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With food from The Sea Fire Grill in hand—Atlas told me she’s craving seafood—Lake beckons me to come inside, and I put the food on her desk. She takes the food out of the bag, setting it down. “You got me the Scottish salmon. How did you know I love that?”
I wink at her. “Your husband.”
I always liked Lake and how she’s always been down-to-earth. I glance at the paintings hanging on the wall. No doubt, she was the one who painted all these.
My eyes revert back to Lake as she digs into the food, then I get this image of Poppy eating food while she is pregnant with my kid, and I shake my head.
Why am I daydreaming about her carrying my child? That is so ludicrous. Yet the thought of coming inside of Poppy without a condom makes my dick hard.
Lake sets her fork down and grabs a bottle of Coke and slowly drinks it.
“I talked to Poppy last night. You really were going to dump her and not keep your end of the bargain? That’s an asshole thing to do.”
“Yeah. It was and no matter how much I tell her I’m sorry, she won’t listen to me.”
“I know you love her, but she has trust issues. Link did a number on her heart, and you just broke the very piece that was stitched together.” She shakes her head at me in disappointment. “Poppy is in love with you, Jasper.”
Did I hear her correctly? Maybe I’m being delusional. Confusion overtakes me and my breath hitches.
“What?”
“She’s in love with you. She didn’t tell me, but I can tell. She’s pushing you away because she doesn’t know if you love her. Link wasn’t so kind to her when they were together.”
I knew he cheated on her, but what else has he done to her?
“He used to keep her money away from her and was very controlling and manipulative. She would have to come home at certain times, and she would have to check in every hour. She doesn’t want to go through the same thing.”
I had no idea how bad it was when she called me out of the blue that time over a year ago. She told me he cheated on her, but I was too selfish to care. I was too worried about getting my dick wet, but now I feel ten times more like shit.
I ball up my fist. “I wouldn’t treat her that way.”
“I know, Jasper. I know you wouldn’t,” she placates.
I get up from the chair.
The thought of her falling in love with me scares me, because I feel the same way, too. What if I fuck it up? What if I’m a shitty husband? Just when I think I’m getting the hang of this marriage, I keep fucking it up.
“How do I win her back?”
“Fancy gifts don’t excite her. You would have to do something like ask her out on a real date, as husband and wife. Not friends with benefits. Not to negotiate another business contract. Straight from the heart. She’s already cooled off, so she’ll speak to you soon.”
I nod, getting up from the chair, and she stands up and opens her arms to me. I hug her back.
“Pregnancy has made you nicer,” I joke.
“I’ll take it as a compliment.” She smiles.
I dust off my jacket and button it. “Thanks, Lake.”
She nods. “Don’t fuck up again, otherwise I’ll collect your balls in a jar.”
She doesn’t have to worry about that because once I have Poppy back in my arms, I’m not letting her go.
Poppy
Isit all day on my laptop, trying to enroll in a course for childhood development so I can start my own daycare. I will be taking four courses. I can’t wait to help special needs kids and feel so fulfilled. I close my laptop and place it on the coffee table, grab the remote, and put it on a reality TV show I found on Hulu. I have nothing else to do today, and my days have been boring since Jasper fired me so I can pursue my dreams.
My routine includes lounging around, eating junk food, watching mindless television shows, and going out to have lunch and strolling to the music stores. I’ve never been this comfortable in my life. When I was with Link, he had so many demands about what I needed to do. I didn’t know how exhausting he was until after I left him.
