poppy asks, her arms crossed.

Impatient little madam.

A dread fills my gut, the kind that’s impossible to ignore. My fingers tremble as I text Kieron about Poppy wanting him to write her a story.

"I've texted him, princess. Now into bed." My voice wavers as I try to calm my racing heart, intuition screaming that something is wrong.

Very wrong.

What’s happened?

I place my phone on Poppy's windowsill and begin to read, my mouth forming words without comprehension, my mind consumed with the urgency in Roman's message.

Why can't I answer any calls?

Fuck!

I continue reading despite the sinking feeling, then glance up to see Poppy drifting off to sleep, her dreams full of tiaras, glass carriages, and happily ever after.

I smile, remembering her calling Roman and me her favourite royal couple.

As my eyes drift to my phone, I see it flashing incessantly.

This is bad.

I kiss Poppy's head, tucking the covers around her small frame. I watch her momentarily before reaching for my phone.

Missed calls: Unknown.

Reporters already? What did you do, Roman?