Chapter 26
“Ismell the chicken dance coming on,” Kiki said, sticking her hands under her armpits and waving them like they were wings. “Ba-na-na-nat. Ba-na-na-nat…” She began singing the chicken dance song.
“Very mature,” Poppy retorted.
It was Sunday, and they were lying by the pool. Poppy wanted one last swim before Stark House belonged to someone else. Only she wasn’t wearing a Speedo, she was wearing a sexy black bikini. She was also wearing her curves loud and proud.
What she wasn’t wearing was the ache in her chest that was growing by the second. Nope, that she held beneath her armor.
“I’m not the one leaving the guy I love, the guy who’s chasing his family to Vegas without you telling him how you feel,” Kiki said.
“And I’m not going to be the person who stands between him and what he wants.”
“You didn’t tell your aunt what you wanted and you’re losing this house, when you know damn well that she would have sold it to you.
Or she would have sold it to you in pieces, if you’d been honest. You’re not going to tell a man you’re clearly in love with to stay for you when you know that he would stay if you asked him.
When are you ever going to put yourself first? ”
Poppy hadn’t put herself first since her dad left. She’d been so scared her mom would leave too that she’d always been the perfect child. Not that it helped; besides Opal, she’d wound up alone.
“Here you’re asking him what he wants. When are you going to ask yourself what you want?”
“In these situations, it doesn’t matter what I want. These are people’s dreams we’re talking about, and who am I to stand in the way of someone’s dream? And not just someone, a whole family.”
Plus, she’d tried this before and it didn’t work. Not with her dad and not with her mom. What made her think this time would be different?
“I get that you went to your dad and asked him to be a part of your life, and he said no. Then your mom drank herself to death instead of being there for you. But Decker isn’t them.
He isn’t some selfish prick. Your aunt has never treated you like your parents did.
And your aunt has proven to you over and over again that she’s not like them,” Kiki said, and she was right.
If anything, her aunt had proved she was the opposite of Poppy’s parents.
And for that matter, so had Decker. He’d never made her feel second-best or like she’s third in line for his emotions. Like him, like her aunt, like Kiki—they’d put her first whenever they could.
“The only person who hasn’t put you first is you.”
Poppy sighed. “It’s just hard to believe someone could love me like that.”
“I love you. Your aunt loves you. Just because your dad is incapable of love, that isn’t on you.”
“He loves his other family.”
Kiki snorted. “Are you kidding? He doesn’t love them.
His other family gave him access to Hollywood’s elite.
How do you think he started his production company?
I bet his wife bankrolled the whole thing.
He didn’t marry her for love. He married her because she made him look good and gave him opportunities that your mom couldn’t. ”
“I never looked at it like that.”
But Kiki wasn’t finished yet. “All these people have loved you, all these things you’ve done are amazing, your life has been great, so why are you focusing on this one negative thing?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know why I do that. I think it’s for protection. Between my dad leaving and my mom dying, I operate on a foundation of self-preservation. It’s a way to set myself up to not be disappointed.”
“Love comes with the good and the bad. You have to put yourself out there and there’s always a chance of getting hurt, but it only takes one person, right? You only need one person to be in love with. You only need the right person.”
“Yeah.”
“What if he’s your right person and you let him walk away?”
Poppy had lived through love walking away. She wasn’t sure if she could last through that again.
“Well, while you think over the most important decision of your life, it’s time to get ready.”
“For what?” Poppy asked.
“Dinner. Remember the sponsor, Kellerman? They want to film you guys using the patio furniture and Jack decided it would be a dressy dinner at twilight.”
“No. I distinctly do not remember that.”
Kiki grinned. “Hmm. I might have forgotten to tell you. Oh well, it’s in twenty minutes.”
“I’m not doing that,” Poppy insisted.
“It’s contractual. You don’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he got to you.”
Decker would take it personally if she was a no-show. And if he knew just how deeply his words had cut her, he’d feel immense regret. That’s just the kind of man he was. Kind and sensitive and so giving to those he loved. She was just crushed that he didn’t include her in that category.
Her eyes burned at the reminder and Kiki’s smile vanished. “No tears. You know about my tear phobia. Even seeing your lashes get misty is making my right eye twitch.”
“I’m not crying. It’s dry eye syndrome.”
“Whatever, you don’t want to show up with red eyes and slathered in sun oil do you?”
“No.”
