Chapter 11 #2
‘I usually only do it in my hair, but I can try if you want?’
Poppy nodded eagerly.
‘Okay. Look forward for me.’ As soon as she complied, Nina began brushing out Poppy’s hair, but because Markus hadn’t stopped staring at her, she explained, ‘Maverick only knows how to do a normal braid.’
‘The American one,’ Poppy chirped over her shoulder.
Markus held a hand to his heart and rolled his eyes dramatically, clearing as enamoured by Poppy as Nina was. And when he spoke, he said something she hadn’t expected. He said, ‘Okay. I get it now.’
Nina only nodded. Because wanting and needing could be two separate matters entirely.
She wanted to test the waters with Maverick.
But want was simple. Nina was terrified that her want might turn into need, and she couldn’t start needing someone else.
She needed to get back onto her feet. She needed to be independent again, strong without Markus and Maverick’s strength holding her up.
And Maverick had needs too, she reminded herself. He might want Nina, but he needed someone who could eventually make a commitment, to him and to Poppy. He needed someone who wouldn’t choose her career over them like Shannon had, and – if she still had a career to go back to – like Nina would.
For the last fifteen years her career had been everything to her. In fact, on most days, it was all she had.
So, want was simple. But they would both have to think through what they needed before they acted on that want. In Nina’s mind, that was just the reality of two adults who were attracted to each other but lived complicated lives.
Poppy came down the stairs at a full-blown run. ‘Daddy! Daddy, look at my hair!’ She skidded to a halt right in front of him and then spun in a circle, showing him her fancy braid, which formed a tiara around her head before spilling down her back.
‘That is seriously cool,’ he said. But internally, he panicked just a little because he hadn’t even managed to get the French braid yet. Despite Nina’s patient instruction, he had only managed to irritate three horses that morning with his fumbling attempts to French braid their tails.
‘Nina did it!’
‘She did a good job.’ Maverick looked up the stairs. ‘Did you ask them if they’re coming to the barbecue?’
‘Yeah. They’re coming. Her friend—’
‘Markus.’
‘Markus said he had to glam up.’
Behind him, Sierra, who had caught the last snippet of the conversation, said, ‘If you need to get down there, I’ll bring them when they’re ready.’
Maverick looked down at his watch. ‘Yeah. That would be helpful.’ He looked at Poppy, all dressed up and ready to go. ‘Do you want to ride with me?’
‘No, I want to wait for Nina.’
Maverick hesitated to leave her, and not because there wasn’t space, but because he wanted to be cautious. ‘Poppy, Nina’s on vacation,’ he said gently. ‘She’s only here for a short while, so you have to give her a little space to relax, okay?’
Poppy’s big eyes turned sad. She looked so downhearted, and it crushed him. But she whispered, ‘Yes, Daddy.’
His gentle redirecting ended up turning to dust anyway. The moment Nina appeared at the top of the stairs, she asked, ‘Are you guys leaving?’
‘Poppy and I figured we’d head out, let Sierra bring you and Markus,’ Mav replied.
Nina started down the stairs, dressed almost identically to Poppy in a white dress, her working cowgirl boots, covered in dust, and the same fancy tiara braid in her long, black hair. ‘Are you sure you don’t mind waiting for Markus, Sierra? He takes a while to get ready,’ she warned.
‘Not at all. I could really use a glass of wine before heading back to work anyway. You three go.’
‘Nina, you look like me!’ Poppy exclaimed.
‘I know!’ Nina twirled, making her long, black hair fan out around her with the skirt of her dress. ‘I thought we could twin.’
‘Daddy,’ Poppy turned those big eyes on him. ‘Please can Nina come with us?’
‘Sure, kiddo,’ Mav said. Relenting was easy. But it didn’t stop the worry.
The closer the girls got to one another, the more he worried that Poppy would get hurt when Nina left.
Because while Maverick was a grown man who understood what he was getting into and had his eyes wide open, Poppy was only five.
When she loved, she loved instantly and with her whole heart.
And it was his job to protect her from pain until she could learn to do it herself.
Nina clearly sensed his hesitance. She cocked her head slightly, asked, ‘Everything okay?’
By way of answer, Maverick said, ‘Not at all.’ And when she only raised both brows, he added, ‘You ladies don’t have your hats.’
‘Our hats?’ Nina asked.
‘Our dancing hats!’ Poppy chirped. She ran to the hall closet.
‘Poppy, get my red one for Nina!’ Sierra called after her.
