27. Chapter 27
“Let’s kiss the morning,” Summoner whispered in my ear.
Foolishly tired, in love, and desperate to fill my mind with memories, I dragged my ass out of bed every morning.
A couple of early mornings under the pink lemonade sky at the pool with Summoner was all it took to birth a love of the water in me.
I hated waking up early, and I was still painfully afraid of drowning, but I cherished our mornings together, starting my day in the most leisurely way possible with the man I loved. I couldn’t imagine anything better.
The emptiness of the morning air popped around us.
The water’s splashing played background accompaniment to our day.
Sleep still heavy in my eyes, I floated in a duck inner tube while Summoner swam laps up and down the length of the pool.
The water cascaded down his body in smooth waves, uncracked by tension.
I gnawed my bottom lip between my teeth.
It was voyeuristic, but I loved to watch.
In the pool, we were unmarred by anything else.
Summoner and Poppy, together, unbothered.
There was no weight of expectations. No depression. No anxiety. Just him and I, together.
I had become accustomed to Summoner staying stationary up in his ivory tower like the world’s grumpiest princess. But here, things were different. The farm was familiar to him, and once he settled back into that comfort, he seemed at ease and always busy.
One afternoon, Summoner led me to a rustic stable (because of course there were stables).
My nose was filled with the scent of hay and horse poop as we walked along aisles of empty stalls.
Summoner pointed out where they used to house a team of mares for breeding, but now only one horse remained, an older, well-tended-to stallion named Cinnamon. I stared in awe at the massive beastie.
“Cinnamon, meet Poppy.”
Cinnamon nuzzled against Summoner’s hand as he introduced us. The horse huffed appreciatively. Summoner tilted his head as an invitation for me to pet. My hand hovered momentarily before I stroked the surprisingly smooth velvet of its muzzle.
“So soft!” I cooed.
“Would you like to ride?” he asked.
I shook my head. I could barely ride a bike; riding a horse was straight out of the question.
I watched as he stepped into the Cinnamon’s stall and saddled the chill animal.
Once he was satisfied with his work, he clipped on a lead and walked him outside.
In the warmth of the sunshine, Summoner mounted the horse.
My mouth fell into an “O” at the sight. Here was the knight of my daydreams. He looked regal upon the saddle.
With a cocky, self-assured smile directed toward me for good measure, Summoner and Cinnamon trotted down the path.
***
While my body attuned itself to being in a different part of the world, I familiarized myself with El Huerto del Sol.
When I wasn’t finding spots to sit and get misty-eyed, I wandered around the land, stopping often to take selfies with animals to send to Shay.
She gushed in expletive-filled messages.
The gravel cracked underfoot as I passed the tennis courts. A brazen tabby cat brushed against my ankles as the olive field and business offices came into view. I bent over to scratch the friendly feline behind the ears.
The puttering of an engine caught our attention. I looked over my shoulder to see a beat-up, dirty truck headed toward me. The tabby sprinted into the brush.
“Hey, Poppy!” Mark shouted from the driver’s seat.
“Hey!” I waved.
“What you doing out this way?” he asked.
“Exploring.”
“Nice. I’m headed down to the olive field. Would you like a tour?”
“Really? I mean, if it’s not too much trouble.”
“Of course not!” He reached over and opened the passenger door.
I settled on the tattered seat and smiled.
“How are you liking El Huerto del Sol so far?” he asked as he put the truck back into gear and we continued down the path.
“I love it. It’s wonderful here. It’s amazing that a place like this can even exist.”
“It is amazing, isn’t it? We work hard to keep it up. It’s a point of pride.”
“You mentioned El Huerto del Sol was restored. How long did that take?”
“Hmmm. Around 4 years, maybe. Kay came in with a vision, and we helped execute.”
Kay.
My fists balled together in my lap.
“All this was her idea?” Her involvement instantly soured my starry-eyed vision of El Huerto del Sol. She was Summoner’s ex-wife, mother of his children, and his close friend. Their lives were always going to be intertwined.
“Nah, she’s just the more forward of the two. She took charge. That’s just her personality. Summoner has always kept more to himself. But El Huerto del Sol was mainly his idea.”
“Oh, okay.” Internally, I breathed a sigh of relief.
“…So, are you and Summoner…uh…?” he stammered.
I held in a laugh and tapped my fingers on the windowsill.
“Uh, kinda of. Yeah, I mean, sort of.”
How was I supposed to answer that?
“I only ask because Moore took your bags into the same room…Some of the staff were talking.”
I’m the office gossip.
“Ah…” I opened and closed my mouth.
I didn’t know how much the staff was allowed to know. Thankfully, Mark pulled into a parking spot in front of the office building.
“I just need to check on some paperwork. I’ll be right back.” He hopped out of the truck.
I opened the door and dangled my feet off the seat. A group of guys wearing scuffed and dirty overalls walked toward the building. They stared at me with wide eyes. A group of men had become a gaggle of schoolgirls at the sight of me.
Bringing up the rear were an out-of-place-looking Summoner and Moore. A flash of unease crossed Summoner’s face as I jumped out of the cab. Moore smirked and pushed the group forward.
“Hi,” I breathed.
“Hi. Is everything alright?” he asked.
“Yeah, everything’s fine.”
He reached for me. The corners of my mouth twitched up as his thumb caressed the back of my hand.
“Keep your evening free.”
“Promise?” My lip inched out in a trembling pout.