“Then get your ass up and let’s go pick a dress that will have him falling to his knees.” Kiki looked at her watch. “Twenty minutes and counting.”
“Twenty minutes? You knew all this time and you are only telling me now.”
“Tick tock, Cinderella, it’s time for me to do a little Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo.”
Poppy may have taken a little longer getting ready than her allotted twenty minutes, but she wanted Decker to wait. Wanted his eyes to bulge out of his head when she made her grand entrance. And it was going to be grand.
She was wearing a dress she’d bought and stuck in the back of the closet to die a sad and lonely death. But tonight, she was going to resurrect it—she was going to resurrect the courageous woman she’d become and tell him how she felt.
The go-get-’em-girl dress was silky, curve-hugging, rode the line between cleavage appropriate and not, and was guaranteed to make Decker drool. Plus, it was his favorite color—emerald.
Adopting the strut of a woman who knew what she wanted, Poppy made her way out onto the pool deck and nearly tripped over her aunt, who was sitting behind the camera crew, watching through one of the monitors.
“What are you doing here?” Poppy asked, concern in her voice.
“No need to worry, I’m fine. I just came to see how the universe is bringing together this magical night.”
“Magical night?” Poppy asked, and that warning flag in her belly gave a single wave. Not enough to ask questions, but enough to give her pause.
“You look lovely.” She traded a conspiratorial look with Kiki. “Doesn’t she?”
“Like a queen.” Kiki snapped her fingers as if they were at a beatnik poetry reading.
“What’s going on with you two?” Poppy asked. “And why do I feel as if you are conspiring against me?”
Opal smiled. “Never against you, darling. Always for you.”
“Well, I can handle myself just fine.” Chin up, Poppy whipped her hair over her shoulder and walked across the pool deck where she came to a sudden and abrupt halt. All that confidence sank to the toes of her mile-high—completely inappropriate—stilettos.
Because sitting a few feet away on the Kellerman’s Twilight extendable table and lounge set was Decker—in a pair of cargo pants and soft-looking T-shirt like he’d just stepped off the job site. While she was dressed for an Oscar party.
Decker was looking down at a notebook, his lips moving as if trying to memorize the words. Maybe it was an apology or a declaration of his feelings. Why else would he look so nervous and be reading from a scripted paper?
Feeling like an idiot, she decided to rush upstairs and change, but before she could even make it a step he looked up and froze. She watched his lungs expel their entire capacity of oxygen and his jaw was so far on the floor she was surprised it didn’t dislocate.
“Wow,” was all he said. But that single word brought back every ounce of hard-won confidence.
“It seems once again you’re underdressed,” she told him.
“I wasn’t given a dress code, or I would have arrived in a tuxedo, since that is what that dress deserves. But since it’s a barbeque I assumed it was casual.”
She shot the Troublesome Twins a deadly glare. Opal just wiggled her fingers, and Kiki began her beatnik snapping again. That warning flag gave a second flap.
“I must have missed that memo. Give me a sec and I’ll go change.”
“No,” he said and stood so fast he knocked over his chair. “Let me go change.”
“Neither one of you have time to change. The golden hour begins in eight minutes and I’m not missing that glorious light,” Jack said. “Just sit in your places while the crew prepares for the shot.”
“Decker, I wanted to—”
“Can we get them mic-ed?” Jack said.
“Just looking for a charged battery pack,” Wasim said. “Give me a minute.”
Decker looked back at the notebook and started mouthing the words again, and her heart fluttered uncontrollably. Was this it? Had he changed his mind and was about to tell her that he’d chosen her? In front of America?
“What’s that?” she asked, unable to play it cool a second longer.
“Didn’t you get one?” He slid it across the table and those flutters died a horrible death, souring in her stomach. It wasn’t a declaration or a romantic gesture, it was prompts on what they were supposed to talk about during the shoot.
“You can use mine. I’ve pretty much memorized it.”
“This?” she whispered. “This is what you were studying?”
Confusion furrowed his brow. “What did you think it was?”
“Not that!”
“What’s going on?” he whispered.
And this was her moment—to tell him what she wanted just like Kiki told her to do. To tell him how important he’d become to her, and that she didn’t want to lose him.
“We need a board meeting,” she said.
“Guys, can we get the room?” Decker said to the crew.
“Absolutely not,” Jack said, he and his crew moving in, boom mic and all.