Homecoming - Chapter 13
Monday
Matt
I stared down at the sheet of paper again.
I’d asked Nigel how he knew that the car Poppy blew up related to the newspaper clipping.
But apparently Nigel had connections on the force.
It seemed like he had connections everywhere.
And the license plate number on the car that Poppy blew up belonged to the Locatelli family.
But the Locatellis were supposed to be friends with the Pruitts and Cannavaros. So…why had she done it?
For some reason, that question kept going around and around in my head.
I wanted to pick up the phone and call the police station. Let them know the truth. But I just kept staring at the picture. Why had she done it?
And was it even her choice? Surely Mr. Pruitt was actually behind the hit.
But… why?
My intercom buzzed. “Matthew, you have a visitor.”
I ran my hand down my face. If I ignored it, my administrative assistant would send whoever it was away.
I just needed a second alone to think. Nigel hadn’t stopped talking about fax machines last night.
I literally went to bed and he sat at the bottom talking about the miracles of communication via fax.
The intercom buzzed again. “It’s urgent. No, wait!”
I looked up as the door flew open.
For a fleeting second, I figured it was Poppy here to off me. I put my hands out in front of me like that would stop the bullet from entering my skull.
But it did not prevent me from being hit on the side of the face with a magazine. What the… I shielded myself again, but lowered my hands when I noticed who it was. Although I didn’t love the look of fury on her face. “Kennedy?”
She whacked the magazine against my chest. “Are you fucking serious?” She hit me with it again. “Puta mierda!”
I grabbed the magazine before she could hit me again.
James had gotten rid of all the tabloid articles about me.
But this one wasn’t about me really. It was an article about Poppy, with direct quotes from her about our supposed engagement.
What the fuck was she talking to the press for?
Damn it. I thought I had this under control.
But one of those paparazzi scumbags must had gone straight to Poppy.
“You’re a dick, you know that?” Kennedy said.
“It’s not true.”
“Yes you are!”
“I meant the article isn’t true. Do you see a picture of a ring on her finger?” I tried to skip to page 6 for the rest of the ridiculousness, but Kennedy snatched it out of my hand.
“I knew the proposal was coming,” Kennedy quoted. “The two of us were always destined to be together.” She glared at me.
“I didn’t propose…”
“Matthew has always been close to our family,” she continued. “I’m not sure either of us knew what true love was until we met.” She hit me with the tabloid again.
“Would you stop it!”
“I feel like such an idiot. No, you’re the idiot. I can’t believe you. You proposed to her while we were dating?” There were tears in her eyes now.
And I knew I wasn’t explaining any of this right. “Kennedy…”
She tried to slap me, but I caught her hand.
“I didn’t propose to Poppy. It’s just a dumb tabloid. I adore you, Kennedy. I love you.”
“No you don’t.”
She tried to step away from me, but I caged her against my desk.
“What the hell do you want from me, Kennedy? You won’t return any of my calls or texts. But you storm in here upset about this fake news about Poppy? And you freak out when I tell you I love you? Do you want me to be miserable?”
“No…”
“Just tell me what you want.”
“I don’t know!”
She might not know. Her heart might be confused. But mine wasn’t. I wiped her tears away with my thumbs and I kissed her.
And she melted into me. I could taste her salty tears on my lips. And I felt the desire there. The same desire I had. I swear if it wasn’t the middle of the morning I’d take her right here on my desk.
My fingers tangled into her hair as she moaned into my mouth.
I knew she felt this. I knew she wanted me. So why the hell did she keep pushing me away? I moved my hand to the back of her head, holding her to me. Stop pushing me away.
But she decided to do the exact opposite. She pulled back, knocking my coffee cup off my desk.
Shit.
And just like that, we parted. I grabbed Nigel’s fax to save it from destruction. And Kennedy grabbed some tissues to blot the mess up.
“I have to go,” she said without looking at me.
“Kennedy.”
