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CHAPTER EIGHT

BLINDED BY THE HAIR

POPPY

After having sex with Bowie Fox, it’s hard to just block that out. But a few days after my fun weekend—and it really was fun despite (and because of) Bowie—I’m getting better. I refuse to let his cold brush-off bring me down.

If I keep telling myself that, maybe it’ll work.

I told Marley about it on the way to work yesterday morning, and she was sufficiently outraged on my behalf. She also thought maybe I shouldn’t be so quick to shut that door, but she didn’t see the look in Bowie’s eyes. We’re not happening.

For the past two days, I’ve buried my head in work. Tonight, though, as I drive to Twinkle Tales to meet the girls, it’s really hard to not dwell on where I went wrong with Bowie.

And why do I even care? Besides the fact that he’s fun to dance with and knows how to work my body like no man has before him, I hardly know the man.

When I arrive, we all hug and take off our coats.

“All we're missing is Sadie.” Tru sticks out her lower lip. “But I can't miss her too much because she's on her honeymoon ,” she sings.

“Yeah, I doubt she's thinking about us at all right now.” Elle laughs.

“Come on back, ladies,” Calista says, motioning for us to follow her to the table near the back.

The store has just closed and she has wine and a charcuterie board set up on the table.

“Thanks for meeting me here,” Calista says, opening the bottle. “I know we could have gone somewhere more fun, but I'm so tired. I knew if I left, I would be too tempted to go home and I needed to see you guys to recap on the wedding festivities.”

“Wasn't it beautiful?” Elle says.

“Just dreamy. I love Landmark Mountain,” Tru says.

“Me too ,” I add. “I need to get over there more often. And I loved the Landmark family. They were all so great.”

“Aren't they?” Tru says. “I love it every time Felicity or the rest of them come to see Sadie and always horn in on their visit.” She laughs.

“We should insist Sadie invites us to all their family events,” Elle says, her smile wide as she picks up a piece of cheese.

“Agreed,” Calista says. “Hey, are you feeling ready for this release?” she asks Elle.

“So ready. I just want the book to be out already. I'm exhausted with all the marketing. It was so much easier when I just put the book out with nobody knowing who I was.” She shakes her head.

“Yeah, well, that day is long gone,” Calista says, smirking. “And aren't you glad?”

“I am...” Elle’s head tilts. “Although now, every time I write a sex scene, I'm imagining people from my dad's church reading it.”

We all laugh.

“It’ll give them something to try at home,” I say.

That makes everyone crack up.

“How are you doing, Poppy? I'm so glad you came tonight,” Tru says.

“Yes, I’ve been wanting to talk to you,” Elle says, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. “I was detecting some vibes at the wedding between you and Mr. Bowie.”

“Oh no.” I laugh, fanning my face. “I don't even know where to start with that guy.”

“Let's go back to his hair, please,” Calista says. “I need to discuss.”

She brings her laptop over so we can see it better, and pulls up BHOTD. We spend the next half hour laughing and swooning over the latest Bowie hair posts.

I don’t tell her I’ve been keeping up with it on the daily ever since I first heard about it.

“The man bun, though,” Tru says, sighing. “I love it when he wears it like that.”

“I love it like this.” Calista taps the picture of him with it down. It's chin-length and a perfect amount of wavy.

The way it was at the wedding.

“Yeah, so good,” I say, thinking of how it felt under my fingers. “So soft.”

Elle gives me a sharp look. “You say that like you know how it feels.”

My face flames and they all stare at me, mouths open.

“Okay, spill,” Tru says.

“Oh, you guys.” I cover my feverish face.

“Are we coming on too strong?” Calista asks. “We have a way of doing that.”

“No, I have a sister. You're fine,” I say, laughing. “Uh, Bowie and I…we might have had a little moment…”

A little moment is highly downplaying it on my end, but whatever.

“A moment,” Elle says, clasping her hands together. “I knew it.”

“Mm-hmm, I think we all saw lots of moments on that dance floor,” Calista says.

“It was so hot.” Tru sighs. “Bowie rarely dances and I’ve never seen him dance like that. He couldn’t take his eyes off of you!”

“What happened after the dance floor is what I want to know!” Calista says.

They cackle when I flush even brighter.

I hold my wine glass against my face and take a deep breath.

“Something…happened, but it doesn’t even matter because he regretted it.”

