Chapter 4
Chapter Four
POPPY
“Holy. Fuckity. Fuck,” Autumn declares beside me. “That was so scorching, I almost burst into flames just watching you two.”
I can hear Autumn talking next to me, but nothing is sinking in.
I can hardly breathe. It’s like he took my oxygen with him.
What is it about that man that draws me to him? I mean, there is his obvious sexiness—and that is something every woman in this room would be drooling over—but that’s not it. There is something more that I can’t quite put my finger on but I also can’t ignore.
“We need to leave,” I mumble, and pull some cash out of my purse to leave on the bar as a tip for the staff.
We might not have paid for our drinks, but they still deserve it.
I lean over the bar to flag down one of the staff, and the woman who Landon has been talking to all night catches my eye and signals to me that she’s on her way.
“No way, we, I mean you, need to stay here and finish the night off screaming that man’s name.” I can feel the heat in my cheeks intensify as the woman arrives to hear the last part of Autumn’s drunk babble.
“Can I get you something?” She is grinning at me like a Cheshire cat.
“No, thanks, just tips for you guys.” I place the money on the bar in front of her, but she pushes it back at me.
“Oh, we can’t take your money, but any woman who makes the boss act like that is welcome here anytime. Heck, I’ll even pay for your drinks if you come back.”
I look at her name on her shirt before answering.
“Charlene, is it? I can assure you that we won’t be back.
Great bar and good service, though. Thanks.
” Leaving the money on the bar, I push up off the stool, turn away, and hurry toward the front door.
I can hear Autumn calling out to me as I disappear into a crowd of people.
I need air, now. And being in this room, all I can feel is an elephant sitting on my chest.
Busting out onto the sidewalk, the cold air hits my lungs as I suck it in. Catching my breath, I start shivering from the freezing temperature, and that’s when I realize I’ve left my coat inside.
“Shit,” I blurt out. Grabbing my phone out of my bag, I quickly message Autumn and tell her to grab mine too.
Hugging myself for warmth, I wait for her on the curb, hoping that she will hurry up. My phone vibrates in my hand, and I assume it’s Autumn calling, so I immediately swipe to answer. But before I can say anything into the phone, his deep voice in my ear shocks me.
“I ordered you a car. It’ll be here in five minutes. Get in it,” he growls at me.
Standing up straighter, I look around, trying to locate the security camera he is probably watching me from. I spot it on the corner of the building and show him what I think of his demand by flipping him the bird.
“I’m not going home. The night is young, I’ve only just started,” I bark into the phone while staring at the camera.
“Don’t make me come out there,” he yells at me. I hear him sigh with exasperation before continuing, “Just get in the damn car, Poppy.” He has toned his voice down this time, but it doesn’t make me less angry with him.
“Fuck off, Landon. Go find someone else to play your game with.” Ending the call, I start pacing to keep warm, knowing full well he is watching me, but I don’t care. He probably does the same thing every night with a different woman. Well, I’m not interested in his bullshit.
Autumn comes bursting out the door giggling, just as a black Cadillac pulls up to the curb next to me.
“That man has it bad for you. Charlene told me he has never once looked at another woman, let alone touched anyone that way.” Grabbing my coat out of her hands while she continues waffling on, the driver of the black Cadillac opens his door.
“Car for Poppy and Autumn.” He looks to us as he opens the back passenger door.
“No, thank you,” I reply stubbornly, folding my arms over my chest.
“Um, where did you come from?” Autumn starts walking to the car, but I grab her arm to stop her.
“The car was an order from a… Mr. Landon Wood,” the driver replies, looking at his phone.
“I knew I liked him. Let’s go.” She starts tugging me toward the car, but I dig my heels in.
“No. We will order our own car,” I grumble obstinately. I don’t need his help.
“Are you joking? It’s so damn cold out here. Why wouldn’t we take his o—” Autumn is cut short as the front door of the bar flings open, and Landon comes storming toward us.
“Get in the fucking car, Poppy, and take your crazy drunk friend with you.” He places his hand on my lower back, trying to nudge me forward, but I dig my heels in, and he steps up flush against my back and leans into my ear.
“I need to know you get home safe. Please just get in.” There is an underlying emotion beneath the gruffness of his voice that stops me from fighting him.
“Fine… but only because Autumn is cold,” I huff, and without looking back at him, I slide into the car and stare out the opposite window.