Something was tearing her up inside. And I just wanted her to let me in. “Are you coming to practice this afternoon?” The guys were counting on her. And the homecoming game was this weekend. Jefferson needed her help and encouragement to kick.
“I shouldn’t. I shouldn’t even be here…”
I was losing her. I knew that Rob said Kennedy and I had already broken up. But that wasn’t true. Kennedy was struggling with something. And I wanted to be there for her. Because as far as I was concerned, we were a team now. “It was you.”
“What?” She finally turned to look at me.
“The rumors about me proposing to someone.” I knew this ruined the surprised, but I needed her to know just how much she meant to me.
I walked over to her. “I was ring shopping. Some paparazzi found out about it. I thought I hushed the story, because I wanted this to be a surprise.” And I was seriously going to kill the person who told Poppy I was proposing to her.
The escalation of that article about us already being engaged was levels of insane I hadn’t seen since Isabella. “Kennedy…” I was about to kneel.
“I swear if you get down on one knee right now, I will lose it.”
I laughed. But I also stopped in my tracks.
And she finally smiled.
“I meant what I said. I adore you. I love you.”
Her bottom lip started to tremble.
“And yeah, right now is not the right moment. I don’t want you to lose it.”
She wiped her own tears away this time.
“But I was ring shopping for you. I’m going to propose to you. I’ll ask you at a better time. And you can tell me no a million times and I won’t stop asking.”
She exhaled slowly and looked up at the ceiling. “I have to go.”
I laughed, but this time it was forced. “That’s all you have to say?”
She shook her head, her teary eyes meeting mine again. “I think that some things were always meant to be. And I’m not the kind of person that stuff like that happens to.”
I tried to process her words. That wasn’t exactly a no…but it certainly wasn’t a yes. “Maybe you’re not the kind of person that stuff like that happens to. Because you were supposed to wait until this moment to get it. It’s fate, Kennedy.”
“Then fate is cruel and twisted. I’m sorry, Matt. I have to go.” She walked out of my office as quickly as she’d come.
“Please just come to practice!” I called after her. “I promise I won’t propose!”
She didn’t respond.
I picked up the tabloid and stared at the picture of Poppy kissing me. Seriously, what the fuck? I thought she seemed a little better than Isabella. But this was just crazy. I shook my head. Why did I think someone who loved car bombs could possibly be sane? She needed to be locked up.
But then I started to think about her daughter again. Would she be worse or better off without her mom?
I was done debating this. I slid the evidence into my pocket and walked out of my office.
***
I had the whole drive over to the Cannavaro estate to come up with a better idea. Like going to the cops. But for some reason I’d decided on this. Everything I did seemed to backfire recently. Hopefully this would go a little better.
I’d try this first. And if it didn’t work, I’d go to Mr. Pruitt.
The Cannavaro estate was on the outskirts of the city, luckily not that close to my parents’ house. If I’d had to grow up with Poppy, I probably would have blown up my own car.
I parked my car in the large circular driveway.
Why was she here on a Monday anyway? Didn’t she have evil business to conduct in the city?
I climbed out of my car. The place reminded me of the Pruitts’ apartment.
Only even larger and more ostentatious. Not that I could really talk.
My parents lived in a house almost this big.
And the only inviting part of that house growing up had been the kitchen.
And now none of it was inviting. Because it was just filled with memories of ghosts.
Poppy opened the front door like she’d been expecting me. I looked back at my car, wondering if it was bugged or something.
“Darling!” she said and hurried down the stairs. “Where is it?” She put her hand out.
“Where is what?”
“My ring.” She lifted her hand a little higher. “Don’t worry about whatever speech you had planned or anything. But it better be at least 4 karats or I’m going to have to exchange it.” She wiggled her fingers.
“I’m not proposing, Poppy.”
“I’ve heard differently.”
“Well, you’ve heard wrong.”
She pouted. “But I’ve already gone public with the news.”
“And why the hell would you do that?” Oh right, you’re freaking insane.
“Because I trusted my source.”
