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“Yeah, that’ll totally make him look like a fool,” Poppy noted with no small amount of sarcasm.
“It’s one thing to be out at Wyatt’s farm in a cowboy getup. It’s another thing entirely to be at town hall with the whole town, learning how to line dance.”
“I bet he’s good at it,” Presley said on a laugh.
I shoved her. “Ugh, whose side are you on?”
“I’m not sure I know anymore.”
I made to shove her again, but she dodged me. So I stuck my tongue out at her like a goddamn adult.
“I’m just saying,” Presley continued. “You could sleep with Big Dick, take all that hate out on each other before he leaves town and leaves you empty handed.”
“And empty vagina’d,” Daisy noted, but when our laughter died down, she sobered. “I heard the Patersons signed their rights over to him.”
“Goddammit,” Poppy snapped. “You cannot get in bed with the enemy, Jo.”
“What’s the harm? Mama is the final say, first of all. And I’m not gonna sign his contract regardless of the size of his dick. I can’t believe out of the three of us, you think it’s me who would cave.”
“Right. Ironclad. The one talking about sleeping with him would never be the one to cave.” Poppy glared at me, her cheeks flushed pink. “There’s no danger here at all. Silly me.”
“Poppy—”
“Don’t you Poppy me, Iris Jo. I don’t think you realize the stakes of the game you’re playing with him. I should tell Mama. She’ll talk sense into you.”
“Don’t you dare.” I pointed my shears at her.
“You’re not the boss of me. I’ll tell her if I want.” She pointed her shears right back at me.
“Oh, stop that,” Daisy said, snatching Poppy’s shears. When I stuck my tongue out again, she reached over the bush and snatched mine too.
“Hey,” I whined.
Presley just laughed.
“Some help you are,” I noted.
She shrugged.
“Poppy,” Daisy started, pointing both shears at us, respectively, “this is barely any of your business. Jo is the only one of us who never got involved with anybody—she knows exactly how to keep things casual. Don’t you think you ought to leave her alone?”
“No.”
Daisy rolled her eyes. “Fine, but do you really think if she’s gonna fall for somebody, it’s going to be that guy?”
She sighed. “No, probably not.”
“Exactly. So let her do what she wants with him. Honestly, we all oughta be more worried for him.”
“I just really want to see him in these mythical pants,” Presley said with a certain kind of look on her face.
“It’s a special sort of magic,” I said, shaking my head. “Once you see it, the world will never be the same. So you should take one last long look at Sebastian and pray you’re not ruined.”
Presley patted my shoulder. “I think I’ll be okay.”
Which was fair enough. Her boyfriend was the most eligible bachelor in town, until she locked him down. If we hadn’t sworn never to date anybody, he’d have been on the top of my list for at least ten years.
“Are you gonna see him before the dance today?” Presley asked.
“He has a bunch of meetings, and Mitchell keeps asking him to dinner.”
“Red flag,” Poppy said.
I laid a look on her. “Cut it out.”
“I don’t know that I can.” Her nose was in the air.
“I’m not going to sleep with him,” I said, done poking the Poppy-bear.
Three reactions happened at once—triumph on Poppy, pouting on Daisy, and disbelief on Presley’s.
“Well, why not?” Daisy asked.
I frowned at her. “And why are you so anxious to get me laid?”
“Because of the three of us, you need it worst.”
Poppy cackled like a witch, and I reached for Daisy across the bush, but she evaded me.
“You asked.”
“But seriously, why not?” Presley asked. “Now I want to know.”
“In a perfect world where things were simple, I’d ride his face like a drugstore pony. But we don’t live in that world. I don’t hate him anymore, I don’t think—I mean, so long as he stays like this, at least. Maybe I never did. Maybe this was him all along.” I shook my head to clear it. “But sleep with him? That has to be the worst idea in the history of anything. Especially knowing he wants something we have.”
“I mean, is it the worst idea?” Presley said.
“It is. Probably.”
“Well,” Daisy started, picking up her basket, “I think you shouldn’t overthink it.”
We followed suit and headed back toward the truck.
“I think you should overthink the hell out of it,” Poppy noted.
We know, Daisy and I said in unison.
Poppy rolled her eyes. We could have made an Olympic sport out of the expression.
“Don’t say anything,” Presley started, “but Renee canceled her last order with me because she’s closing down.”
Poppy skidded to a stop. “Oh no. Not Renee.”
Presley nodded, her face sad. “We’re just not getting enough traffic to town to support the shop anymore.”