Autumn climbs in beside me, and the door is slammed shut. We sit in silence as the car pulls away from the curb.
Then I hear a little giggle beside me, and the moment I turn to look at Autumn, she bursts out laughing at me.
“What?” I growl at her.
“You.” She wraps her arms around her body and laughs harder. “I love that you think you can walk away from that.”
“Arrogant asshole, he has known me for twenty-four hours. Like, who the hell does he think he is? I’m a grown-ass adult, not one of his kids,” I grumble.
“Oh my God, that’s what you’re pissed about?
He practically word-fucked you over the top of his bar and all you’re worried about is the fact he wanted to help you get home safe.
What is wrong with you! Has that dickwaffle firefighter you left back at home made you so scared that you can’t see the good man that is right in front of you?
” She leans sideways and lays her head on my shoulder, wrapping her arms around my arm.
And this is what I miss living so far from home.
The woman who is snuggling up to me is the only person in my life who calls me out on my shit.
“Yeah, well, I’m sure I’m not the first or the last one he will fuck on that bar,” I utter as the vision of Landon pinning me down on the bar flashes through my mind, and what it would be like.
“Did you not hear what that Charlene chick said? That poor guy has not let his freak roar since his wife died, and you are the first one to wake the beast,” she says before breaking into a big yawn.
I have about five minutes before she will be drunk snoring on my shoulder.
“And you need someone to fuck Dean out of your system.” Her next yawn is bigger and louder.
“Perfect solution. Wish he…” And she is out, with her usual little snuffle that she makes before she falls asleep.
I spend the rest of the trip home lost in my thoughts.
I’m still enraged by Landon’s highhandedness and utterly confused over what type of game he was playing at tonight.
But I’m also curious about who this man is deep down.
Just like my mother pointed out, I’ve seen him with his boys too, and that man is a far cry from the one who just had me wet the moment he touched me and started speaking like he wanted to take me then and there.
By the time the car pulls up to the front of Autumn’s house, all I seem to have worked out is that I didn’t come on vacation to put myself in the middle of more drama. This trip was supposed to be full of Christmas happiness. Not two weeks of me lusting over an emotionally unavailable man.
Why is my life never simple and straight forward?
I only had two drinks last night, but that hasn’t stopped me from waking with a headache.
It probably has something to do with the lack of sleep I’ve had since I arrived. Thank goodness it’s Sunday and there are no plans except curling up on the couch in my pajamas and watching sappy Christmas movies all day. Finally, I might be able to just relax and slide into the holiday spirit.
As I drag myself out of bed and head up the hallway to the kitchen, I hear the banging and crashing of pans.
“Oh, good, you’re finally up.” Mom looks at me across the kitchen.
“Morning to you too.” I proceed to the fridge and grab the container with the leftover cinnamon rolls she made a few days ago.
“Sorry, sweetie, yes, good morning. Well, it’s closer to lunchtime, but that’s a technicality. Anyway, I was about to come in and wake you to give you time to shower before our guests arrive.” She just casually drops this bombshell news on me.
And there goes my perfect Sunday slob-day on the couch. I swear this town has something against me resting.
“Guests, what guests?” I ask as I shove the roll into the microwave to warm it through. It can’t be Autumn, because I know she already has plans.
“I shouldn’t really say guests, because they are more like family. So don’t panic, it’s only Landon and the boys.” And I freeze on the spot.
“Um, why are they coming over?” I try not to give away the panic I’m feeling.
“Because you need to get to know them. Plus, it’s Sunday, so it’s Landon’s day off, and I’m sure he will appreciate someone else cooking for him for a change.” I look at her skeptically because I seriously doubt that he will appreciate anything about this lunch, including the company.
“And what did Landon say when you spoke to him?” I’m curious to know how he reacted to a lunch invite after our little run-in last night.
“I didn’t speak to him. I just messaged him and told him what time to be here and that I wouldn’t take no for an answer.” She is so matter of fact about how she has just bossed him around, kind of like the way he was last night, which brings a chuckle out of me.
“What’s so funny?” Her eyebrows rise in curiosity.
“Oh, nothing. So, what did he reply?” I ask, taking a bite of the warm roll.
“He just wrote ‘Thank you.’ I mean, he’s a man of few words sometimes, but he’s still always so courteous.”