KDBookOnline
Share Us
“It is for me,” Cal said. “I won’t sleep knowing you’re here alone. Just put a bowl of water on the floor for her and let her out to pee before you turn in.”
I could tell by Cal’s clenched jaw that he wasn’t backing down. Either Skye stayed, or they both did.
“Thanks,” I said, “I’ll take good care of her.”
“Go to Theo,” he said told Skye.
Skye looked from me to Cal, who was clearly making his way to the front door. She hesitated a moment before placing her head on my lap and looking up at me with her soulful eyes while Aiden and Cal left. I rubbed her ears and she jumped onto the couch beside me before laying her head back in my lap.
We stayed like that until I could barely keep my eyes open. Skye pranced around my feet when I finally stood. I walked into the kitchen and opened the cabinet where I’d stashed the plastic Chinese containers I’d saved from dinner last week. The containers were gone, but a set of gray dishes were stacked neatly in their place. I grabbed a bowl and filled it from the tap. When I set it on the floor, Skye started lapping the water, her tail wagging. When she’d had her fill, I walked her through the studio, which appeared the same, apart from the missing canvas on the floor. I opened the slider and Skye dashed out to do her business, sniffing the new yard with interest until I called her inside.
I walked with her from room to room, taking in all the changes, leaving my bedroom for last. It almost looked like a home. When I couldn’t put it off any longer, I motioned Skye into the bedroom and walked in behind her.
I’d assumed Poppy had put the canvas over the bed and was surprised to find the space blank. I turned and all the air rushed from my lungs. Poppy had wrapped the canvas around a frame that spanned the entire wall opposite the bed. As soon as we stood and looked at the piece, I knew we’d made something incredible. The paint marks were unrestricted. No technique or second thoughts, just the movement of our bodies in pleasure. Absolute freedom. It hurt to see it now. Unless I slept with my feet against the headboard, I’d open my eyes every morning tothe proof that, for however briefly, I’d allowed myself to have her.
Skye sniffed around, her tail wagging. I wondered if she could smell Poppy here as I imagined I could, her scent lingering like a powerful dream pulled into consciousness. I flopped face first on the bed. Maybe it was my imagination, but it smelled more like her than it had this morning. Despite every reason I had to lay awake worrying, I closed my eyes and fell asleep pretending she was still beside me.
Chapter twenty-nine
Poppy
I hadn’t seen Theosince he left Everly’s office a week ago. I’d kept my phone glued to my hand that first night, waiting for him to text or call. Crickets. I felt like an idiot for thinking a few decorative touches and a set of dishes would convince him he couldn’t live without me.
When class rolled around on Thursday, I spent the evening icing hearts and flowers for the cookie bouquets. We had so many orders, I had to teach Rowan a few basic piping techniques, so she could help me while the cookies baked. I’d started getting up early to help her mix all the dough we’d need for the day. Little by little, we were learning to limp along at each other’s jobs.
Mom breezed in and out of the house at random hours to catch sleep in tiny increments. As much as it sucked to make all this Valentine’s Day crap with a broken heart, at least Mom was too busy to fuss over me, a role she’d apparently delegated to my siblings, who’d hugged me more in the last week than the last year.
Construction on the new space had ramped up with Aiden stopping by the house with daily updates. Though, I suspected his reports were a handy excuse to check on me.
“I put the sink in today,” he said, leaning against the prep table where I was icing a dozen flowers assembly-line style.
“How?” Rowan asked as she slid another baking sheet into the oven. “I thought we were going to Jericho next week to pick it out.”
“Utility sink for the studio,” he said, reaching for a cookie.
My hand stilled. His fingers hovered over the cookie while he watched me. Usually, I defended my work like a ninja, smacking hands left and right whenever Chris or Aiden or even Mom tried to sneak a sample, but I just didn’t have it in me.
Aiden pulled his hand back and grabbed a paper towel instead. He twisted it for a few moments before he spoke again. “Theo asked me to install it. He thought maybe you’re avoiding the studio because you had to come inside to clean up.”
I gave him my best bitch face and he sighed.
“Yeah, I figured,” he said. “But just so you know, there’s a working sink, and he keeps the kitchen door shut. You could go in the sliding door and work without seeing him.”
The problem was, I wanted to see him. I was just afraid of how I’d react when I finally did. It was fifty-fifty whether I’d scream at him or fall to a sobbing mess at his feet. Neither one felt like a dignified option, so for now, I was letting his absence fuel mine.
“That was very thoughtful of Theo,” Rowan said, coming to stand beside us. “And of you, Aiden, for getting it done so quickly.”
Aiden shrugged. “I’m over there every day anyway to check on him.”
I pressed my lips together to keep myself from asking how Theo was holding up. The thought of him alone in that house twisted my stomach.
“Would you like a slice of caramel apple cake?” Rowan asked Aiden. “It’s a new recipe, and I’d love your honest opinion.” It wasn’t lost on me that Rowan didn’t ask how Theo was doing either. I’m sure she got regular updates from Cal, but being the excellent sister she was, she didn’t force the information on me.
Aiden picked up Rowan’s not-so-subtle hint to back away from the Theo talk and smiled at her. “I’ll take it to go if you don’t mind. I got a couple more stops to make before I head home.”
“Of course,” Rowan said, slicing him a huge hunk of cake and placing it in a bakery box. “Let me know what you think.”
The conversation reminded me of Rowan’s attempts at baklava, which of course made me think of how sexy Theo looked eating it. I pushed back from the table, intent on getting upstairs before I started bawling like a baby, but Aiden put his calloused hand on my arm. “Go to the studio, Poppy. Please.”