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I sighed. “Intellectually, I know you’re right. I’ll be ready at some point, but emotionally I’m nowhere near there now.” I drank the last of the wine and set the glass on the coffee table. “Okay, enough about me and my fake boyfriend. What about you and Leo? He seems like a great guy. Does he make your heart go pitter-patter?”
Poppy’s face broke out into a huge grin. “Oh yeah. My heart feels like it’s going to explode right out of my chest when I’m around him. I’m so ridiculously attracted to him. He’s giving Chris Evans a run for his money.” She winked and pressed the palm of her hand over her heart. “But because of what happened with Michael, I’m feeling…I don’t know…shy? It’s weird, because I’m so extroverted.” That was not a lie. “I’ve been the instigator with every guy I’ve ever dated, up until now. But I’m okay with Leo taking the lead. Even though he hasn’t picked up the reins yet.” She drew out an exaggerated sigh. “It’s been hard not to point-blank ask him out, but I’m also enjoying the slow burn. I’m a walking contradiction, so take what I say with some caution. I could change my mind at any moment.”
“He’ll make his move soon. I’m sure of it.”
“Summer told me he just got out of a six-year relationship with a woman named Pamela. He hasn’t mentioned her. If she broke his heart, he probably needs more time to recover before he makes his move. Either that, or he thinks I’m an annoying, crazy lady he can’t wait to ditch once our business partnership is over. That is a distinct possibility.” She chuckled. “I recently found this amazing wallpaper and want to switch gears from our working plan. He’s worried about it. But if the guys take my advice, the bar is going to be amazing. I can’t wait for you guys to see it!”
“I can’t wait either,” I told her sincerely. I knew it would be awesome. “I’m sure Leo doesn’t think you’re a crazy lady. When you two are together, nobody else exists. He’s completely into you. Maybe he’s waiting for a stronger signal? He strikes me as kind of a shy guy, too.”
Poppy snorted right as my buzzer sounded, indicating Annabel was downstairs, waiting to be let in. I stood, moving toward the intercom. It was one of those chunky, off-white boxes that had yellowed with age and had hard-to-push buttons. It definitely hadn’t been updated since the seventies.
“A stronger signal?” Poppy cackled from the living room. “That would mean I’d have to perform a Fred Flintstone maneuver and bang him over the head with my trusty club. I’ve all but climbed into the guy’s lap. I’ve worn V-necked shirts down to my navel. I’ve sprayed on my killer, man-snaring perfume, which I call Eau de Pure Sex. But oddly, it’s kind of endearing that he’s taking his time. He does seem really engaged when we’re together. He’ll ask me out when he’s ready. Or maybe he won’t. Either way, we’ll be friends for life. I’m sure of that.”
I buzzed Annabel in without checking to see if it was her. The intercom had an ear-piercing reverberation I didn’t care for.
So either a serial killer or Annabel would be up soon.
Then I headed into the kitchen to get plates for the pizza and spoons for the ice cream. Poppy came in to help, grabbing a glass for Annabel and some napkins. She knew where everything was. She’d been here a million times. I loved that about all my friendships. We were all comfortable in one another’s homes.
A rap sounded on the door. Poppy opened it with a dramatic whoosh. “Finally! I thought you went clubbing instead.” She took the pizza out of Annabel’s hand and carried it straight into the living room.
“Clubbing? Did we teleport back to the early nineties while I was gone?” Annabel entered the kitchen, setting the ice cream on the counter.
“I’ve got clubs on the brain,” Poppy called. “Long story.”
“I would’ve been here earlier,” Annabel said, “but finding a decent place to park was the hardest part of this entire endeavor. I finally snagged a spot a block away. Oh, and Hand Gesture Guy sends his love. He can’t wait to buy flowers from the Watering Can. I told him if he didn’t do it weekly, I’d hunt him down on social media and out him for harassing me.” She giggled maniacally. “For some reason, he believed me. I have no idea why. I have zero clue what his name is. It’s not like I can track him down by the make and model of his car. But he seemed pretty nervous, so I hope he becomes a decent human being and stops in.”
“That’ll teach him to mess with you,” I told her, giving her a quick hug. “Thanks so much for picking all this up.”
Annabel was a little taller than I was, and I was five eight. Her thick chestnut hair had a perfect natural wave and hung past her shoulders. She was tall and athletic like her father, which was the polar opposite of Poppy, who was petite and blonde. No one would pick them out as sisters in a crowd, and they absolutely loved it.
“That’s my girl,” Poppy said, coming into the kitchen. “Give ’em hell, that’s what I always say.”
“Are you kidding?” Annabel laughed. “Your go-to in a stressful situation is to flee the scene with your hands flailing over your head like a Muppet.”
“I may act Muppety if given a choice, but I can throw a mean punch if backed into a corner.”
“True,” Annabel admitted. “I’ve been on the receiving end of a few of those.”
“Lucky for you, my prizefighting days are over. That and you stopped stealing my favorite sweaters and my best lip gloss,” Poppy said. “Come on. The pizza is in the living room. Grab the ice cream. Even though I ate a healthy amount at the party—and let me tell you, those stuffed mushrooms were to die for—I’m starving all of a sudden.”
“I’m hungry, too,” I said. We followed her into the living room and threw my new multicolored pillows on the floor. They made nice butt cushions. The coffee table was pretty much my only dining location if I didn’t want to eat at my desk or stand up in my kitchen. “Yum, this looks so good. Giovanni’s is the best.”
“They gave me a bunch of coupons.” Annabel reached into her pocket and set a handful of paper strips on the table. She shrugged. “I guess they didn’t have anything better to do at eleven thirty p.m. on a Thursday, so they plied me with them.” She reached over and snagged a piece of pizza, the cheese stretching the entire way to her plate.
“You’re always getting free stuff,” Poppy groused, grabbing her own slice. “No fair. They treat me like a grandma when I’m there.”
I laughed while taking my own piece. “What are you talking about? One of their servers has been trying to get up the courage to ask you out for ages. He gives you those puppy-dog eyes, practically begging you to notice him every time we go.”
“That Dimitri guy?” Poppy took a bite and moaned. “This is sooo good.” She wiped her chin with a napkin. “He’s easily forty-five and has been divorced twice. That’s a hard pass.”
“Not him.” I took a moment to chew the deliciousness. Giovanni’s was definitely the best pizza I’d ever had in my life. We’d lived on it in college, and it still hadn’t gotten old. “The other one. The short guy with the slicked-back hair. He has an Italian accent. You love accents! I’m surprised you two haven’t hooked up, actually. You’d look totally cute together.” I took another scrumptious bite.
“Oh, Italian Fabio?” Poppy snorted. “I think his name is Rafael. I do love his accent. Yeah, we’ve definitely flirted through the years, but he’s never given me a fistful of coupons. So, you know, he can’t love me that much.”
We ate the yummy pizza until we were full. Then Poppy popped the top off the pint of dark chocolate ice cream and dug a spoon in, pulling out a heaping scoop and holding it out to me.
I groaned, rubbing my stomach. “I don’t think I have room. We decimated that pie.” There was only a piece and a half left.
