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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

WHY DON’T I INTRODUCE MYSELF?

POPPY

When I walk into The Fairy Hut, Tru waves and I head back. Everyone but Calista is there and she walks in behind me. I hug everyone and sit down, sliding the napkin onto my lap. Feeling eyes on me, I look up and Sadie, Tru, and Elle are all staring at me. They have these wide eyes and are so smiley, I laugh and then turn to look at Calista next to me. She squirms, giving me the same doe-eyed smile .

“What is it?” I ask.

“We know,” Sadie bursts out and then clamps her hand over her mouth. “I’m so sorry, we were going to try to wait for you to tell us, but?—”

“The guys can’t hide anything,” Elle says apologetically. “And then I went to Luminary today and everyone was talking about it there...”

My cheeks flame.

“You don’t have to talk about it,” Tru says, reaching out to lay her hand on mine. “But we’re here for you, when and if you do want to talk about it.”

“I made such an idiot of myself at Luminary,” I say, groaning. “And it’s not that I don’t want to talk about it. I need to talk about it probably…I just know that it’s awkward, given that you’re all so close to Bowie.”

They wait for me to go on and my cheeks get hotter. Fortunately, the waiter comes then and takes our order and the fact that I’m getting a mocktail is a non-issue.

“Did you know when you texted?” I ask, laughing. “I was dying when you said that about Elle being pregnant.”

“No, we didn’t know,” Tru says, her eyes bright. “But I am so excited about it. We can raise little besties together!”

I press my hand to my heart, so moved that they’re being so incredible about this. I’m so new to this friend group and I’m not even dating Bowie…they could’ve potentially been weird about the whole thing.

“Has Bowie talked to you yet?” Elle asks.

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I think I’ve thoroughly freaked him out.”

“That man,” Sadie sighs. “He’ll do the right thing though, Poppy. Don’t worry. He needs to get used to the idea, but he’s going to be a great dad to that baby.”

“That’s what my sister said too. I haven’t fully wrapped my head around it all, but I’ll be fine doing it on my own, if that’s what it comes down to. I’d rather my child have a dad who wants to be part of their life though.” I lift a shoulder and feel the tears building behind my eyes. I glance at the ceiling and fan my face, trying not to cry.

“I love Bowie so much, but I could kill him for making you even question whether he’s going to be there for you,” Elle says.

“It’s a lot to think about.” I sniff. “And I haven’t had much more time than he has, but a little…”

Sadie straightens and she’s smiling over my shoulder. “Looks like he’s had some time to think about it.”

I turn and see Bowie walking toward the table. When Bowie Fox walks into a room, heads turn and voices hush. He seems oblivious to it all.

He reaches the table and stares at me as he says, “Hi, Poppy.” He looks around at everyone and does the head-up tilt to them.

“Hi,” I say when he looks at me again.

“Do you think we could talk?”

“I’m kind of in the middle of something right now,” I say, nose in the air.

I hear a snort behind me from one of the girls, but I don’t break. Bowie’s had time to talk to me and he can wait until my night out with the girls is over.

He nods like that’s perfectly acceptable. And damn right, it should be.

“Okay. I’ll be right over there,” he says, pointing to a booth in the back.

“I might be a while,” I say, lifting a shoulder.

“I can wait.”

I nod coolly and he turns and walks to the booth across the room. When I look at the girls, they burst out laughing.

“That was so badass,” Calista says, cackling .

“I’m so not badass,” I say, groaning. “It’s just…he sort of left me hanging and that’s fine. But I’ve been looking forward to seeing you guys all day and now that he’s ready to chat, maybe I’m not.” My voice sounds prim and it makes them laugh harder.

“Well, we can do this another night too,” Sadie says.

“I want to celebrate Elle’s book hitting the New York Times!” I say.

“The baby news is much more important,” she says.

Our drinks come and we all lift our glasses.

“To hitting the lists and having babies!” Tru says.

We all laugh and repeat it, clinking our glasses together. Half an hour goes by at least, and it’s not that I’m just trying to make Bowie wait…I really am enjoying myself. But I’m also nervous to talk to him.

“He can’t take his eyes off of you,” Calista says. “It seems like whatever he needed to think through has been thought through . Everything’s going to be just fine.”

