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CHAPTER TWO

I’D READ THAT

POPPY

I walk into The Fairy Hut thinking I'll get a quick drink and an appetizer. I normally don't dine alone, but in Silver Hills, it doesn't feel as daunting as it did in Denver. I've lived here for several months, but I’m only just now getting settled. My job is between here and Denver, and moving to the Silver Hills side of work has been a breath of fresh air. I spent a lot of time with my parents over the holidays, trying to talk them into making the move to Silver Hills too. I love this little town so much.

I hear laughter and then my name being called and turn to see Elle Benton…actually it’s Archer now, I think. And in the book world, she’s known as Zoey Archer. She’s a new author that I love. The funny thing is that I met her at the adorable bookstore, Twinkle Tales, before I knew she was an author, and then I saw her at a signing there a month later, where we hit it off even more.

“Poppy. Hi. Come join us.” She waves me over.

When I get closer, I see that Elle’s with a table full of women that I also met at Twinkle Tales and really liked—Sadie, Tru, and the owner, Calista. They look like they've been here for a while. The table is full of food and the waiter brings them another round of drinks. I walk to the table somewhat shyly but excited to see all of them. The two times I’ve talked to them, they all seemed like great humans.

“Hey, how's everyone doing?” I say, when I reach the table.

“We're great ,” Sadie says ecstatically. “How are you?”

“I’m great too.” I laugh at how dramatically Sadie puts her hands on her chest with wide eyes when I say that I’m great.

“Yep, I’ve had some dranks ,” she says, laughing.

“We all have,” Calista says, her smile wide.

“Here, pull up a chair,” Elle says.

They make room for me and I sit at the round table between Elle and Tru.

“We were just talking about book ideas for Zoey,” Tru says, winking at me. “She's shooting us down for a male/male romance based on Penn and Bowie.”

My eyes widen at the mention of Bowie. I can’t fight back a laugh .

“Well, I would certainly read that,” I say.

“So would I!” Elle says, laughing. “I’m just getting my feet wet with writing romance and creating a brand and all that. I’m not sure I'm capable of a MM yet…not that I don't love reading it.” She takes a drink and sets it down carefully when she starts laughing again. “They have been talking about what I would write if I based a romance on them. Oh my God.” She can't stop laughing with the rest of us. “I wonder what they’d think if I put them together. Oh, girls, this might be too good to resist.”

We all crack up. The waiter comes by to get my drink order and as soon as he leaves, Sadie talks about how we could throw a party celebrating their love.

“It’s too good,” Tru says. “Please do it, Elle. If you don't do it, someone has to. There's got to be fan fiction somewhere out there with this already. Two hotties from the Mustangs who can’t get enough of each other?” She snorts and nearly chokes on her mocktail.

“What is his story anyway?” I ask. “I mean, what is their story?”

“Ah,” Elle looks at me knowingly, “I can guess which one you're more interested in based on the little interaction I saw at the signing.”

My cheeks heat.

“Bowie is such a good guy,” she continues. “One of the best people I know. Very stoic, very serious.” Her voice dips low when she says stoic and serious . “But when it comes to his daughter Becca, he lights up like the morning sun. He would do anything for that girl or his friends. And we happen to be the happy recipients of that since he loves our men.” Elle smiles warmly at me. “He needs a good woman.”

My body feels feverish just thinking about Bowie Fox. That man has been hard to get out of my head after we talked at Twinkle Tales. It wasn't as if he said anything profound or that he showed any interest in me whatsoever; in fact, he was possibly annoyed by my mere presence. But just being near the guy made me tongue-tied. He’s entirely too good-looking for me to maintain any sense. He looks like a Viking god, stern and towering, with broad shoulders and chin-length blond hair that waves away from his face. It’s the kind of hair you just want to get lost in.

I sigh and look around, hoping these women can’t tell where my thoughts have derailed.

Unlike her dad, Bowie’s daughter, Becca, was not annoyed by me at all. We hit it off in a big way, with her inviting me over to dinner and everything. She’s a dreamy little girl. Bowie shut that down fast. I’d really hoped he would bring her to Briar Hill though, so I could spend more time with her. In just the little time I was around her, I could tell she’d love to be part of all the activities we do over there.

“Did you guys know there’s a social media account called BHOTD?” Sadie looks around at each of us. When we shake our heads, she says, “It stands for Bowie’s Hair of the Day.”

That makes us laugh all over again. I’m laughing just as hard and I’m only having a mocktail. The name and description got me—Love Potion #1. It’s delicious—pink, with raspberries and watermelon. But it’s the company of these women and talking about Bowie Fox that has me feeling almost giddy.

“He does have amazing hair,” I say quietly. And the prettiest brown eyes I’ve ever seen…with full, perfect lips…

“Yes, he does,” Calista interrupts my spiral into all things Bowie. “All those men are fine as hell. Javi better be glad I met him first!”

I feel eyes on me and turn to see Sadie watching me thoughtfully. She grins, tapping her chin .

“You never came to one of our girl nights. We invited you, remember? After meeting you at Twinkle Tales.”

“I know! I'm sorry. I really wanted to. Work was crazy there for a while and then the holidays got so hectic.”

“It's okay. You'll have to come to the next one. We got distracted too between holidays and the end of the season. And Elle just got married.”

“You did? That’s awesome. Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” Elle smiles. “We put it together quickly, but we’ve been close forever, so we thought, why wait?”

“I love that.”

“It was the prettiest wedding,” Sadie says. “And we’ll get together more often now that the season is over. In the meantime, you should come to my wedding…”

“What?” I say, shock lacing my voice.

