AllFreeNovel
Share Us
You know, something likeI had sex with Jax Cartwrightstamped in neon letters on my forehead. But for once in her entire life, Greer didn’t push, and she simply smiled.
“Well, that’s okay too. Sometimes we need nights like that.”
I nodded. “Sometimes we do.”
She glanced at the watch on her wrist. “Parker and Beckett’s game is starting soon.”
“Playing on the East Coast?” I asked.
She nodded. “New York. Cameron and Ivy decided to fly out for that one,” she said.
Cameron and his girlfriend had been traveling a bit more since she moved in with him, and it was good to see my brother—who normally sacrificed so much of himself to take care of the rest of us, especially before our dad died—do some fun things for himself. Also … it meant he wasn’t anywhere close for Jax to accidentally let something slip.
Like,oh FYI, I got your sister off three times last night. Hope that’s all right.
“I’m going to go change,” I told her. “But I’ll watch it with you.”
With her attention diverted, I breathed a small sigh of relief, escaping upstairs to slip into comfy pants and a Voyagers sweatshirt. Before I left my bedroom—the same one I’d lived in my entire life—I couldn’t help but notice how young I looked in the mirror above my dresser.
Leaning forward, I brushed a fingertip along the edge of my jaw, looking for any marks that Jax might have left, but only the slightest abrasion marks had my stomach curling pleasantly.
Despite how much last night shifted things, I was still me. That wouldn’t change. Everything else in my life seemed to be changing at a head-spinning rate. My siblings were gettingsettled and falling in love, finding that thing that had always seemed so elusive to me.
Within the past four months, we buried our father, and that hole wasn’t any easier to fill now than it was on the day he died.
Our company was growing and expanding, offering opportunities I was excited about.
And here I was, still mooning over the same man, staring at my reflection in the same mirror with the chip in the corner from a particularly epic fight between Parker and me when I was in fourth grade. I ran my finger over the chip and took a deep breath, meeting my own eyes in the glass.
“Okay now, Poppy, your one night is over, and it’s time to move on.” I nodded firmly and walked out of the room, feeling lighter than I had in years.
Chapter 8
Poppy
One week later
“No, I can’t wait too much longer for those fabric choices,” I told my rep. “We need to make our decisions on the summer throw pillows by next week, and you’ve already pushed us back twice.”
“I’m trying, Poppy,” she told me. “There was some shortage of the blue thread, and they had to pivot to a new distributor. I should have them to you by the end of the day. Tomorrow morning at the latest.”
With the phone wedged between my shoulder and my cheek, I waved at my brother Ian when he slipped through the door of the shop.
“Great, thank you. Once I have those in hand, I’ll email you as soon as we decide. Shouldn’t take long.” Pen in hand, I filled in the empty space next toCall on Pillow Designswith a neat little X.
Ian hooked a chair from the corner and, after sitting, plopped his big booted feet on the surface of my desk. I gave him an annoyed look, and he dropped his work boots down with his hands raised. “Looks like a ghost town in here.”
I blew out a slow breath and sank into my seat. “I know. Ivy said she’s sending a couple of guys over soon to take the rest of this.”
The office where I spent most of my time was empty except for the desk and two chairs, boxes stacked neatly in the corner for my move to the new shipping warehouse across town where our new home decor business had set up shop while Cameron and his crew worked on the physical location that would be opening in the summer.
I always kept my office tidy, but it was strange to see it stripped bare.
A stack of papers and my to-do list for the day were on my desk. Now that I’d finished my calls and paid outstanding invoices to our subcontractors for plumbing and electric on the last job, I glanced at what came next.
-pick up Larry from the vet at three
“You unpacking at the new office today?” he asked.
