Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Clover
The end of my workday was nearly done. Another weekend was approaching, and Van hadn’t mentioned any plans.
I didn’t mind if it was mellow. Maybe he had his own ideas.
The guy had a life. One I hadn’t seen since we lived together.
Or rather, I had been his life, and I liked that.
Our nights had become orgasm fests. We hadn’t had sex.
It was like we couldn’t figure out if what we were doing was the smart way to handle mutual pleasure, or if we were just scared to do more together.
I already knew that having all of him would ruin sex with anyone else forever.
Just having him get me off was doing that.
So maybe limiting our contact was for the best.
I’d like to feel his weight on me, have him moving inside of me, and to really be connected. But that was where the danger waited. I was more connected with Van than any partner ever.
My phone buzzed.
Poppy: Are you going shopping with Violet tomorrow?
Me: Yes
Poppy: Then we’re going out tonight.
I frowned. Was something wrong?
Poppy: Where do you want to meet?
Poppy: Rattler’s or Purple Petal?
Poppy: We can go to Bismarck too.
Poppy: Wait, isn’t there another place that opened in… Damn, I have to ask Jensen.
I shook my head and typed out a message before she bombarded me with eight more.
Clover: Is something wrong?
Poppy: Yes. We haven’t seen enough of each other.
I narrowed my eyes on her litany of messages. Had she read my mind? I missed my best friend, but she was living her fantasy life. Yet, she texted, and I wasn’t going to miss a night out.
Clover: Purple Petal. They have better fries.
Poppy: Blasphemous
Poppy: Thank God for autocorrect. I did not know how to spell that word.
Smiling, I shut down my computer. Oh, crap. “Van.” I rushed to his office.
He had an elbow propped on the desk and his other hand on the keyboard. He was focused, but as soon as I appeared, he instantly switched his attention to me. I could’ve puffed my chest out. “Poppy wants to meet me tonight. It is my night to cook.”
He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll have dude food.”
“What’s that?”
“Lots of things, but probably some meat slapped between bread slices and eaten while standing up and wandering around thinking of all the things I should be doing.”
I’d seen Alder do that a few times before he had left the house. “I can bring you back something.”
“Concentrate on your night with her.”
Excitement welled up, and flutters spread through my belly. It likely wasn’t the baby, but soon it would be. I could pull his hand over, and— he wouldn’t be around. Those tickles went still. “Okay. I’m taking off. We’re going to Crocus Valley.”
“Purple Petal?”
“They have better fries. What’s with the crust on all of them nowadays?” We shared a grin, and those butterflies churned into action. I backed away before I continued to stand there and smile all dopey at him.
It wouldn’t take much to do it.
I rushed around getting ready. Before I ducked out the door, I nearly veered into his office to give him a goodbye kiss. The pull was almost too much to overcome. “Bye!” I shouted instead.
“Have fun!”
I was smiling when I hopped into my car.
The drive to Crocus Valley was less than ten minutes. I’d grown up loving that so many small towns were short drives away. What one town didn’t have, another likely did—a movie theater, pool, or coffee shops.
Poppy was just pulling in when I got out of my car. She hopped out and stormed toward me, her curls flying behind her. She wrapped me in a giant hug and spun me around.
“Whoa.” I held her, mostly to stay on my feet. “Did you miss me?”
“I always miss you, but I’ve been letting too much other stuff distract me.” She held me out at arm’s length. “Holy shit, you’re really pregnant.”
I wore leggings. All my jeans were put away. The waistbands were just too constricting. Same with any snug shirts. The top I had on was more of a long T-shirt, meant to look trendy. “I don’t need much for a new wardrobe, but I want to be comfortable. Seems more important if I’m working from home.”
“If you need an office, you can always lease one at the Perez house.” She hooked her arm through mine and towed me toward the entrance.
Perez house was the place Poppy had inherited and made into her learning center. It was an old and beloved farmhouse in town. “But you’re hiring new people.”
“I am, but it’s still my building to do with what I want, and if I want my sister to work with me, I get my way.”
“I hate to say the kids might be an issue during my meetings.”
“The oil company doesn’t want giggling in the background of your meetings?” she teased.
