Chapter 24
Poppy attempted to ease herself off the couch in one fluid, dignified motion, but when her right leg got tangled in the blanket she'd been cocooned in. She barely managed to untangle it before AJ, who’d been standing with his back to her at the fridge pulling out ingredients for the omelet he was about to whip up, appeared at her side as if he had special Poppy motion-detector spidey-senses or eyes in the back of his head.
“What do you need?” he asked, tone neutral, yet brimming with an edge of anticipation that said he was ready, willing, and able to carry her across the threshold of any minor inconvenience.
“I don’t need you to wait on me. I can get my own water.”
He didn’t dignify her comment with a response. He’d vanished and returned before she could negotiate her way upright, with a cold glass of water in hand, condensation already collecting on the outside.
“Thank you.” She accepted the chilled glass of H2O, and he returned to gathering ingredients.
She told herself that she was watching Salt Lake City Housewives, but her eyes kept drifting to AJ as he pulled a large silver bowl and wooden chopping block.
She couldn’t tear her eyes away as he rinsed and chopped spinach, bell peppers, tomatoes, and mushrooms. The chiseled lines of muscle on his forearms, the speed and accuracy of his chops and his large hands masterfully handling the delicate eggs.
It was Monday at ten a.m. She’d spent all day yesterday resting, studying, lounging, and being waited on hand and foot.
AJ only left her side long enough to go next door to get clothes and groceries, during which time he made her promise she would not move off the couch.
He was back in under five minutes with two bags, one filled with food and one with clothes.
She still wasn’t sure how he’d done that so quickly.
He’d taken a shower with the door open so he could hear if she needed him. She’d tried not to look, but she was only human. He’d fixed her breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They watched trash reality TV shows, talked, and just hung out.
There’d been no mention of the baby, other than him asking how she was feeling in a tone that made it clear he was not talking about her head. She appreciated him giving her the space and time to digest what was going on.
For as long as she could remember, she’d taken for granted the fact that this news would fulfill her biggest dream, and she would finally feel complete.
That this time in her life would be the happiest she’d ever been.
Life had thrown her a curveball. It was naive of her, she could see that now, but she never even considered the possibility of a high-risk pregnancy.
That development blindsided her. It made her want to retract into her emotional turtle shell and stay there.
That way if the worst happened and things didn’t go to plan, she could deal with her grief privately and move on.
Life was easier that way. She wouldn’t have people around ‘supporting her’ when they had families and children and no clue as to the depths of her pain.
She wouldn’t have to bite her tongue when people gave her empty platitudes that made her want to punch them in the face.
And she wouldn’t have to see that look of pity on their faces, the same one she saw on teachers and other parents at school when there were recitals, plays, or any activity that included parent participation, and she was the kid who had no one show up.
She could just deal with it on her own, like she always had…
if the worst happened. Which she hoped it didn’t.
But first she needed to deal with her head injury.
Luckily, she had Mondays off because Deacon started every week taking and picking up Tabitha from school, that way, no matter how busy the rest of the week got, he made sure at least once a week he did drop-off and pickup, so technically there was nothing she had to do today, but she still felt odd not doing anything.
Well, she was doing something. Poppy was doing her absolute best not to fall madly in love with AJ, but every second she spent with him was causing the protective shell around her heart to crack like the eggs he’d just cracked one-handed, which was ridiculously hot.
She’d seen men cook before, but like everything with AJ, this was different.
He dominated the kitchen. He owned it. Every time she looked at him, her lady parts said, “Yes, Chef.”
He dropped a dollop of butter onto a hot skillet, held the handle, and with the flick of his wrist coated the entire surface.
“I know you haven’t asked for my advice on your next career, but if you ever wanted to start an OnlyFans where all you did was cook, you would be a multi-millionaire,” she suggested to AJ.
“I don’t think taking off my clothes for money is really my thing.”
“Who said anything about taking off your clothes? I’d pay good money just to watch this.
You cooking fully dressed. All day. Every day.
And I know I’m not the only one.” She wasn’t joking.
Not really. She knew he would never do it, but he would be an internet sensation.
If there was real estate porn, there had to be cooking porn.