They all talk at once.

Calista clutches my arm. “No!”

“What?” Elle cries .

Tru leans in. “What do you mean ?”

“Since I’d been running late to get there from work, I didn’t get a chance to check in before the wedding, and we danced so long afterward, the room was taken by the time I tried.” I pause and laugh when I see the rapt attention on their faces. “It’s not going to be that exciting, you can relax.”

“I am hanging on every word,” Tru says.

“Me too,” Elle says, laughing. “Please tell my romance-loving heart that you ended up in the same room with Bowie.”

“It gets better…same bed.”

Again, they come at me all at once.

“Get out!”

“No way!”

“ Oh my God !”

“Yeah, and we chatted a little bit before we fell asleep. It was nice. I had a row of pillows between us and everything.”

This makes them laugh.

“But somehow, in the middle of the night, we were on each other and it was so—” I drop off here, glazing over at the thought of everything that happened with Bowie.

“Tell me you are not leaving us hanging there!” Calista cries.

“Was it amazing?” Elle breathes.

“So amazing,” I whisper. “But then Becca got sick and Bowie ran out of there…and never came back.” I exhale. “And I could’ve gotten past that, but he could hardly look at me at brunch, so I got the hint. He’s not interested. He’d had too much to drink, we were in the same bed and all worked up after dancing…it didn’t mean anything.”

To him , I almost add.

“Oh, I guarantee you, it meant something to him,” Elle says. “I’ve known that man for years now, and he doesn’t just do this. I swear, he doesn’t. He likes you.”

I shake my head. “Even if he entertained the idea for a second, he was over it by morning. And it’s Bowie Fox. He could have anyone he wanted. There are entire sites built around him, for crying out loud.” I point to his page and we all look at the pictures of him with a variety of different hairstyles.

Calista’s shoulders sag as she scrolls down, and we all gasp when we see a picture of his hair even longer than it is now. His helmet is in his hands and he’s scowling from the sidelines.

“Holy Nordic god,” Tru says.

“Actually, it’s Austrian god,” Elle says.

“Oh, that’s right.” Tru shakes her head. “I was blinded by the long blond hair.”

Elle clears her throat and looks at me. “You are gorgeous, Poppy. I don’t know what you’re talking about…this whole he could have anyone he wanted . So can you! Are you interested in him?”

Tru and Calista jump in too, telling me I’m so pretty.

I laugh. “You guys are so good for my ego. Thank you. My sister is prettier.”

They laugh but then realize I’m serious.

“Okay then, there are two models in your family because seriously, have you seen you?” Calista asks.

I close my eyes and press my lips to the side, trying not to laugh. “I have a healthy dose of self-confidence, but I’m more girl next door than a model!”

“Girl next door Bowie would like to fuck ,” Calista whispers the word fuck and we all crack up.

It sure seemed like he liked it. I sigh.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you guys, but there’s not going to be any of that going on, trust me. I got the message loud and clear from Bowie and he does not want—” I point at myself and wave it around my body. “Not happening.”

“If Sadie were here, she’d know what to do,” Tru says.

“Yes, we need Sadie on the job,” Elle says. “In the meantime, I just decided I’m having a party at my place on Saturday night. Can you all be there?”

“I’m in,” Calista says.

“I’ll check with Henley, but I think we’re clear.” She rubs her stomach and makes a face. “Do you know I have never liked olives before now, but I just ate one and could eat every single one off this board!”

“Baby likes olives!” Elle cheers.

Calista holds the board up to Tru and Tru scoops off the olives. When she leaves a few, Calista gives her a look and she laughs, taking the rest.

“You’re coming Saturday night, right, Poppy?” Elle says, giving me a pointed look.

“Uh, I think I can?”

“Good. And I’ll tell my husband to get Bowie’s head on straight before that night,” Elle says.

“ Oh ,” it’s dawning on me now, “no, please don’t say anything. I’d die if he knew I talked about this with you guys.”

“Poppy, those boys do more talking than all of us combined,” Elle says, laughing.

Tru nods, cracking up. “That’s the truth. And if they haven’t, I’m going to put a little bug in Henley’s ear to subtly get Bowie to open up. The poor guy needs to let loose and live.”

I think of the way Bowie’s whole body tensed when he saw me Saturday morning and agree that he might need to loosen up and live…but I’m not going to force him to do that with me.