“It’s a date.”
His eyes softened as they stared into mine. My lower half clenched, knowing that he would take care of me. Summoner gave me a last squeeze. My hand dropped to my side as Mark rounded the front end of the truck.
“Hola, Se?or Summoner, is everything okay?” he asked.
“Fine. Everything’s fine. Thanks for asking.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
It was clear he wasn’t sure what to tell everyone yet, either. I blinked. Part of me understood. There was an appeal to staying in our hermetically-sealed bubble. But a conversation needed to be had.
“I grabbed you water.” Mark held a water bottle out to me.
“Thanks.” The condensation felt refreshing on my palm.
I popped the top and took a healthy sip.
“You two headed somewhere?” Summoner’s eyes bounced between Mark and I like an ardent ping-pong ball at a frat party.
“Giving Poppy a tour of the field. Should we get going?” Mark turned his smile toward me.
I wiped my mouth on my forearm. “Yeah.”
Mark and I fell into step beside each other. I couldn’t help stealing a glance over my shoulder. Summoner leaned against the side of the dirty truck with his mouth set in a hard frown. Good thing he already had green eyes.
Jealous, much?
***
That evening, I lay in the front sitting room listening to music and browsing social media.
A shadow covered my screen, and I looked up to Summoner standing over me.
Dressed in a Beatles t-shirt and a pair of worn jeans, he looked edible.
The flush in my cheeks must have been very noticeable, because he grinned. I pulled out my headphones and sat up.
“Is your evening still free?” he asked.
“Maybe? This older guy I’m dating wanted to make plans with me.”
“Sounds annoying. Don’t sleep with him.”
“I don’t know…Between me and you, he’s really, I mean really good at sex.”
“I hear he’s worried about being able to satisfy you.”
“No need for him to worry. He just has to get creative.”
With an eye roll for good measure, Summoner took my hand and peppered a few butterfly kisses along my knuckles. Heart good and won over, he led me to the back courtyard.
I gasped loudly as we stepped outside. Twinkling fairy lights were strung across the yard.
In the middle of the grass was a plush couch covered in colorful pillows.
On a low table in front of the couch waited a large pizza and a bottle of wine.
Projected on a screen on the side of the house played the title screen for Kiki’s Delivery Service.
“Kiki’s is one of my favorite movies. Thank you so much!”
I threw my arms around him. He chuckled.
“You had the little cat statue on your desk. I looked it up and thought we could watch some of the Ghibli movies and some of the other cartoons you always talk about.”
Such a little detail took pains to remember. I never would have imagined renown rock star Summoner would watch cartoons in his spare time, but he was doing so for me. My heart melted.
We settled next to each other, and Summoner served us slices of pizza.
“Yeah, light years better than that greasy schlock you fed me.”
I stuck my tongue out at him. The pizza was amazing. The sauce exploded with flavor and the cheese melted on my tongue.
After we demolished the pizza, Summoner leaned back, enfolding me in his arms. I nuzzled into his side as he pulled a throw blanket over us. Grinning hard, Dee crept into the grass like a Scooby Doo villain and replaced our empty pizza platter with a bowl of fresh, honey-drizzled popcorn.
“Can I ask a question?”
“Of course.” He reached forward to pull the bowl into his lap.
“I know privacy is a concern, so how do you keep the staff in check? How do you know they won’t say anything?”
“…Hiring was a long process filled with lots of paperwork and nondisclosure agreements. We made sure to hire only the best of the best at being discreet. Also, I constantly pay them extra to keep quiet. Much more than anything a trashy tabloid could dream of offering.”
“Fair enough.” I shoved a handful of popcorn into my mouth.
As Kiki tried setting up her delivery business, I glanced at Summoner. He watched the screen with interest. I smiled.
“So, why olives? Why honey? Why a farm?” I asked a beat later.
He laughed, “Bees are dying at an alarming rate and the hives here are my paltry attempt at helping to fight that. I wanted to contribute something worthwhile to the environment and the culture. As for the olives…is it fair to say I just like them?”
“That’s fair.”
“Anything else?”
“When are you going to tell everyone I’m your girlfriend?”
Smooth, Poppy, smooth.
He ran a hand down his face. “Thinking of the best way to do it. I was hoping everyone would just figure it out.”
“Your staff is talking…”
“Did Mark tell you that?”
I rolled my eyes. “He was a little confused.”
“I’ll make sure to straighten that up, then. You’re with me.”
“Are you being insecure?” I scoffed.
“I’ll have you know I can be very insecure. How do you think I got where I am today?”
Duh.
I giggled, my frustration evaporating into the humid night air. “I’m the office gossip.”
“…I didn’t know how to approach the topic with some of the staff. Hell, I don’t really know how to approach it with anyone. I haven’t had an actual relationship in years. Just thinking about others’ reactions made me panic, and I just went with what was easiest. I know that doesn’t make it right.”
He ran a hand over his face. Blotches of red colored his cheeks and ears. The stupid tailspins our relative mental health issues sent us on.
“Sorry, sweetheart. I’m sorry.”
“I think I can forgive you.”
He kissed my temple. “Good. I will tell everyone in the morning. Can we finish the movie now?”
I shoved more popcorn into my mouth. Summoner’s hand settled on my hip. The warmth from his touch burned through the fabric of my leggings. This was everything I needed. Everything I wanted. Only one thing would have made it better.
Saying how much I love you…