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‘Hey, under here.’
Twisting around, Poppy held her hand over her eyes, trying to see more than the few feet in front of her the rain would allow. As the person got closer, she realised it was Mack again, holding his coat over his head. As he reached her, he lifted his arm across her shoulders, so she was shielded from the rain, too.
‘Are you sure you don’t want that lift? Because I’m not sure how long I can keep my arm up like this.’ He chuckled; his face close enough to hers she could feel his warm breath on her cheek.
‘Can I change my mind?’ Poppy grinned.
‘Please do.’
‘Then, yes, I’d love a lift, please?’
‘Great. I’m parked just down there.’ He nodded behind them before pivoting, his coat still protecting them from the onslaught of rain.
‘I think you’ve rescued my tulips just in time.’ She looked down at the bunch of flowers cradled in the crook of her arm.
‘What can I say? I’m an everyday hero.’ He twisted his elbow out in an attempt to rummage in his pocket for the car keys without pulling his coat away from over both their heads. ‘Got them.’
As he rolled the keys through his fingers to reach the button to unlock the car, they fell to the ground, landing in a huge puddle at their feet.
Poppy ducked at the same time as Mack, bumping heads.
‘Ouch.’
‘Ow.’ Standing up straight, Mack chuckled as he reached out to rub Poppy’s head. ‘Sorry.’
‘No, I’m sorry.’ Touching the side of his head, she looked into his eyes, their eyes locking. She leaned towards him as Mack did the same, their lips touching. Both frozen to the spot, the light touch soon turned to a proper kiss. Was this what she wanted? What he wanted? She reached her hand behind his neck as he did the same.
Stepping back, Mack pulled away. ‘I’m sorry. I can’t do this.’
‘Sorry, I…’
He’d been the one to make the first move, hadn’t he? She hadn’t been imagining it? Shaking her head, she picked up her bags and Aunt Flora’s tulips and turned away.
‘Poppy…’
Looking back, she watched as he moved his gaze to the ground and rubbed his palm over his face. ‘Let me give you a lift back.’
Swallowing, she backed away slightly. ‘No, it’s fine. Thanks.’
‘But…’
Turning on her heels, she half-ran back down the road towards the bus stop. The rain plummeting around her, a welcome source of distraction as it cooled her burning face. What had actually just happened? Why would he have kissed her and then pulled away, telling her he couldn’t?
Keeping her head down, she picked up her pace and ran the last few metres to the bus stop, not caring or noticing as she ran through the puddles, staining the bottom of her jeans a dark blue.
21
Yawning, Poppy used the measuring cup to scoop out a portion of dog biscuits into Eden’s bowl. She’d hardly had any sleep last night. In fact, she wasn’t so sure she’d had any at all. Flora couldn’t have had much either, as every time Poppy had ventured downstairs to grab a hot chocolate or some painkillers for the lingering headache, Flora had been sitting in the kitchen or looking out of the living room window, looking drawn.
‘Is that Eden’s breakfast you’re making up?’ Ginny walked into the kitchen with a pile of water bowls which she proceeded to rinse and refill.
‘Yes. Why?’
‘Because it’s Eden’s biscuits, but you’re putting them in Ralph’s bowl.’
‘Oh.’ Dropping the scoop back in the bag of biscuits, Poppy tilted the bowl and looked at the name. How had she missed that? As a long-term resident at Wagging Tails, Ralph was the only dog whose bowl had a name on and she’d still managed to mess up. ‘Sorry.’
‘Are you and Flora okay? You both look absolutely shattered. Has there been some bad news in your family or something?’ Ginny turned the tap off, the bowl in her hand half-filled with water, and looked at her. ‘Don’t feel you have to tell me. I know I’m probably sticking my nose in, but something’s going on with you both and I’m worried. Like I said the other day, I haven’t seen Flora like this before.’
