Chapter 11
POPPY
Jett leads me back through the throng, and I cling tightly to his hand.
People clammer to get to him as he pushes through, questions hurtling at him, at us. They want to know who I am, how long we’ve been together, and if I know about the scandal.
My ears are ringing by the time we make it to the parking lot of the ski resort and find the car that Dan had arranged for after the event. Jett opens the door and lets me slide in ahead of him. I let out a pent up breath once we’re both inside and the space between us is quiet.
I’m thankful Jett took the lead, because my brain is scattered. This is why I don’t do things like this. I don’t do big crowds, I don’t leave Heartwood. I like the safety of the café; the regulars I interact with every day. The sanctity of my little apartment at the end of a busy shift.
It’ll take me days to recharge and recover from this. I doubt I’ll have days.
I’m sure Dan and Brooke have other events planned for us, and a twinge of regret stabs at my gut as the reality of what I’ve agreed to settles over me. Part of me questions if I set myself up to drown by jumping in the deep end.
I wonder if Jett is having similar thoughts, if he’s doubting, second guessing. If that’s why he didn’t go through with the kiss today. After everything I saw today, I think maybe he had the right idea.
Jett is quiet beside me as the car weaves its way down the mountain road, snow crusted evergreens whooshing past the windows. Clouds have rolled in now, and big, chunky snowflakes fall silently on the windshield.
Neither of us has said anything, even as we pull up out front a large, modern house. It’s got black siding and dark wood trim, and looks like a rectangular box perched atop a forested hill.
Windows wrap all the way around one side.
The front door must be ten feet tall and extends all the way up to the roof.
He opens it for me and lets me inside, glancing back over his shoulder to make sure no one has followed us here.
I wonder how often Jett has to do that now–look over his shoulder for crazed fans or the media.
I guess now I’ll have to do that, too. I never considered that aspect when I agreed to this, the way no part of my life is going to be completely private ever again. My mouth suddenly goes dry as all the ways my life is about to change crash over me at once.
That is, if Jett is still just as invested in the plan.
Eye on the prize, I remind myself, letting out a calming breath.
“This is where you live?” I ask, looking around the expansive foyer, and breaking the silence between us. Casual conversation might keep my mind off the conflicting thoughts warring in my mind.
“Yeah, this is it.” He throws his jacket down on the bench in the entry, not caring that his snow gear is now strewn about, the clutter contrasting with the clean lines of his furniture.
I carefully remove my snow suit, folding it so I can place it in a neat pile next to his coat.
“I never imagined your place like this.” I pad through the house in my fluffy wool socks, following Jett to the kitchen and the back living room.
Despite the rest of the house being modern and spacious, the living room is cozy. There’s a low, dark green corduroy sofa that takes up most of the space, a video game controller on the plush ottoman, and a pile of cozy blankets in a basket by the fireplace.
Judging by the outside of the house, I thought I’d feel out of place in my comfortable leggings and Christmas socks that I’m still wearing despite the holidays being over and done with. But in here, in Jett’s personal space, I’m right at home.
“How did you imagine it?” Jett pulls a beer out of the fridge and offers me one, but I shake my head no.
“I guess… I didn’t,” I lie.
I have imagined Jett’s house. After the Friendsmas dinner at Grady’s I tried to imagine all kinds of things about Jett. He’s a bit of a mystery to me. He’s always been around, but he keeps his personal life close to his chest.
Jett is this untouchable, highly talented athlete. But that night in Grady’s kitchen, there was a vulnerability behind his eyes that raised even more questions. It roused my curiosity.
“Are you sure I can’t get you anything to drink?”
“I should go soon. Cordelia’s been home alone all day,” I explain, gesturing towards the door.
“You might want to check the roads. They were talking about cancelling the event today because there’s a snowstorm making its way up the valley from Heartwood.”
Jett’s beer bottle makes a pfft noise as he cracks the lid on the moose head bottle opener on his fridge.
“Oh,” I say, pulling out my phone quickly to check. The highway on my maps app is red, and a warning pops up when I enter my destination.
Traffic advisory: stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary, it reads.
I turn my phone around to show Jett.
“That answers that question. I guess you’re bunking here.” Jett winks at me and it does something funny to my chest.
It makes me feel things I shouldn’t be.
Jett and I are so incompatible it’s almost comical, and the event today only proved that to me more. I’m like his dorky little sister following him around, not someone who would be well-matched for him. Not someone who could be his wife.
“Don’t you think we’re moving a little fast?” I joke, leaning my hip against the kitchen island and staring at him as he takes a sip of beer.
His eyes never leave mine.
“If this is what you consider fast, we better rethink the whole marriage part of the deal,” he says after he swallows, his Adams apple bobbing in his throat. “You’re not having doubts about this, are you?”
I let out a soft chuckle. I’m having a lot of doubts, and I thought he had been, too. But there’s a confidence in his voice that almost sounds like a challenge.
“No, it’s just…” My voice trails off and I flick my gaze down to the floor. “It’s a lot to wrap my head around. This is the most serious relationship I’ve ever had.”
Jett laughs. The irony of the situation isn’t lost on me, either.
It’s the only relationship I’ve ever had. And it isn’t even real.
“What did you think of the event today?” He asks, giving me an opportunity to steer the conversation away from my love life.
My shoulders sag with relief. I wasn’t exactly planning on telling Jett about my lack of relationship experience when we agreed to this. I don’t want to dwell on it.
Although there’s still an unanswered question hanging between us. And as much as I want to avoid the conversation, I still want to know why Jett didn’t kiss me today the way we planned.
“It was fun.” I reply. It was, but it also took a lot out of me. My knees are aching from all the standing around, and my feet froze in my boots which never helps the situation. “It was a lot.”
“I know.” Jett’s teasing smirk from earlier is gone now, his expression is soft.
“You do?”
“We’ve known each other since we were kids. You think I don’t know that you struggle sometimes, Poppy?”
I blink twice, three times, my mouth opening and closing. I didn’t think Jett noticed me at all. It’s not like he ever asked. We’ve always been like parallel lines, existing in the same space but never getting close.
“Tell you what. Go get comfy on the couch and I’ll make you a tea. I won’t even make you talk to me if you need some quiet time to rest,” he says.
That sounds perfect, and the last bit of tension leaves my shoulders, my mouth lifting into a soft smile.
“Okay.”
I head over to the large, plush couch. I let myself flop down and draw my knees up to my chest. When I pull out my phone, there’s a text from Wren. Actually, there’s a string of them, and a missed call. I haven’t looked at my phone since before the event.
WREN
Your solution is JETT??!!
POPPY
ANSWER YOUR PHONE
Hudson SAW YOU TWO ON TV and I said I won’t believe it until you confirm it.
I start typing out a response but delete it multiple times before deciding this can’t be a text conversation. Any explanation for our current situation sounds absolutely absurd when I see it written out.
I’ll call you later and explain everything. Could you go and feed Cordelia for me? I won’t make it home tonight. XO
Jett walks over to the living room with a steaming cup of tea, so I quickly hit send and tuck my phone beside me on the couch. I take the mug from Jett, and cup it with both hands, taking a long inhale of the earthy, floral scent.
Outside, the big fluffy snowflakes have turned into a swirling blizzard, and although a part of me wishes I was home with Cordelia, the other part thinks this might not be all that bad.