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Chapter 5
“You have to calm down,” I warned Poppy. “Yasmine is going to think I brought a crazy lady with me.”
We were parked in front of Marco’s building, which was basically on Elliott Bay. It was super nice and modern. I’d never been inside, but I’d looked at plenty of real estate listings when they came up.
That’s what people did when they’re Obsessed.
But in a totally normal curious kind of way. Not stalkerish at all.
No, siree. Nothing to see here.
Yasmine and I had had drinks the night before and formulated a loose plan. I hadn’t shared everything with Poppy yet because I knew she would low-key lose her mind when she found out the details.
“I really think I should drive,” Annabel suggested to Poppy from the back seat. “The way you’re acting, having a stroke is not out of the realm of possibilities.”
Poppy whipped her head around. “I’m not going to have a stroke! I’m just gleefully excited. This is what gleeful looks like. You should try it sometime. And, news flash, it can happen without physical injury.”
“Here comes Yasmine,” I said, opening the passenger door and stepping out. She carried a small duffel and a large purse. She was dressed in yoga pants and a tangerine-colored T-shirt, still managing to look glamorous. “Hello,” I called, giving her a wave.
“Hey.” She waved back. “Thank you so much for doing this. Marco is actually right inside. He’d like to talk to you, if that’s okay?”
My eyebrows hit my hairline. “Right now? He wants to talk now?” It was six thirty in the morning, and we hadn’t stopped for coffee yet. The last time I’d seen Marco, we’d been sucking pony tongue in the closet. I’d told my friends yesterday I wasn’t ready to see him, and I’d meant it. I wanted to help Yasmine, then settle into my new reality with Marco. Honestly, now that I knew everything that had gone on between Yasmine and Marco, I felt embarrassed that he and I had lost control.
“Yep, now would be good,” Yasmine answered.
Poppy hopped out of the driver’s side, buzzing around to the trunk, popping it open. “Hi,” she chirped to Yasmine more exuberantly than necessary for this time of the morning. “We met briefly the other night. Thank you for allowing us to accompany you on your mission. This is going to be so fun!”
Yasmine chuckled. “Mission? I like the sound of that. It is kind of a mission.” She set her bag inside the trunk, keeping her purse with her. “And I’m happy that you wanted to join us. The more the merrier.”
“My sister, Annabel, is in the back seat,” Poppy said. “I’ll introduce you to her while Eve goes to talk to Marco.” Poppy motioned me forward with a flick of her wrist. “Go, go. We have a schedule to keep.”
“Fine,” I grumbled, butterflies instantly attacking my stomach and fluttering up my esophagus.
As I moved toward the front of the building, Marco came out. He wore brown slippers, blue and green plaid pajama pants, and a white T-shirt and held a navy mug that most likely had coffee in it.
One of us had gotten a jump on the day.
The man was stunning.
I began to salivate.
His black hair was slightly mussed, and his biceps flexed as he brought the cup to his lips.
As casually as I could, I brought my shirtsleeve up and wiped my lips.
Good grief, I had to get a grip.
“Hi,” he said shyly.
I was feeling equally as shy. “Hi. It’s, um, nice to see you.”
“You, too.” He raked a hand through his hair. It stuck up every which way. I was mesmerized. I wanted to touch it. I wanted to rub my face in it. This was getting out of hand. “Listen, I’m really sorry I didn’t explain the arrangement I had with Yasmine and everything that’s been going on. It’s just…it’s taken us some time to figure everything out—”
“It’s not a problem at all,” I cut in. I didn’t feel like this was the time or place to have this conversation. Especially when I wanted to lap my pony tongue all over his body. “You didn’t owe me any explanations. Your business is yours.”
He chuckled. It was a wonderful sound. “It was my business until I brought you into the closet with me. Then it became our business, and I should’ve explained myself. If not immediately, I should’ve texted or called you as soon as possible. I was just”—he rubbed the back of his neck, his biceps popping—“overwhelmed, I think. But I don’t regret kissing you at all. Yasmine knows about my feelings. I just didn’t know how to explain everything to you in that moment. The champagne didn’t help. Or maybe it helped too much. Hard to know.”
I’d zoned out a little after he said our business.