I want to look so bad, but I don’t. “You can tell that from looking at him?”

“Mm-hmm,” she hums.

“Eeeeek,” Tru squeals. She leans in. “This is right up there with when we found out Rhodes and Elle were finally sleeping together. We wanted it so bad for them,” she looks at Sadie, who’s nodding emphatically.

“ Yes , so, so bad,” Sadie gushes. “I have such a good feeling about this.”

I make a face. “Just because I’m having his baby doesn’t mean we’re going to be together.”

“Mm-hmm,” Calista hums again and they laugh while I take a deep breath.

“I should probably see what he has to say. He’ll need to get home to Becca soon. ”

“Go with grace,” Tru says, grinning.

“We’re here if you need backup. And to spy on you,” Elle adds, making all of us laugh.

“Thanks, guys. Sorry to bail early on the party.”

“Oh, we are living for this, don’t you worry,” Sadie says, giving me a cheesy grin.

Tru laughs and clinks Sadie’s glass.

I laugh as I stand, but it drops when I walk toward Bowie. He surprises me by standing when I get near the table, and then he holds out his hand. I look at it, confused.

“Hi, I’m Bowie Fox.” He tilts his head toward my hand and I lift it, shaking his weakly. “I was hoping maybe we could start over.”

When I just stand there staring at him, my hand still in his, he gives it a slight shake.

“And you are?” he asks.

I give him an exasperated look, determined not to be swayed by his charm now. His charm is what got me in his bed in the first place. Well, that, and his boulder shoulders, perfect hair, and veiny hands.

“Poppy Keane,” I say, lips puckered.

I refuse to smile when his teeth swipe over that plump lower lip that is capable of the most amazing things.

“Have a drink with me?” he asks. “I noticed you had a drink with your friends already, but did you try the Hop Away With Me?”

I snort and he grins, relieved. All the names in The Fairy Hut crack me up.

“No, I did not have the Hop Away With Me, I had the Top Shelfless Elf. What about you? What are you drinking?”

“I enjoy Tink’s Mead occasionally, but…I heard you’re having my baby, so I went with the You Slay, Fae…you know , for solidarity and encouragement.” He grabs his mocktail from the table and lifts it.

I bite back my smile. “So…we can start over, but we’re talking about the baby?”

He holds his hand toward the booth. “If you’ll sit with me, we can talk about whatever you’d like. Get to know each other...better.” He falters slightly and I sigh, pretending to be put out.

“I guess I could give you a few minutes of my time.”

He grins and I sit down. He waits until I’m seated and then sits across from me.

“I’m sorry, Poppy. I’m sorry I went quiet on you and left you to deal with this alone.” His voice is earnest and I swallow hard, my eyes filling…which I hate.

I don’t want him to see me cry!

Panic floods his face when he notices, and he reaches out and touches my hand. Sparks fly like they do every time he touches me and I pull away, putting my hand in my lap.

He straightens and his eyes are sad as he looks at me.

“I’ve really blown all this, haven’t I?” he says.

“We just met, remember?” I say, and his expression lightens just a little bit.

“Right. I have a daughter. Her name is Becca and she knows I’ll be out past her bedtime, so I…have plenty of time to talk. If you’re willing.”

I sniff and wipe my face as the waiter comes over. Perfect timing.

When he walks away, I clear my throat. “You don’t need to worry—I know that just because I’m pregnant…it doesn’t mean we’re going to be…anything.” I wave my hand awkwardly. “I hope that you’ll want to be involved in our child’s life because I want that for them, but if you decide not to be, I’m going to be fine. ”

My jaw clamps and I give him a steely look.

He leans in. “Poppy, what I said about not planning on having any more kids…that doesn’t mean I don’t want to be involved in our child’s life.”

Hearing him say our child hits different. It makes my heart salsa its way out of my chest.

“I’m terrified. For so many reasons,” he adds. “I have a fuck-ton of baggage. But I’m not going anywhere, I promise you that. I’m a bit screwed up, but I’m…dependable and loyal…and I’ll be there for you. If you’ll let me, I want to be at the doctor appointments…I hate that I’ve missed even one.” He takes a deep breath and runs his hand through his hair.