Laughing, I pulled the door open, and we were surrounded by the smell of charred meat and grease fryers. My appetite came to life.
After we were seated, I looked around. Pictures of crocuses from various nearby pastures filled the wall, and the ceiling fans looked like giant petals. “I need to come here with Van again.”
She gave me a sidelong look. “Date night?”
“No,” I said a little too quickly. “But I like hanging out with him.”
“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?”
“Poppy, it’s not like that.” It sort of was, but that was between me and Van.
“You’re pregnant and married to him.”
I rolled my eyes and tried to play it cool. My situation with Van was private, and I hadn’t figured it out yet. “You know what the deal was.”
The young server appeared at our side, fighting with her notepad and biting her lip.
Poppy grinned, her eyes bright. “Peyton! Why didn’t I know you worked here?”
“Hey, Coach,” the girl mumbled. “I won’t miss practice.”
Poppy scoffed. “Don’t worry about me. If you gotta balance practice with a paycheck, that’s what you gotta do. We’ll work around what we have to. My sister Clover will tell you how reasonable I am.”
“She’s really not,” I said. “She’ll come work your shift so you can get to practice.”
The girl smiled shyly and took our order.
Poppy let out a contented sigh. A sound I loved to hear. One I longed to make, but my slightly unpredictable future put a stop to it.
She tapped her fingers on the tabletop. “How’s it really going? I worried when I got that message from Van.”
I frowned. “What message?”
“Oh crap. I wonder if I wasn’t supposed to say anything. He said that we should get together soon.”
He told her that? Did he say I was missing her? “Anything else?”
“I asked if something was wrong, but he said he didn’t think so. That was it. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to spill your business.”
“No,” I said softly. “He’s really not. I’m trying to talk him into coming for Thanksgiving. We’ll have to be moved out that weekend, but I’d like one big gathering where I can pretend everything’s normal.”
Understanding filled her eyes. “You want to pretend like it’s going to keep going.”
She didn’t ask it as a question. “No. I want him to be a part of a big, supportive, healthy family.”
“And fall so in love with it that he has to admit he’s in love with you.”
A mental yes popped up before I could stop it. “Poppy.”
This was why I didn’t want her, or anyone, to know about me and Van. My plans and his hadn’t changed. Only what we were doing together in the meantime.
She didn’t laugh like she was toying with me. She only tipped her head and studied my reaction. “Clover, do you like him?”
“I told you I did.”
“No, do you like him like him?”
My cheeks heated, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
She gasped, and several people around us turned to see why. I tried to shrink in my seat. Glancing back and forth, she leaned over the table. “Clover Jean Duke. You and your husband are canoodling.”
“We are not.” I might not want my private life public, but I hated lying. If I didn’t, she’d be planning my next wedding, a real one, with Van. She didn’t understand that Van didn’t need someone like me derailing his plans. “We’re not having sex,” I whispered.
“What are you doing, then?” She cocked a brow, then nodded. “Thought so.”
“How?” My incredulous shout caused more people to gawk at us. I ignored them.
“I know we haven’t talked much, but didn’t you take a trip with him?”
“Yes.” Which sibling spilled that detail? Bunch of gossips.
“And that was after pumpkin day, when you two would always be sneaking peeks at each other.”
“I was not.” Was he?
“Why fight it? He seems like a decent guy. I wasn’t sure since he’s related to Elijah and lived in his parents’ basement, but I didn’t want to get hung up on a stereotype. And then he cut his hair for you.”
“I didn’t ask him to. His long hair was fine.”
“His long hair needed a trim. You could tell he just couldn’t be bothered with it. Until he was saying ‘I do’ to you.”
I thought about his little self-makeover.
He’d trimmed a foot of hair off and wore a suit.
At home, he kept his hair combed, and he cooked and cleaned with me.
We were a balanced pair, and that was significant.
Elijah hadn’t put those things on me to do, but he had dry cleaners and delivery services, and those were fine, but I also liked caring for my own place.
The other amenities were decent, but I didn’t think I was above doing them myself, and that was where the difference hid.
Van didn’t make himself feel important by acting like he was better than others.
“So why is Van a problem?” Poppy asked.