“The ocean?” Her tone is suspicious, like she doesn’t fully believe me.
“Yeah. There’s literally no beginning. No end.” I scoff. “You know only five percent of the ocean has ever been explored. Five percent. And there’s this trench, in the Pacific, off the coast of the Philippines, the Mariana Trench, and it’s deep. Deeper thanMount Everest is tall. Man will never be able to go down there to explore it. Who knows what the hell is living down there? Some people say the Megalodon shark was made extinct millions of years ago, but I think they’re still down there, and they’re just waiting, biding their time…”
“O… kay,” Poppy says, drawing the word out. And I snap my mouth shut when I realize I’ve just been rambling utter nonsense about the ocean for the last few minutes.
I look at her to find her eyeing me dubiously, like she’s wondering whether I might be certifiable. “So, you’re scared of the ocean, but youliveon the beach?”
I shrug a shoulder. “I like the sound of the waves at night.”
She says nothing, and I glance at her to find a small smile ghosting her lips as she looks at me from across the car. My brows tug together. “What?”
She shakes her head, smile still remaining. “Nothing.”
And neither of us says any more as we drive in a companionable silence the rest of the way, and I find myself smiling in a way I’ve not smiled in a long fucking time.
When we pull up to the valet outside the hotel, the red carpet is in full swing, hordes of people milling about, cameras flashing and lighting up the darkness. It’s utter chaos.
My gut churns. Man, I hate this. I didn’t used to. I used to live for this shit. I’d strut into these things like a goddamn wrecking ball and thrive off the attention, good or bad. But now, without the veil of liquor or drugs to dim the glare, this is hell on earth. My heart thunders almost painfully against my sternum, and I can’t quite catch a breath.
“Brookes?”
I startle from the feel of a hand on mine, and I snap back, my eyes widening when I see Poppy, as if I’d somehow forgotten shewas sitting right there. Blinking hard a few times, I force myself back to reality.
“Are you okay?” she asks gently.
I swallow hard, and with a nod, I unfasten my seatbelt, throwing her question back at her. “Areyouokay?”
“I’m a little nervous,” she admits with a sheepish smile. “I’ve never been to anything like this before.”
“We’ll just go in, shake a couple hands, I’ll say a few words…” I can’t help but grimace at the thought. “And then we can get the fuck out of here.”
“You’re being honored for a donation you made, right?”
I nod, my jaw ticking at the thought. “Yeah. It wassupposedto be an anonymous donation, but fuckingBlake...” Trailing off, I shake my head to myself. “So, now, here I am, the washed-up has-been junkie, donating a couple million bucks to a children’s charity in some sad attempt at cleaning up his image, or at least that’s the way the media will spin it. I can read it like a fucking book.”
“I’m sure nobody thinks that, Brookes.” Poppy tries to reassure me, but she has no idea, and all I can do is huff a humorless laugh at her cluelessness.
Poppy narrows her eyes then, looking in thought a moment. “Blake’s a dick, right?”
And then I laugh, genuinely this time. “Yeah, Pops. He sure is.”
When Poppy’s car door is suddenly yanked open, I notice the way she flinches at the inundation of loud, shouting voices, the bright glare of camera flashes, momentarily blinding.
“I’ve got it!” I yell, hopping out of the car quickly and jogging around the hood. I gently shove the attendant out of the way and lean into the open passenger door, meeting her fearful eyes. Holding my hand out, she looks down at it, and I see her shoulders sag with an exhale.
“Just follow my lead, okay?” I say under my breath.
With a tremulous exhale, Poppy nods once, forcing a smile asshe takes my proffered hand and allows me to help her out of the car. When she’s on her feet, I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her flush up against me, keeping her close as I lead the way down the red carpet.
“Brookes!”
“Brookes, over here!”
“Brookes, how are you doing?”
“Brookes, will you be at Oklahoma?”
“Brookes, what do you say in response to the comments made by Jackson Taylor?”