“Yes, I’d love to have you! I can just tell you’re good people. There will be plenty of food and it’s going to be such a fun night…lots of dancing.” She clasps her hands together. “Please, say yes. I would love to have you there.”

“That's amazing. So thoughtful of you!”

“Oh, you'll be perfect,” she says. “You'll fit right in with everyone. It's not a big affair. Don't get me wrong…with the team and all their plus ones, it’ll be plenty of people, but still feel intimate.” She leans in and looks so pretty, her cheeks rosy and her eyes lit up with excitement.

I’m the only one with blonde hair in this group. They’re all gorgeous and each has a distinct look and various eye colors, but they all have long, dark hair. Calista has dreadlocks right now, so it looks even longer than the other times I’ve seen her. They’re dressed really well too…makes me wish I’d stopped by the house to change out of the athletic wear I live in at work. I’ll have to get a new dress if I plan on going to this wedding. I can’t believe she’s inviting me to her we dding! I’m a huge Mustangs fan and I think I’m in shock that these women are so welcoming.

“We’re going to be taking over the Landmark Mountain Ski Lodge & Resort and we’d love to have you. It's coming up soon, February 28th.”

“I’ll be there,” I say, already knowing that my schedule is clear.

“Wonderful. Type your address in my phone so I can send you an invite. I cannot wait.”

“Neither can I. Wow. Thank you.”

Tru and Elle look at Sadie and her smile grows. She hands me her phone and I put my address in before handing it back.

I can't help but think I'm missing something, but I’m just so honored she's asked me to be there, I don't even question it. I've wanted to make new friends in Silver Hills and it looks like I'm getting my wish.

Sadie leans in. “Make sure you save a dance for Bowie.”

Oh my. For a second I’d forgotten about Bowie. My cheeks heat again.

“I’m not so sure he’ll want to dance with me. He didn’t seem very…into me.”

“He’ll dance with you,” Elle says, bumping my shoulder with hers. “He holds everything close to his chest, but I think you intrigued him.”

I make a face, laughing. “You must have seen something I didn’t then.”

“We need to get one drink in Bowie—he rarely ever drinks, but when he does, some of that gruff exterior falls off of him,” Tru says.

Sadie points at her, nodding. “You’re not wrong. Oh, this is going to be so fun.”

My eyes narrow. “You’re not trying to set us up, are you? ”

“Who me?” Her eyes widen comically. “Poppy, I am going to let the love in the air work its magic. Don’t you worry about a thing.”

I call my sister when I get home. Marley’s twenty-four, three years younger than me, and we’re really close. She got married last year and she and Eric live in California now. I hate that I can’t just drive over to her house to see her.

“You’re not going to believe this,” I say before we’ve even said hello.

“Spill it!” she says.

“I’ve been invited to Sadie Chapman and Weston Shaw’s wedding.”

“No way .”

We have followed the Mustangs forever and were very invested when Sadie popped into Weston’s life. I hated how the press treated her. The way she dressed was criticized so harshly, and she has stepped it up a lot in the fashion department, but I always thought she was so beautiful, no matter what she wore.

“I ran into them—she was with the same group I met at Twinkle Tales—Tru, Calista, and Elle…oh my God, I can’t believe I’m hanging out with Zoey Archer! She’s actually the one who called me over to the table. They’re all so nice.”

“The cheekbones on Elle Benton…legendary.” Marley sighs. “What are you going to wear?”

“That’s why I’m calling…I mean, we both know I would’ve called either way because…I so rarely have news.”

“Your life needed this excitement. Although you did meet Bowie Freaking Fox last month, so…maybe your life is lo oking up. Who knew that moving to a small town would increase your social life by like, a thousand?”

“My life wasn’t that sad,” I argue.

“It was pretty sad. All you did in Denver was work and go to Mom and Dad’s. All you do now is work too, but you’re venturing out. I like it. I approve.”

“Well, now that I feel completely pathetic…tell me what to wear.”

“Yeah, you have nothing in your closet that will work. You’re going to need to start shopping immediately. When is this thing?”

“The 28 th .”

“Oh my God. We’re going to need a miracle.”

“This conversation is not adding to my excitement in any way.”

“Aw. I’m sorry. I’m so excited for you! But yeah, you can’t go in yoga pants, no matter how hot you look in them.”

“You do know how to compliment me…I wasn’t so sure there for a minute.”

“Of course I know how to compliment you. You’re stunning and your looks are only outshined by your younger, more beautiful, and only slightly shorter sister.”

As obnoxious as she is, I laugh at her and she tsks.

“We both know it’s true. Okay, your boobs are better than mine as well, but I’m hoping once I get pregnant, I’ll reach D status.”

“I agree, you’re the prettier one. And I’d take your B cups any day.”

“Yeah, that’s what all you double-D people say, but let me tell you, the Bs aren’t very exciting.”

“Well, Eric seems to think they are.”

“Yes, he does.” I can hear the smile in her voice and it makes me smile. “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. I’m going to look online and you’re going to go to Denver the first chance you get. I think you should go with something black or blue…with your hair and eyes, that will be stunning.”

“You’re gonna make me wear a dress, aren’t you?”

“I know you probably haven’t worn one since my wedding last year, but yes, Poppy, you have to wear a dress.”

I sigh. “Okay. Send me pics of anything you find that can come in a hurry, and I’ll go shopping tomorrow after work.”

“FaceTime me from the dressing room.”

“Will do.”

“Oh, and Poppy? You’re going to look so hot, it will bring Bowie Fox to his knees.”

I laugh, unable to see how that could ever come true. I should have never told my sister about how outrageously good-looking Bowie Fox was in person.

“I swear it on my life, sis. If that man isn’t knocked sideways by your beauty, there’s something wrong with him.”