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"What are you saying?" he asked instead. He could feel this was leading up to something.
"I'm saying that I want you to take the lead at the convention, William," Poppy concluded. "Wildflower Agency isn't backing out, but I'm stepping back from our own little competition. I think you're the best person to take charge. I can do better promoting and supporting the group from within. I think this arrangement is the best thing for everyone involved."
William's head spun. Despite Poppy's insistence that he take charge, she had arrived at her decision in record time…and she certainly hadn't run her decision by him.
His phone buzzed, indicating a text from their driver. The car was on its way. William pocketed his phone, thinking that he would hold off on relaying this information until he could convince Poppy to reconsider, but she was already forging ahead.
"… so anyway, now that that's settled, I was thinking we should go as a couple to the convention," she said. "I mean, not a couple-couple, but a famous literary couple. Tons of people will be cosplaying, and we can use the opportunity to illustrate the concept of our panel. You know what I mean. Anyway, I was thinking maybe Bella and Edward, at least for the first day?"
"God no." The refusal was out of his mouth before he could think how to steer their conversation back on track. Her suggestion evoked an image of himself, pale and glittering, dressed like an undead high schooler…such a vision must be nipped in the bud. "That couples' costume idea was beaten to death already ten years ago."
"Pun intended?" Poppy's mouth quirked, but he was on a roll and couldn't be distracted.
"Even taking the wearisome history into consideration, with the amount of Edwards and Bellas we're bound to see at the convention…we'd get lost in the crowd. We'd be totally unremarkable, when the theme of our panel is unconventional. And anyway, we look nothing like the characters."
"How about Jamie and Claire? Outlander?" she suggested.
William gave a disgusted snort. "At least Edward and Bella were subtextually abusive and unhealthy. Can you imagine the number of convention-goers to come up and ask us if we'd ever recreated that scene where…" He stopped. Poppy was gazing up at him, eyes shining, her voluptuous mouth even fuller than usual and unable to contain a smile of absolute amusement.
"You've read all these books," she said triumphantly. "You're a romance-lover. This convention was made for people like you."
"I…" There was no use denying it by this point. William didn't know what part of his reputation was still salvageable, but he decided to take a leaf out of Poppy's book and charge ahead. "You didn't trick me into admitting anything, Miss Hanniford. It's certainly not a secret to those who know me best."
"Romance-lover!" she said again gleefully. She rocked back with the force of her laugh, her shoulder brushing against his own. "No wonder you want their business so badly! Do you think they'll send you free books? Oh, I'd hate to be the one to take that hookup away from you…"
A fire flared in William. "You won't be taking any 'hookups' away from me," he promised. "In fact—"
When Poppy's lips closed momentarily over her smile, likely to say something else to try and get a rise out of him, William made his move. He caught her chin and swooped in, capturing her lips with his own. The kiss was firm, authoritative, deliberate. As sensual as it was silencing. He held it for longer than he had intended, enjoying her surprised intake of breath and denying her real release until he was satisfied. He withdrew slowly, enjoying the way her plump bottom lip tasted, and the way it fell back into place once he had finished his surprise sampling. Gorgeous green eyes gazed at him; for once, William couldn't read a single secret thought hidden in their depths. Poppy broadcasted everything she was thinking on her face in that moment.
He found the sight immensely satisfying.
"William…" Almost as satisfying as the way she breathed his name. "You should know I'm thinking about backing away from this contract. It's getting too complicated. Things between us…" She trailed off.
"Poppy. I don't want to end our competition," he whispered. He stroked her cheek, marveling at how her skin seemed to glow in the fading light from the sun. "And neither do you. Besides, it wouldn't be half as fun without you."
Poppy's lips parted. Maybe she meant to respond, or maybe she meant to follow-up some other way. William leaned in.
The pop of gravel beneath car tires pulled him back to the present. Poppy moved her head away to look, and William followed her gaze. The car was coming down the road to retrieve them. He mentally cursed the fact that he had texted them so soon to begin with. He rose, and offered his hand to Poppy, who didn't hesitate in letting him pull her to her feet. He gathered their equipment as she conversed with the driver. Probably to thank him, William thought. Poppy never let any small job or gesture go unnoticed.
"I meant what I said," she told William as he held the car door open for her. "I'd like the best person to win the job, William. And if today's… conversation… proved anything to me, it's that you're a good fit. I'm not beyond admitting when I'm defeated."
"We'll see," he allowed as he got in beside her. He had already decided privately that he wasn't going to let Poppy Hanniford slip out of this arrangement so easily. He wasn't going to accept any sort of victory that wasn't hard-won… and he definitely wasn't going to accept her easy exit from his life. Not now that he had tasted her lips. Not now that she had become so thoroughly entangled in his thoughts.
There was no way he was going to let her call the shots. He was going to have his way, and he was going to prove that his methods were the right way to win.
He would get what he wanted.
Chapter Six
Poppy
"I swear," Poppy said. "Isn't it weird for you sometimes? I mean, if you really sit back and allow yourself to think about it?"
"Think about what?" Across the table from her, William was busy pulling his tablet out of his briefcase. "I try to have a plan for every scenario, if you haven't noticed."
Poppy arched an eyebrow. "I've noticed," she returned coolly. The two of them were seated at a coffee shop a few blocks east from Wildflower Agency headquarters…and a few blocks west of Jameson headquarters. It felt almost Shakespearean: 'two lovers from rival clans sneak out to a hideaway between their strongholds'. Or something like that. Poppy hadn't exactly excelled in classic literature in school. She had always found the majority of it as dry and dusty as the history it hailed from.
No, what she loved most was romance: timeless, sweeping.
