“Okay, I had a strong idea you’d be a part of it with your successful show, but I wasn’t certain until the day Jack called and said that you’d signed on.”
“And you didn’t think to warn me?”
“Would it have changed your mind?” he asked.
“Yes. No. I don’t know. What I do know is that Opal would never willingly sign a contract to work with you. Ever.”
“She didn’t know,” he confirmed, and Poppy’s heart slowed a little. Opal was the queen of misleading antics, but she’d never put Poppy in this situation.
“Because she’d pull out if she knew you were a part of it, so you decided to wait until now to make your involvement known?”
Steve rubbed a hand over his jaw. “I didn’t hide the fact that my company was involved.”
“But did you make it difficult to discover thatyouwere?” she asked, and he blew out a guilty breath. “That’s what I thought. We’re done here.”
“Wait.” He reached out, resting his hand on hers, which was on the doorframe. The simple touch had her longing for things that were dangerous. It made her feel like that lost little girl who would have done anything to bring her daddy back. But she wasn’t lost or little anymore. She wasn’t living in a world of uncertainty.
She was a grown-ass woman who knew better than to waste time on a man whose MO was to run when things got hard.
“I have a lawyer to talk with about getting out of this contract.”
He looked panicked. “Don’t. Don’t miss out on this because of me. If you say you don’t want me on the set, I won’t come back. But if there is a possibility that you’d give me a chance to make amends, please let me know.”
“Make amends?” she spat. “What? Am I some kind of step in a program?” she asked, and his gaze skittered away from hers. “You can’t be serious? You disappear from my life for over two decades and now you’re back to make yourself feel better? Well, too bad. Now, get the hell off my set.”
The last thingPoppy needed was to hit rush hour traffic. But it was Los Angeles and rush hour traffic began at seven in the morning and ended at midnight. She was headed to see Opal, who was staying at a dear friend’s house until her house sold.
The more brake lights that flickered in front of her, the more pressure built in her chest until she knew there was about to be a collision in her soul. So she clutched her hands over her heart, to make sure it stayed in one piece until she made it to her safe space. She was in a daze by the time she pulled into the drive.
Even before she exited the car, the front door flew open and Opal came rushing out, her arms spread wide. She raced into her embrace and that’s when the first of the tears started falling.
“I saw him,” she whispered in a hiccup.
“I know. Kiki called me a half dozen times to see if you were okay,” Opal said, her hug magical enough to cure world hunger—but not bring her childhood back.
“Oh, Popsicle,” Opal said.
At the sound of her childhood nickname, Poppy looked upright as the first sob rolled through her chest and broke free. It was followed closely by another, and by the time the third one racked her body she was sitting on the porch swing safely in her aunt’s arms.
“I need Mom,” she begged, and Opal’s expression went soft with helplessness, the same way it had when Poppy was little and Opal had to explain that their family was a family of two now. Her mom was gone and never coming back. “I need her so much right now and she’s not here.”
Even though the last few years after her father left were a nightmare with her mom’s addiction, there had been memories—happy ones—that Poppy clung to. Memories of her mother being present, caring—a strong force in Poppy’s little world.
“I need her every second of every day to make sure I’m doing right by you,” Opal whispered, and Poppy held on tighter.
“I thought it would get easier. I thought that maybe someday she would simply be a distant memory. And then something like this happens and it reminds me all over again of just how hard those first few years were after Steve left.”
Years that were tainted by addiction, poverty, and neglect.
Opal cupped Poppy’s face. “I know you outgrew needing me a long time ago, but I’m going to say it anyway.”
“What?”
“Don’t let that son of a bitch ruin your chance.”
Poppy looked into her aunt’s eyes. “How do I do that without having to be reminded daily that he didn’t want me?”
“I know it feels like you missed out by not having him around. But he’s the one who missed out. And since I was here for every second of your growing up, I’m an expert on what he missed. And that makes me sad. For him.”
