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“There’s no denying I’m very brave. People often claim I’m their hero.”
“But not all people,” I say and lean in closer. “The haters probably just talk shit.”
“You have no idea.”
Before we enter her house and I see where West grew up, a large man runs around the side and arrives at the porch.
“Is this your other son?” I ask Poppy. “He’s so handsome.”
West grunts while Val smiles wider. Poppy nods approvingly.
“I have such beautiful children. You’ll understand better once you meet Emmett. We had no choice but to make gorgeous humans.”
“Wow,” I say, smiling at Val. “You’re ninety-five percent as sexy as West, who is smoking hot. You should be very proud.”
“Ha!” West says and shoves his finger in his brother’s face.
They start shoving each other while I smile at Poppy. “West says you have cats. I plan to adopt one when I have room.”
“You live in Rie’s old cramped duplex. She couldn’t figure out how to stick a litter box in there, either.”
“You can have one when we get our place,” West offers while holding Val in a headlock.
“I don’t know if you’ll want to marry me once you find out I can only cook hot dogs, mac and cheese, and sandwiches.”
“No worries,” Poppy says immediately. “I didn’t know how to cook much before I got married. My sister and mom handled it. I was okay with them doing all the work. But suddenly, I had a big strong biker to feed, so I learned lots of nifty stuff. Right, sons?”
West stops trying to rip off his brother’s head and smiles at his mom. “You’re a great cook, Ma. Second best in the family.”
“Who’s the first?” I ask.
“My sister,” Poppy replies. “They say the best chefs are men, and Journey is very masculine.”
Despite the Toomey motto—never talk shit about family—I smile at her insult. The Mercers clearly do things differently.
As much as I don’t want to be mocked, I can learn to flow with their tide. Poppy and I are both faking smiles and putting on a show. Who knows? We might even become pseudo friends one day! Yeah, I can rise to every challenge.
Well, until Gary shows up in Tumbling Rock to spread his Toomey charm all over my new life.
