She laughs, rolling off the bed. “You’ll thank me when he sees you in that dress.”
I pause, pulse fluttering. “He won’t care.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Mads.”
I groan. “Fine. Maybe he’ll care a little.”
ELEVEN
Jesse
“Higher, Uncle Jess!” Poppy squeals as I swoop her into the air, her curls catching the light from the kitchen window.
“Higher?” I grin. “You trying to get me in trouble with your dad?”
She giggles so hard she hiccups, legs kicking wildly, making it impossible not to smile with her.
It still blows my mind how fast she’s become the center of our family. She only came into Ford’s life this past summer, but already it feels like she’s been here forever. Landyn was the college girlfriend Ford could never get over—even though he tried to convince us otherwise. We were all surprised when she showed up in Deep Cove after so many years away, and even more surprised to learn that she and Ford had a 7-year-old daughter. I’m not going to pretend it wasn’t messy, but the two of them figured things out. Now they’re back together, Landyn is doing great work at Cove, and I can’t remember ever seeing my big brother this happy. And Poppy? She’s got me, Noah, and Wes completely wrapped around her tiny pinky finger.One smile from her and we’d all burn the world down if she asked.
“Careful with her,” Ford warns from behind me.
“She’s fine,” I say, pretending to look offended as I set her on my shoulders. “I would never let anything happen to my princess.”
Poppy leans down to whisper in my ear. “He worries too much.”
“Tell me about it,” I mutter, loud enough for Ford to hear.
Landyn laughs from behind the kitchen counter, where she’s loading dishes into the dishwasher. “Don’t encourage her, Jess. She already thinks she runs this house.”
“That’s because she does,” I reply, giving Poppy’s leg a gentle squeeze before I lift her over my head and lower her back to the floor. “All right, kiddo. Go see what Stella is up to. Make sure the dog isn’t eating one of my shoes.”
She takes off toward the back door with her usual tornado energy in search of the dog, and I drop into one of the barstools, stretching out my legs.
Ford pours me another two fingers of whiskey before topping off his own, the kind of unspoken ritual that says he has something he wants to talk about.
“So,” he finally says, with big brother concern in his stare. “You’re really going through with this?”
I swirl the whiskey in my glass. “If by ‘this,’ you mean helping a co-worker out by pretending to be her date for a weekend, then yeah. I’m going through with it.”
“Helping a co-worker,” Ford repeats flatly. “That’s one way to describe it.”
Landyn sighs softly. “Ford.”
He sets his glass down with a quiet clink. “You’re blurring lines, Jess. You’re her boss. You know exactly how this can look. I’m not going to pretend I’m okay with it.”
I take a slow sip before answering. “Whatever salaciousstory you’re imagining, it’s not that. Mads needs a plus one for some fancy gala her parents are making her go to, and I had the weekend free, so I offered to go. End of story.”
“Mads?” Ford asks, eyebrow raised. I shrug in response. “And you volunteered to do this out of the goodness of your heart?” he presses.
“Pretty much,” I say, half-smiling. “You should’ve heard the conversation, man. Her mom sounds brutal. Talk about a guilt trip. I actually feel sorry for the girl. She didn’t stand a chance at saying no.”
Landyn leans against the counter with a knowing grin on her face. “Sounds like someone’s playing knight in shining armor.”
I hold up my hands. “Just trying to make her life a little easier. I kind of thought you’d be proud of me for doing something so selfless. I’m practically Mother Theresa over here.”
Ford rolls his eyes in response. “Funny,” he says. “I remember you giving me the gears when Landyn and I went to that conference in Whistler.”
“That was different.”
