She nodded as she turned down the street to Poppy’spenthouse. The traffic was bad, so I would probably have to get out and walk the rest of the way. “Yeah, all the moms have been talking about it. But it seems he’s set his sights on your Poppy.”
I didn’t bother with saying anything. Instead, I got out of the car, slamming the door a little too hard and power walked all the way to the fucking penthouse. Did Poppy know he was looking for a wife? Did it even fucking matter?
I scrubbed my hands down my face. Horns blasted around me as cars got impatient, and I wanted nothing more than to throw myself into the traffic that was finally beginning to move. I was coming apart at the seams.
He’d sent me on my way. Did that mean he was with her now? Was he kissing her? Touching her? Was she letting him? Based on the way she reacted as he spoke, I doubted all of the above, but my mind played it all on a loop anyway.
My tight fists shook as I yanked the door open before the doorman could get it. He greeted me, but I didn’t hear it as I punched the button to the private elevator. All I could hear was the blood rushing in my ears. When the elevator doors pinged open and I found Poppy curled up on the couch watching a movie, I felt everything rush back as if I was being snapped with a rubber band. Her makeup was scrubbed off, and her eyes looked slightly puffy. She held a full carton of ice cream, though she hadn’t eaten any of it, and she didn’t look like she was going to start. This was not how I expected to find her after a date. Especially not after everything Audrey just said about him looking for a wife andbeing so hot. Many girls overlooked flaws because of the way men looked. Hell, we men did the same.
“Where were you?” She asked quietly as I stood in the foyer and stared at her.
“Donovan told me I could leave with my date. Audrey, unfortunately, loves to drive like she’s ninety-two instead of almost thirty. So we, of course, got stuck in all of the traffic, and she wouldn’t bully her way through the asshole taxis.”
She nodded and looked down at her untouched ice cream. “Did you have a good time?”
“Yes,”No!“Audrey is good company. She kept me distracted, which is what I needed.”
She nodded woodenly and stared down at the cold dessert between her crossed legs. “I’m glad one of us did.”
Somehow, I made it across the room and sat beside her. “Do you want to talk about it?”
She shook her head. “No. We just misunderstood each other, that’s all. Maybe on Tuesday things will be easier. We aren’t going to dinner.” She glanced at her phone. “A picnic in the park. That’ll be easier.” Her voice didn’t sound convinced.
My stomach turned. “Why go on a second date if it was that bad the first time?”
She didn’t answer, and the silence said enough.
Because he was looking for a wife.
And she was considering it.
The realization hit like a punch. My heart thudded so loud it hurt. I rubbed my temples, trying to hold mythoughts still, but one ugly suspicion clawed its way forward.
“Wait,” I said slowly, the words sharp on my tongue. “You’re engaged to him, aren’t you?”
She froze. She didn’t look at me, but she didn’t deny it either.
That was all it took.
I stood abruptly and walked out, every nerve in my body screaming. I couldn’t breathe in that room with her. Couldn’t sit beside her pretending she wasn’t already halfway gone.
In my room, the air felt wrong.
I tore at my clothes, dragging them over my head and throwing them into a heap on the floor. My thoughts raced faster than my pulse—images of her hand in his, her laughter, a ring on her finger that I hadn’t put there.
The shower hissed to life. I turned the heat all the way up until the steam blurred everything into white noise.
I braced my palms against the tile and bowed my head.
I wanted to go back out there.
I wanted to demand answers.
I wanted to drag her against me and kiss her until she forgot his name.
I wanted to have the opportunity to learn her, want her, and earn her.
But all I could do was stand there, scalding water running over me, trying to drown the sound of my own heartbeat.
