Jules shakes her head in protest, but for the most part I’ve managed to silence the masses once again.
Kali looks right at me with that this-is-the-no-bullshit-zone look on her face. “Is this true?”
“Yup. I went out to see her this Christmas.”
Mom gasps and points over to me with a stabbing finger. “You swore you had a business meeting in New York you couldn’t get out of.”
“You did.” Conner shoots a suspicious look from Poppy to me. Conner may be aware of my schedule, but he doesn’t have a GPS tagged to my briefcase.
Yes, I did, but that’s beside the point. Poppy didn’t show up for Christmas, so that creates the possibility.
“I knew if I said Los Angeles you’d put the pieces together.”
My mother shakes her head as if there wasn’t the slightest chance she could have, and judging by that shocked as hell look on both their faces, I can tell we’re off to a damn great start.
“Oh dear. Is this really happening?” Char clutches onto poor Frasier as if everyone in the room is suffering a mass hallucination.
“It’s happening,” Poppy assures. “In fact, the reason we’ve decided to spring it on you so quickly is because, well, we’ve sort of been moving quickly ourselves.” She straightens. “Not like that, Dad.” The room breaks out into a nervous chuckle, with her sister being the loudest and Conner being the quietest. I don’t know what Mack finds so funny, considering this was her bright idea. I make a mental note to send her a thank you somewhere down the road.
“What she’s trying to say is”—I wrap my arm around Poppy’s tiny waist and pull her in close—“we’re madly, deeply, crazy in love.” I gaze into those lily pads she calls eyes, those deep unknowable wells you could dive into. “We don’t want to keep our feelings a secret anymore.” I kiss the back of her hand and pull her in tight until her soft tits rest over my chest. “And try as any of you might, there’s not a thing that can ever keep us apart again.”
“Oh my God!” Char sways in her seat, and I almost feel sorry for her. Heck, I almost feel sorry for my own mother who seems to be equally struggling to hold it together.
Frasier clears his throat, his face still rife with suspicion. “When exactly did the two of you reconnect?”
“I’d like to know that myself.” Jules offers me a hard look that says my ass is grass once we’re alone. I’ve never kept much from Jules. Kali was just a kid when Poppy and I went our separate ways, but Jules was someone I could talk to and I did. She knows just about everything. Just about.
“I’m in line myself.” Conner offers a smug look my way that says despite the evidence he’s in control of this haunted hayride. He gives a hard look to my arms positioned around her waist. “And, dude, get your hands the hell off my sister.”
Char swats him over the shoulder. “Oh, hush, you. They’re a couple now. Couples hold one another in public. Get over it. Your sister is inlove.” Her entire face lights up like a Christmas tree. “They’relovers!”
“They’re lovers!” Mom cries—and holy shit, the entire rest of the table looks as if they’re about to be sick.
Poppy picks up a knife and taps it over her glass, calling the room to order. “We’re not moving that fast,” she trills. “This is still something pretty new.” Her face darkens a severe shade of crimson. Poppy has always blushed at the drop of a hat. When we were kids, I used to say the first embarrassing thing to enter my mind just to watch her cheeks do their best impression of a pomegranate.
“But we are moving quickly.” I wrap both my arms around her tight.
Poppy looks up with those long lashes, that hot as fuck mouth, and all I want to do is run her up to the nearest bed and have my way with her. Poppy has always been the unattainable girl in a world where a plethora of girls offered themselves to me as a carnal sacrifice—usually in exchange for cash and prizes. I learned early that my bank account was just as great a lure to my mattress as any of my features.
“Very quickly.” She lets out a frenetic laugh, and dinner is officially over as Mom and Charlene clear the table and land a chocolate cake the size of a small car before us.
“It’s better than sex cake!” Mom yodels. Words and sounds you never hope to hear from your mother. “Of course, we made it for dessert, but it’s perfect to honor the occasion!”
Kali and Jules help dole it out while Mack pulls Poppy to the side for a minute. Most likely to congratulate her on a well-done performance.
Conner comes in red-faced and angry. “What the fuck, dude?” Those daggers in his eyes promise to stab the balls right off my body first chance they get.
“Whoa.” I nod as we step off to the side. “Watch your mouth. There are ladies present.” Okay, so I might be holding in a laugh, but only because I know how much this is killing him right now. A part of me knows I should put him out of his misery, but I’m rather enjoying that pained look on his face.
His shoulder butts into mine as he sets his angry face before me. Conner has Poppy’s eyes, and there have been times where just looking at him hurt. “One of those ladies is my little sister. Dude, have you lost your mind? I see what you do with those girls you pick up at the bar—it’s not pretty. And it’s not happening to my baby sister.”
“Look, loosen up. I’m not doing those things with her.” There. At least now he can catch his breath and maybe sleep at night. The dude is about to stroke out. “We’re taking it slow. Just seeing where things might lead.”
“They lead nowhere.” Conner jabs his finger hard into my chest, leaving a sting that radiates from his furtive stab. “Knock this shit off. I’ll have six girls sent to your office come Monday. Just lay the hell off my sister.”
“What’s this?” Poppy pokes her head between us. “He’s not laying the hell off me, Conner. He’s my personal boy toy.” Poppy cups my cheeks with her palms, and I twist into her. Holy hell, she is about to get us both killed. “Jax Stade doesn’t need six women sent to his office.” There’s something just this side of a dare in her eyes, and instinctively my balls warn me to be very,veryafraid. We might be playing our mothers, taking her psychotic brother along for the ride, but something in that glib expression of hers says the joke might just be on yours truly. “The only woman Jax will ever need isme.” Her eyes linger on mine, and I’m mesmerized by how convincing she is. She’s right, of course. I’m just not sure she’s aware of it.
“A toast!” Charlene cries while holding up a slice of her sinful chocolate cake.
