His heart leapt at the genuine care in those green pools and he wanted to pull her into his arms and promise her that everything would be fine. But before he did that, he had to prove to her that everythingwasfine. That, in his hands, he’d make sure she’d always be fine.
Taking a brief moment to ask himself what he was doing, he stepped out, ready to get physical if the situation required. But before he could launch into attack mode a soft hand slid into his.
“Wait,” Poppy whispered. “I have to tell you something.”
“Now?”
“Yes, now,” she said with pleading eyes.
He could tell this was important. Not wanting to miss a chance to get to know her on a deeper level he squatted back down.
He squeezed her hand. “Go ahead.”
She licked her lips. “I wanted to clarify a few things. First off, you were the one who started the paint fight. I was just retaliating and following Jack’s direction. Second, there is no crush. Anything you sense coming from me is frustration because you always have to take things one step too far.”
“Some guy is in the workshop, and you want to talk about this now?” he asked.
“You said we can have a board meeting and we’re having one.”
“Fine. Then I want to clarify a few things. Are we talking about when you nearly kissed me the other night or today?”
Her mouth fell open. “I didn’t go in for the kiss. You did.”
“I was there too, Angel. And so were the cameras. Want me to replay the tape?”
She gasped and clutched a hand to her chest. “You wouldn’t…”
He lifted a brow. “Wouldn’t I?”
The truth was, he wouldn’t. While he liked to be right almost as much as he liked to see her do her little storm-cloud impression, he wasn’t the kind of asshole to shove it in her face and embarrass her.
He knew what it was like to have something thrown in your face, he’d never do that to her. Even if it was to prove a point. That didn’t mean he was going to let her off that easy.
“Just tell me why you were avoiding me today and I’ll drop it.”
“Because you made me look like an idiot,” she said, and her words slammed into him like a hammer on a nail. That was the last thing he’d expected her to say.
“I don’t understand.”
“We were having a moment. Or so you let me think. But you knew the cameras were there the whole time.” She said it so quietly he barely heard her.
That she thought he’d actually play her like that broke his heart. It also meant that he had a long way to go in gaining her trust. He wasn’t sure who broke her ability to put faith in other people but he wanted to punch the guy.
“We were having a moment. I was in it as much as you were. I forgot where we were until I saw Jack out of the corner of my eye, and I stopped because I remembered how upset you were last week when they caught us in my workshop. I didn’t want you to get hurt like that again, so I played it off like we were just fooling around.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Thank you for being honest. As for me avoiding you, I’m sorry. Part of it was because of that but there’s another reason.”
Decker knew he wasn’t going to like the other reason. He could tell by the uncomfortable way she held her body.
“Moments like that can’t happen again. There’s clearly chemistry between us, but this project is too important to complicate over chemistry. I need to be focused on the goal and that’s my aunt’s house. Plus, I want to prove to people that I can handle this reno myself and I don’t need a big man to save me. See why I can’t afford any distractions?”
Being whittled down to something as insignificant as a mere distraction hurt. What he felt for Poppy went far deeper than just chemistry. He wasn’t sure what it was yet, but it was something he was desperate to explore.
He was about to explain that to her when she held up a silencing finger. “You hear that?”