I watch, entranced, as it falls back to his chin, and I wish I could be the skin that it touches. Poppy! Stop lusting over this man and be firm.

“And I know you’re not assuming we’re going to be a couple,” he says.

Are his cheeks coloring slightly? It’s a little hard to tell in The Fairy Hut with all the twinkle lights, but he looks nervous.

“But I like you, Poppy. More than I’ve liked anyone in…almost a decade. And I don’t say that to pressure you in any way,” he rushes, “but I’ve already proven that I can’t resist you.”

I laugh in disbelief. “That’s the way you prove you can’t resist me?”

He makes a face, swiping his hand down his jaw. “Trust me. It may not have been obvious, but I am so into you.”

My face flames and I lift a shoulder, pretending to be oh-so-chill when inside, my heart is shimmying all over the place. “It seems like you’re into me about twenty percent of the time. ”

He shakes his head and points at his face. “Resting dick face…it means nothing.”

My lips twitch and I want to laugh, but I’m still trying to maintain my cool. “And your chilly demeanor?”

“Self-preservation.”

“And your bolting when times are hard?”

“Something I will never do with you again, I swear it,” he says.

I gulp. He looks like he means it. His gaze never wavers from mine and it’s intense…sincere. I could get lost in this look.

“Whatever we end up being to each other, I like you, Poppy. I like the person you are. I like the way you are with Becca. I may not have shown it enough, but I think we can be great friends. But, I also like the way you feel, the way you kiss, the way your nose crinkles up when you laugh. I like that you’re athletic but also clumsy. I like your cushiony upper lip and I’d like to park myself on your bottom lip.”

My hands are trembling with the desire to touch him when he says that, but I don’t.

“And despite being fucking terrified, I like that you’re the one having my baby. Because even though I don’t know you the way I hope to, I have a feeling that I can trust you. The list of people that I trust is quite small…and you’ve met every single one of them. They accepted you before I did because they’re smart that way and their hearts are bigger, but…I trust you, and in my book, that means just about everything.”

I have a lump in my throat when I reach out and touch his hand, squeezing it. “It means everything to me too. I want to trust you. You’ve made me nervous with the way you respond to me…after we had sex the first time and…when I told you I’m pregnant…but that all fades away when I see you with Becca and your friends. I’m…honored if you trust me too. Despite the baggage, I hope you can be open about…everything. The pregnancy…any feelings you may or may not have for me, long-term…”

“It’s hard for me to open up, but I’m willing to try. I want to try.”

“Okay.” I let out a shaky breath. “I like you too. A lot.”

He weaves his fingers through mine and we stare at each other…until there’s cheering across the room. We look over and the girls are cheering for us. Pretty soon, everyone else in the restaurant is looking our way and cheering too.

Bowie’s shaking his head when I look back at him, but his smile is wide. He looks so much younger when he smiles like this.

“Well, this was a pretty great first meeting,” I say.

He laughs. “Agreed. Do you think you’d like to go out with me again sometime?”

I lift a shoulder. “Sure,” I say breezily.

“Tomorrow?” he asks. “And the next day?”

I pretend to be outraged. “A bit forward, don’t you think?”

He laughs. “Thought it was worth a try.”

“How about we see how tomorrow goes before we jump the gun. God,” I say snottily. “I know you’re into me, but seriously…” I hold my hand up.

He nods, his eyes tracking over my eyes, my mouth, and back to my eyes. I shiver with the heat in his expression.

“ So into you. Thank you for hearing me out,” he says.

I blink and press my lips together. I did not see my night going like this. We talk for a while longer, about Becca, about some of the kids at Briar Hill and ideas I have for new activities. It’s light and easy and fun, and underneath all of it, a simmering chemistry pops off between us like bottle rockets.

The girls come over and hug both of us when they leave, and Bowie walks me to my car when we finally decide to leave ourselves.

“This was really nice,” he says.

“Yes, it was.”

I don’t know what to do now. Do we hug? Kiss? Shake hands again?

He steps forward and gives me a light kiss on the lips. Just long enough to say hello, soft, cushy lips that feel like heaven, and then steps back.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” he says.

I hear the promise in his words. He opened up to me tonight, finally , and I believe he meant everything he said.