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“Well, right now I’m here with Asher, trying to get some work done,” he said, turning his phone to show Asher waving. “August had to meet with the engineer.”
“That’s crazy. Every time I try to meet August, he’s unavailable,” I said, looking at her phone. “One of these days, I suppose at our wedding, I’ll meet the whole family.”
Asher put his face up to the screen. “I’ll see you tomorrow. You’re going to love my surprise.”
Kellan came back on the screen, saying they had to go and to be ready for tomorrow at two pm. at the airport. We arrived at the little café and the owner was waiting at the door, waving us in. Poppy had ordered ten pies and at least twenty boxes of a variety of pastries. We sat and ate our ice cream while Gunner loaded everything into the limo.
“Gunner, I ordered a hot fudge sundae for you. Come sit with us,” I said when he walked back in to collect us. “You better hurry because Poppy is about to eat it.”
Gunner sat and picked at his sundae, claiming he wasn’t much of an ice cream guy. The news came on the television above the counter. I couldn’t understand most of it, but it was a picture of Asher Hawthorne with a beautiful blonde in a bikini. Gunner got up and stood closer to the television, most likely to get a better view of it. I wanted to as well, but couldn’t make myself get up. Finally, Poppy looked up from her feeding frenzy and saw what had made me go silent.
“Don’t even worry about that picture. It’s an old one before the scandal. They’re just trying to stir things up,” Poppy said, pushing her dish away and resting back on the seat. “He’s in China with my husband. I promise you that’s an old video.”
“Poppy, I don’t know if I can live in a life where the news constantly wants to destroy a happy couple,” I said, staring at the screen. “Look how happy they look. Who is the guy with them?”
Poppy stood and walked over to the television. “That’s Sawyer Hawthorne,” she said, then went to shake hands with the owner of the café. “Let’s go, guys, this wonderful lady is very tired.”
I, too, went and thanked the café owner for being so gracious. I pointed to Poppy’s stomach and made the shape of being pregnant. The woman cheered in French and ran over to hug Poppy again. We left the café very full, too full to clothes shop, but here we were anyways. The designer greeted Poppy and brought us both inside. Gunner chose to wait in the limo.
“Strewth Crickey, how did I not come into this shop? The clothes are beautiful,” I said, touching everything in reach.
“What can I help you with?” the designer asked in broken English. “Poppy mentioned you needing a black t-shirt. I have three to choose from on the table. Now let’s look at some dresses for Valentine’s.”
It didn’t take more than a few minutes to look over the racks of one-of-a-kind dresses. There were four or five red ones, but only one called to me. I took it off the rack and went to try it on. The designer followed me with pins so she could show me how it would be when altered. I didn’t even need anyone’s opinion. I was in love with this dress. I went out to show Poppy, only to find her sleeping on the couch again.
“Hey sleepyhead, what do you think?” I asked, brushing my hand across her shoulder. “Is it perfect or what?”
“It’s perfect. The color is amazing with your hair color,” Poppy said, stretching. “You already have your red stilettos, too.”
I let the designer finish pinning it with the promise that it would be ready by noon on Valentine’s Day. Gunner was waiting and very ready to get back to the penthouse.
“Ladies, you look as tired as I feel. Let’s get some sleep. You both have exciting stuff happening tomorrow,” Gunner said, pulling away from the curb after delivering a pie to the designer. “Question I have right now is: Which one of you is getting a bigger surprise?”
Chapter 62
AUGUST
We both had something special planned for the girls, so we made the decision to work straight ‘til flight time. Perks of having our own planes. Kellan had been pretty cool about the whole mess of switching, but he did advise getting out of it quickly, because Poppy told him Imogen was in love already.
“You have to tell her when you get back if you hope to save this,” Kellan said while we were on a short break. “Maybe on the flight to Rome, where she can’t run away, would be a good time.”
“Yeah, I was thinking about talking to her on our way back,” I answered. “I don’t want to spoil the trip and her getting to see Keith Urban.”
I’d spent an hour shopping around until I found matching black boots, black cowboy hats, and black jeans and a t-shirt for myself when I arrived just to be ready. It was one am. when we finally wrapped up the blueprints and legal paperwork for all the changes. We headed to the airport. We had a ten hour flight ahead of us to get some sleep. In the car ride to the airport, Kellan seemed as distracted as I was.
“What’s on your mind over there?” I asked the usually happy Kellan.
“I was thinking about your situation and it brought me around to how I met and married Poppy,” Kellan said. “I’m the happiest I’ve been in too many years because of her. So don’t mess this up further and lose her, if you’re in love with her.”
“I know, and I appreciate your thoughts.” I said as the car came to a stop on the airstrip. “Looks like we’re ready to go. Thank God. I’m exhausted.”
We both had to drag our tired bodies onto the plane. We spent a few minutes on the pleasantries, then split ways to separate bedrooms for much-needed sleep. We both stopped in our tracks when across the television screen was Asher on a beach with a gorgeous blonde in a bikini, and Sawyer kicking back on the sand.
“How? How does he cause trouble on a private island?” I expelled a breath I’d been holding. “He can’t get just this one thing right?”
“Might not be his fault, man. Sawyer probably invited the rich and famous to the island for a party,” Kellan commiserated. “He could have tried to not be seen when the helicopter flew over, but that’s Asher.”
“All I can hope is Imogen didn’t see it,” I said, turning to go to my bed. “See you in the morning.”
