“Screw the cameras.”
“Can we not mention cameras? It’s like breaking the fourth wall,” Jack scolded.
Decker stood and pulled Poppy to a stand. Then he leaned across the table and gave her the most precious kiss. It was a promise and expression of love all in one.
“I knew it!” Opal said, clapping. “I knew you two were soulmates.”
At her aunt’s words that flag started flapping back and forth in warning. All the gut feelings that she’d ignored came rushing back in rapid waves.
All the pieces fell into place. This was a setup. A complete setup. The painting of each other’s bodies, the photo shoot, and now this romantic dinner for two.
Poppy looked at the table and for the first time she realized what the spread of food was—all aphrodisiacs. It was her aunt’s trademark spread for her celebrity clients.
Poppy thought about Decker and how he’d been used because of his celebrity status, and her aunt had gone and done the same thing. He was going to be devastated if he found out. But she didn’t want to make assumptions; her world had been torn apart from assumptions. She needed to go to the source and ask before passing judgment.
She placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. “Can you give me a second?”
“Is everything okay?”
“I just need to ask my aunt something.”
“Right now?”
“Yes. I’m sorry.”
She narrowed her eyes at Opal, who was now hiding behind one of the umbrellas on the pool deck. Poppy marched over and the closer she got the more her instincts were telling her that this whole reno smelled of deceit. And if that were true, her heart would be broken—because if there was one person she could count on to be honest it was Opal.
Poppy snatched her by the wrist and dragged her to a quiet place. “I need you to be honest with me. This isn’t a renovation show, is it?”
“In a way.”
“Explain what way.”
Opal had the decency to look embarrassed. “The show is actually calledRomance Renovation.”
“Auntie, how could you deceive me like this?”
“I did it for you. I knew he was your perfect match.”
“But you interfered even though you knew I’d hate it.”
“It was more than just that,” Opal said, as if she were going to come clean with everything. “This is my last match and the only way the producers would do it was if I got a celebrity, like Decker. But I just knew he was your perfect match.”
“Just like I knew in my gut that this was a setup. I didn’t want to accuse you until I was certain.”
“Look at it this way,” Jack said from behind the camera that was zeroed in on the two Hart women. “You got your own show, and you just reached a million viewers on YouTube. It’s a win-win.”
“A win-win, huh?” Decker said, and Poppy turned to find him standing a few feet away, his face contorted with anger and pain.
“Decker, let me explain.”
“Oh, I think I heard enough. Your family needed a celebrity, and I was the sucker. Was it all fake?”
“For me?” she said, taking a step toward him. He backed away. “It was all real.”
“How long did you know?” he asked.
“I had a feeling that first night we kissed, and Jack and the crew showed up.”
