At the threat, Taters leapt over Poppy, cleared the mattress, and landed on the floor in one fluid movement. Then he nuzzled his nose between the opening of the pillow fort and let out a yawn. Withing seconds he was snoring.
“Pretty useful. Now your feet won’t fall asleep.”
“But now there’s no wall.” And she needed that wall for what she was about to say. She felt too exposed otherwise. Then again, wasn’t that what this was all about, exposing her vulnerable side?
“I wanted to say thank you for tonight,” Poppy began. “I know I can be stubborn and difficult, but instead of pushing me you held my hand through it. No one has done that except Opal.” Her voice wobbled on the last word.
“Funny, because I also wanted to say thank you.”
“For what?”
“Letting me be a part of your team. It’s been a while since I’ve felt needed or even wanted. Ever since my injury I’ve just been floating around, and I can’t seem to get anything right. Not with my work or my brother. But with you, tonight, I felt like I got it right.”
No longer able to keep her distance, she reached out and took his hand. “You got it more than right. You got it perfect.”
“Perfect? Are you sure you aren’t thinking of some other guy?”
“Maybe a few weeks ago, but not now. Which brings me to the next thing I wanted to say. I wanted to apologize for misjudging you.”
“You already have,” he assured her.
“Not for the tape, but for thinking you were just some playboy with zero depth.”
The bed dipped as he shrugged a shoulder. “It’s no biggie, I’m used to it by now.”
“Well, you shouldn’t be. No one should be judged,” she said vehemently.
He was quiet so long she thought the conversation was over. Then his voice was hushed when he said, “Thank you for that.”
Was it possible no one had ever said that to him before? The vulnerability in his tone suggested as much and that broke her heart. And that brought on a wave of guilt. He’d shoved down all these feelings of being a victim because no one had ever validated them before.
“After my dad had his stroke, my brother had to take over the company. He blames me for going off to the NHL and living out my dream.”
“No onehasto do anything. Everything’s a choice.”
“Well, I chose to walk away from my family when they needed me most.”
“To go live out your dream that you’d worked a lifetime to achieve. Everyone’s entitled to their dream. No one has to take over their parents’ company. Like I said, it’s a choice. Why aren’t you allowed to have your dream?”
“The last person who said that to me was my dad.”
“How old were you when he had his stroke?”
“I was eighteen. In the middle of the draft for the NHL. He didn’t get to see my first game.”
Poppy folded her hands under her cheek and turned all the way on her side to face him. “It’s hard when we reach milestones and our family’s not with us. How did he feel about your hockey dream?”
Decker ran a finger along her jawline. “It wasn’t my dad’s dream for me to build a company; he wanted me to play hockey. It wasn’t Brian’s dream, either, but because he was a few years older he stepped up, and all that responsibility fell to him.”
“That’s on him. Not you.”
“Brian’s a master at deflecting and putting the blame on other people.”
She laid her hand over his and stared into his eyes so he could see the truth there. “Once again, that’s his choice.”
“And what do you choose, Angel?”
“Choose?”
