“Once I climbed the water tank to repel down and—” She immediately zipped her lips because this was the worst “wild story” ever.
“And.” He smiled. “Go on.”
“That’s it.”
“No, it’s not. I can tell by the way you’re fiddling with the hair band on your wrist you’re lying.”
She looked down and sure enough she was fiddling— totally her tell. But how did he know?
“Only, I didn’t really repel down. I got to the top and realized I was afraid of heights. Like deathly afraid of heights. Elevators make me sweat. Even worse, it was on a date with Bobby Mitchell, and I was trying to impress him. He left with Francie ‘Full Cs’ Franklin.”
“Well, Bobby Mitchell must be an idiot because you’re pretty impressive.”
“You’re just saying that to charm your way into my pants. Won’t work.”
“For that to happen I’d have to get past your hundred-and-eighty-pound security guard.”
“He’s your dog.” As she said it, Taters lifted his bowling ball–sized head and licked her face from chin to forehead.
“Tell me another thing about you that no one knows,” Decker said.
Immediately came the image of her mom passed out on the couch with blood running down her arm. When Poppy woke her up, her mom couldn’t remember what happened. Turned out she’d driven the car through the garage door. She’d never told anyone that story because she didn’t want people to pity her. And she wasn’t going to start now.
“You’re the onion. You tell me something,” she said.
He sat up and leaned back against the headboard, those arms once again crossed behind his head, guns flexing. “What do you want to know?”
“Tell me something that I can’t google.”
“My right knee hurts when it rains.”
She gave a foul-buzzer sound. “Go deeper.”
He looked at her as if he were about to give some bullshit answer, but then he surprised her.
“You wanted to know why I need to do this? My relationship with my brother has been strained ever since my dad had a stroke, because I got to go live my NHL dream and he had to give up college to run the family business. I’m trying to bridge that gap and make things better.”
“I’m betting the sex tape didn’t help.”
He groaned and looked up at the ceiling. “You know I didn’t set out to make a sex tape, right?”
“You looked pretty into it to me.”
“You’re used to being under scrutiny with your show. Have you ever had a moment that was meant to be private that made it on air and was critiqued by millions?”
“Haven’t we all?”
In the beginning of her career she used to get so upset when she’d do a great show and viewers would critique her hair or a look she gave. Or when a reporter did what was supposed to be a puff piece on the show, and the article ended up being about Poppy and her dad’s estranged relationship.
Over the years she grew thick skin, but every once in a while, someone said something or pointed to something that cut deep.
“Yes, and I hate it. Even worse, I hate that I hate it. I shouldn’t let it bother me, but it does.”
“Well, imagine having a video taken showing every part of you and having it released without your permission. Even worse, it was a deep, private moment between you andsomeone you cared about. On top of that, having it be the ‘clip of the week’ on every station. All while you’re naked.”
“Then why didn’t you defend yourself?”
“Because I just wanted it to disappear. And I didn’t want to make it harder on Holly.”