Ah. There it was. She had the tabloids wrapped around her fingers too. Because of course she did. She probably threatened them with death if they didn’t leak stuff to her.
“I’m not here because of the article,” I said.
“Well, have you at least signed the relationship agreement Uncle Richard sent over? We’ll need a marriage amendment added, but we should start with the basics.”
“I’m not marrying you. And I’m not signing anything.” I pulled out the folded piece of paper from my jacket pocket. “And you’re going leave Scarlett and all my friends and family alone. Or I’ll go public with this.” I handed her the paper.
She scanned it and smiled. “I don’t know what this is. But if you’re planning on spreading rumors about me killing someone with a car bomb, then that’s slander, Matthew.”
“Not if those rumors are true.”
“Well, how do you know if it’s true?”
“For starters, you’re not denying it.”
“Oh, right.” She laughed and put her hand to her chest, feigning shock. “Oh my goodness! This isn’t true!” she said with way too much hysteria. “I’m a mother! Not a mobster.” She put the back of her hand to her forehead like she might faint. And then smiled at me. “Better?”
“No, not better. You killed someone, Poppy.”
“You’re welcome.”
Seriously, I’d sat across from this woman at dinner and had a civil conversation with her. But it was like she’d snapped overnight. Why were all the women in my life losing it?
Poppy laughed. “Oh. I keep forgetting. You don’t know.”
“And what don’t I know?”
She shrugged. “I’m enjoying the secret for now.” She looked back down at the photo. “And this is a terrible angle of me. Couldn’t you have taken a more flattering picture?”
“Stay away from my family and friends.”
She shrugged.
“And this,” I gestured back and forth between us. “Is done. Do you understand?”
She shrugged.
“I’m serious, Poppy. I need to hear you say it.”
“Say what precisely?”
“That my family and friends are safe. And our fake relationship is finished.”
“Because of this? Really?” She shook her head. “I swear, soon you’ll be thanking me for taking care of the Locatellis. I did it for you.”
How on earth had she done it for me? “Are we in agreement?”
“I’ll consider it,” she said with a wink, which made me think she wasn’t really processing anything that I was saying.
“By the way, I’m loving this new you. I knew you would be good at the financial side of the business, but now that you’ve shown you’re willing to blackmail the love of your life? We’re going to be unstoppable.”
Brooklyn is the love of my life, not you. I swallowed hard. I mean Kennedy. Either way, Poppy was most certainly not the love of my life. She was an insane person. “If I go to the police, Gigi will grow up without a mother. Think of her.”
She laughed. “I’m a Cannavaro. I’d never step foot in prison. Could you imagine? I don’t even think they have a masseuse on location.” She shook her head.
“And you’re underestimating my family’s resources.”
“Oh, I don’t think Daddy Caldwell would like you pulling his business back in with Uncle Richard’s. Do you? Don’t want to sully his name all over again.”
As if on cue, my phone started ringing. It was my mom.
Shit. She’d probably heard about the tabloid.
She didn’t read them, but people talked.
Of course the news would have gotten back to her.
I’d only just told her about Kennedy. She was probably equal parts confused and horrified.
I ended the call, but my mom immediately started calling again.
“We’ll both take some time to think it over, yes?” Poppy said and handed me the paper back.
“I don’t need time to think it over.”
“Now that I know my future hubby is capable of blackmail, I’ll need a few days at least to get the wording of our marriage amendment just right.”
“Poppy…”
“And remember, 4 karats.” She pointed to her ring finger and then walked back into her family’s mansion.
Well…that didn’t go as planned. Crazy ran in her family.
I knew that for a fact. But I still hadn’t expected any of this.
Blackmail was one thing. Although it was extra crazy blackmail since it involved possibly kidnapping Scarlett.
But now murder? And a fake engagement? Or was it a real engagement to her?
She seemed to be really turned on by my blackmail.
Poppy had been fairly normal just a few days ago during our fake dates. It was almost like something had set her off. Just like it had set Kennedy off. What the hell was going on?