“Sweet!” he exclaimed. “Shotgun.”
AJ’s fingertips tensed on Poppy’s lower back as he practically growled through gritted teeth, “You can follow us.”
“Bro, I was kidding.” Niko chuckled.
“I wasn’t,” AJ stated in monotone.
Niko lifted his hands in mock surrender. “Fine, I’ll follow the leader.”
AJ helped Poppy into the SUV, and she punched in the address as soon as he started the engine.
On the short drive, she turned to him, “Are you two always like that?”
He glanced over at her. “Like what?”
“Never mind.” Her lips curled at the edges.
She didn’t know if he truly wasn’t aware of their dynamic or if he didn’t want to address it. Either way, she let it go.
When they pulled up, Lauren was waiting for them outside on the porch. She handed Poppy the keys, with a bottle of champagne, and, of course, asked what had happened to her head. She was impressed the injury took place two days earlier and the entire town didn’t know about it.
Lauren had to run, she was filming in Copper Cove, which was, coincidentally, where Michael Davies lived and raised his family. Once she was gone, Poppy tried to open the door, but when she tried to put the key in the lock, she was trembling. Niko was talking about the siding, windows, and roof, but AJ must have noticed. He placed his hand on her lower back and leaned down close to her ear and quietly told her, “Breathe.”
She took a deep breath in and then exhaled and was able to open the door. When she walked in, unfortunately the nerves she had felt on the porch only magnified. She looked around and was hit by the—“Holy shit, what have I done!?”—–Mack truck. Poppy walked through the house, seeing it through a totally different lens now that she might be bringing a baby home to it. What had been a fixer-upper now looked like a dilapidated death trap.
Niko was clearly not reading the room. He looked like a kid in a candy store, walking through each space, talking about everything that needed to be done. New flooring, appliances, removing walls, gutting bathrooms, extensions, a new back deck, vaulted ceilings, and all the things she didn’t have money to do.
Poppy was barely holding it together as she stared at her kitchen filled with Formica counters and cabinets that were falling apart. Literally they were hanging off the wall. The world started to go dark, her stomach was turning, and her head was feeling light. She was either going to cry, throw up, hyperventilate, or pass out. Maybe all four. The entire room began to spin.
“Sit down.” AJ’s voice sounded far away.
She could barely feel her legs as she lowered down with her back up against the wall. She pulled her knees to her chest and hugged them. AJ squatted in front of her. “You’re good. You’re okay. Just breathe.”
“This place is great. It has good bones. And—” Niko came around the corner and stopped talking when he saw the scene in front of him. “Is she okay? Do I need to call an ambulance?”
Poppy started shaking her head no as more panic built in her. Then she lowered her head, resting her forehead on her knees because it started pounding.
“We’re good. She’s good.” AJ’s voice was calm and assertive.
“Do you need anything?” Niko asked. “Does she need anything?”
“No. We’re good.”
“Okay. Call me if you do.”
Poppy was vaguely aware of Niko leaving. She heard the front door close, and the screen slam shut.
“It’s just us now.” AJ’s hands cupped her face, tilting it up so she had to look in his eyes. “Is this about the house?”
Tears began to fill her eyes. She knew it was more than just the house, but right at that moment, it was about the house. She nodded.
“Okay. Okay. I’m going to say something to you, but I’m only going to say it because I know that in this case, I can guarantee it. Okay?”
She nodded.
“It will be okay. I will make sure it is okay. Breathe.” AJ stood. “Stay there. Don’t move.”
As she sat there, breathing, he walked around the entire house, making notes in his phone and taking digital measurements. He flipped on lights, turned on water, checked the HVAC, and even went up into the attic.