‘’Kay!’
Poppy returned a moment later, two cowgirl hats in her hands. Hers was pink suede with a single faux pink rose in the hatband. Sierra’s, the one Poppy passed to Nina, was red leather.
‘You don’t mind?’ Nina asked Sierra as she took the hat.
‘No. I haven’t worn one in years, and your black hair is just begging for that red.’
Nina plopped the hat on her head, tipped it back. ‘How does it look?’
Sexy as hell, Mav thought, but because his mouth had gone dry, he just nodded like an idiot.
Sierra said, ‘Movie worthy.’
Poppy gushed, ‘We’re so pretty!’
Nina held out her hand, and when Poppy took it unquestioningly, she said, ‘Heck yes, we are.’
He watched them walk to the front door hand in hand, waited for them to amble outside before turning back to his sister. He had been meaning to check in with her one last time, but the look of wry amusement on her face stole his words. Was he that obvious?
Sierra started for the kitchen and her waiting glass of wine, but she tossed, ‘You’re in trouble, Mav!’ over her shoulder as she left.
Maverick only sighed, muttered, ‘I know it,’ and followed them outside.
He loaded Shadow into the back seat of the Jeep and then climbed into the driver’s seat. Poppy climbed through and perched on the armrest between him and Nina, something he allowed when they were on ranch property.
It was only once they were on their way that Nina asked, ‘Are these barbecues a regular occasion? I haven’t really explored any of the ranch activities yet.’
‘We have some sort of outdoor event every night,’ he replied, ‘but it’s not always barbecue.’
‘Every night?’
‘Yup. The schedule is posted in the lobby and on the website. We have guests checking in and out almost every day, so there has to be something happening every night. Sometimes it’s just cocktails and appetizers by the lake. Sometimes it’s a barbecue with live music – like tonight.’
‘Daddy sings!’ Poppy offered.
Nina didn’t seem surprised. In fact, she sent him a comical look, said, ‘Of course you do.’
‘Not often.’
‘But you’ll sing for me sometime?’ she asked, and when he groaned, she shot him an exaggerated version of puppy-dog eyes that made Poppy giggle.
‘One time,’ he decided. ‘And I choose when and where.’
‘Deal.’ She turned back to the road and the approaching resort building. ‘I suppose I never thought about how exhausting it must be, planning this all, day in and day out.’
‘Yeah – but not so much for me anymore. We have an event planner on staff. He and his assistant do almost everything without any hand holding. The only time they need us anymore is if their budget isn’t sufficient or if somebody makes a complaint.’
‘Does that happen often?’
‘Oh yeah. You can’t charge the prices we do and not have people nitpick every detail. But for the most part, they’re easy to appease.’
‘The customer’s always right?’
‘Something like that.’
‘I hate people like that,’ she said. ‘The level of entitlement always astounds me.’
‘It doesn’t bother me anymore. Used to, back when we first got started. But it helped us smooth things out.’
‘What is the most ridiculous thing a person has ever complained about?’
Maverick thought about it. ‘I don’t hear about all of them anymore. We have a concierge who deals with those things, typically with Sierra’s buyoff. But back in our first year, we had a woman complain that her towels weren’t soft enough.’
Nina turned to stare at him. ‘Please tell me you’re joking.’
‘Nope.’ Maverick grinned. ‘She had sensitive skin.’
‘Bullsh-nap,’ Nina caught herself before the word left her mouth.
But Poppy tucked her head and giggled anyway.
‘I swear.’ Maverick laughed. ‘The funniest thing about it is that our resort towels are imported from Turkey. They’re top of the line. Cost an arm and a leg. But when she complained, the only place open at nine p.m. was Target. The ones I replaced them with cost me like thirteen dollars.’
Nina laughed. ‘What did she say?’
‘She thanked me, gave me a long lecture about quality, and how if we wanted to make it as a resort, we’d have to up our game.’
‘She did not.’
‘Cross my heart.’
She shook her head. ‘Unbelievable.’
Poppy saw the gesture and mimicked it. She shook her head seriously, said, ‘Unbelievable,’ making Mav laugh out loud.
He chanced a glance at Nina.
She smiled back at him. It might have been the first full smile she had ever given him. Her dark eyes lit with it, stunning him senseless.
It shocked him that something as simple as a woman’s smile could take him out. It worried him for so many reasons, least of all that he had only known her a week. It terrified him, because even as he told himself she was heartache waiting to happen, Maverick burned for her.