AJ’s eyes lifted to hers, and she saw a faint shade of blush on his cheeks, and it gave her a rush of adrenaline. She made AJ Costas blush. She wasn’t sure why that made her so happy, maybe because in bed, he made her blush so much.
“You can have me for free.” His voice was deep and raw and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. “All day. Every day.”
Now it was her turn to blush. Not blush because she was embarrassed but because she was flushed from her heart rate speeding up.
Did he mean that? Was that his way of saying that he planned on sticking around?
Was it because she was pregnant? He was a good man, the best man Liam knew.
He would step up and do the right thing.
She didn’t want someone to be with her out of obligation.
The look in his eye did not appear obligatory. It looked…possessive. He’d told her he didn’t like waking up without her, that was before he found out she was pregnant. He didn’t want kids.
Stop, she told herself. No overthinking. No decision-making. Her brain was not to be overtaxed.
She was reminding herself of the doctor’s orders when her phone dinged with a message. She picked it up she saw that the message was from Lauren, her real estate agent.
“Everything okay?” AJ asked.
“Yeah. I need to pick up my keys.” She held up her phone. “At the house.”
AJ turned the stove off, slid the omelet into a Tupperware, and grabbed her jacket from the wall in the time it took her to stand up and get her shoes on.
She saw in his eyes he was not going to let her out of the house without him.
The thought of AJ taking her to get the keys, of him seeing her house, felt so intimate.
Not that being pregnant with his child was impersonal.
But everything between them was so…unsettled.
This was one of the biggest moments in her life, if things went south with them, then that memory would forever be tied to it.
“I’ll just tell her I’ll pick them up tomorrow.”
“Are you not feeling well?” In two strides he was in front of her, his eyes scanning her face and pupils. “Do you need to go back to the hospital?”
Poppy wasn’t sure how to explain that she didn’t want him to see her house without raising alarm bells. “No. I’m fine.”
“I’ll wait in the car if you don’t want me to go inside.”
Shit. Could he actually read her mind?
“No, it’s fine.”
He continued staring at her.
“Really,” she smiled and bent down to get her purse.
He followed her out the door, and they only made it halfway down the path when Niko’s head popped up over the shrubbery like the neighbor Wilson from Home Improvement.
“Hey! There you are, Bro! I thought you got abducted by aliens.”
AJ didn’t respond, but Poppy smiled.
“Oh shit, what happened to your head?” Niko’s head dropped out of sight, and the next thing Poppy knew, he was walking towards them up the path.
She felt AJ tense beside her.
“I hit my head on the planter.” She motioned to the planter on the patio.
“Well, scars are sexy.” He pulled his shirt to the side to reveal what looked like a healing wound from a recent surgery on his shoulder.
“Goodbye, Niko.” AJ put his hand on Poppy’s lower back and guided them around Niko.
“Where are you guys going?” He fell in step beside them.
Poppy couldn’t help but grin. Niko was a grown man in his early thirties, star pitcher for a major league baseball team, but he sounded like a kid wanting to tag along with his brother.
“I just closed on my house. We’re going to get the keys.”
Again, she felt AJ tense beside her.
Niko’s eyes lit up like an excited kid at Christmas as he asked, “Can I come?”
Poppy looked up at AJ, and it was clear to her that he did not want his brother to join them, but she had no clue how anyone ever said no to the man. It would be like kicking a puppy.
“Sure,” she agreed. It might be better if there were more than just the two of them. It would make it less…intimate, intense.
“Sweet!” he exclaimed. “Shotgun.”
AJ’s fingertips tensed on Poppy’s lower back as he practically growled through gritted teeth, “You can follow us.”
“Bro, I was kidding.” Niko chuckled.
“I wasn’t,” AJ stated in monotone.
Niko lifted his hands in mock surrender. “Fine, I’ll follow the leader.”
AJ helped Poppy into the SUV, and she punched in the address as soon as he started the engine.
On the short drive, she turned to him, “Are you two always like that?”
He glanced over at her. “Like what?”
“Never mind.” Her lips curled at the edges.
She didn’t know if he truly wasn’t aware of their dynamic or if he didn’t want to address it. Either way, she let it go.