“Poppy, it’s not like that.” It sort of was, but that was between me and Van.
“You’re pregnant and married to him.”
I rolled my eyes and tried to play it cool. My situation with Van was private, and I hadn’t figured it out yet. “You know what the deal was.”
The young server appeared at our side, fighting with her notepad and biting her lip.
Poppy grinned, her eyes bright. “Peyton! Why didn’t I know you worked here?”
“Hey, Coach,” the girl mumbled. “I won’t miss practice.”
Poppy scoffed. “Don’t worry about me. If you gotta balance practice with a paycheck, that’s what you gotta do. We’ll work around what we have to. My sister Clover will tell you how reasonable I am.”
“She’s really not,” I said. “She’ll come work your shift so you can get to practice.”
The girl smiled shyly and took our order.
Poppy let out a contented sigh. A sound I loved to hear. One I longed to make, but my slightly unpredictable future put a stop to it.
She tapped her fingers on the tabletop. “How’s it really going? I worried when I got that message from Van.”
I frowned. “What message?”
“Oh crap. I wonder if I wasn’t supposed to say anything. He said that we should get together soon.”
He told her that? Did he say I was missing her? “Anything else?”
“I asked if something was wrong, but he said he didn’t think so. That was it. He doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to spill your business.”
“No,” I said softly. “He’s really not. I’m trying to talk him into coming for Thanksgiving. We’ll have to be moved out that weekend, but I’d like one big gathering where I can pretend everything’s normal.”
Understanding filled her eyes. “You want to pretend like it’s going to keep going.”
She didn’t ask it as a question. “No. I want him to be a part of a big, supportive, healthy family.”
“And fall so in love with it that he has to admit he’s in love with you.”
A mental yes popped up before I could stop it. “Poppy.”
This was why I didn’t want her, or anyone, to know about me and Van. My plans and his hadn’t changed. Only what we were doing together in the meantime.
She didn’t laugh like she was toying with me. She only tipped her head and studied my reaction. “Clover, do you like him?”
“I told you I did.”
“No, do you like him like him?”
My cheeks heated, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.
She gasped, and several people around us turned to see why. I tried to shrink in my seat. Glancing back and forth, she leaned over the table. “Clover Jean Duke. You and your husband are canoodling.”
“We are not.” I might not want my private life public, but I hated lying. If I didn’t, she’d be planning my next wedding, a real one, with Van. She didn’t understand that Van didn’t need someone like me derailing his plans. “We’re not having sex,” I whispered.
“What are you doing, then?” She cocked a brow, then nodded. “Thought so.”
“How?” My incredulous shout caused more people to gawk at us. I ignored them.
“I know we haven’t talked much, but didn’t you take a trip with him?”
