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Roy smoothed his hand over his goatee, shooting him an appreciative look. “Yes, you know how kids are.”
“Oh, that I do.”
“Anyway, what I meant to say was—I saw you signed off on some booth to be added to the second floor, but I was never contacted about it. When the architect mentioned it in passing, I was taken aback.”
Ethan cleared his throat. He knew this moment would come, but he couldn’t back down. The reason why he hadn’t told Roy was he waited a bit longer, closer to opening day, to let him know. He’d promised it to Poppy, and had already talked to the engineer and the financial team. “I checked with the operational crew, and engineers. They said it wouldn’t be a problem.”
“Sure, but how about marketing? Who will be in this booth? And where did this idea come from?”
You don’t want to know.A pang of guilt chipped at him. He hated to completely ignore expert’s advice, but this time, not only did he have to see it through with Poppy, he believed she’d do a phenomenal job. He’d checked out her work, and listened to a couple of her podcasts. She communicated well, was engaging and charismatic. He wouldn’t put his reputation on the line if he didn’t trust her talent. “An up and coming, brilliant female podcaster, offered me this idea and I thought it’d be great. A good way for our stores and businesses to have organic promo, and I’m sure you will be cashing in from all the potential advertising.”
“Yes, but I have a contract in place with a local radio station. Maybe they can have the booth instead?”
“No, that’s non-negotiable,” he said without flinching.
Roy shot him a skeptical look, then withdrew, sizing him up, no doubt wondering how much of a headache this would be end up being. Hopefully Roy would let this go. “I’ll have to ask legal to take a look at the contract to make sure there isn’t any conflicts with your podcaster. What’s her name?”
“Poppy Jones.”
“I never heard of her.”
He patted his back. “Trust me, you will.”
He’d have to make sure to keep Poppy away from Roy for the duration of this retreat. Shouldn’t be a problem, as Ethan and Roy weren’t close, but during a couple of events where family members were welcomed, he’d have to take the kids and give Poppy some free time to explore the island.
“I’m not joking, Ethan,” Roy said, a pang of annoyance in his voice. “Send me the contract you drew up with her and I’ll make sure Legal has both of them, and see if there’s a conflict.”
“I already sent it to Legal,” Ethan said. “If there was a conflict, they would have caught it.”
Roy shook his head, folding his arms over his chest. “I’ll double check, just in case. Next time you want to make changes that will impact marketing and promotion, check with me first. I’m the head of marketing.”
“My bad. I had an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. As the head of the entire project, I have to make these decisions and can’t always check with other departments. I apologize I didn’t let you know sooner.”
“Sure,” Roy gritted under his teeth, with a dark expression that hinted he didn’t agree at all.
An hour later, Ethan peeled himself from the crowd and hired a car service to bring him home. When he arrived by the door, he found Poppy and Willow in the living room, with a countless amount of colorful strings and beads littered on the coffee table and rug.
“What are you two doing?” he asked, imagining Archie was already in bed by now.
“Miss Poppy bought this make-your-own-jewelry set at the gift shop by the beach,” Willow said, and for the first time in what felt like forever, he heard the undercurrent of contentment in her voice. His daughter seemed… lighter, healthier, with a light sunburn on her nose and cheeks, no matter how many times they applied sunscreen earlier that day. Dare he say… happy? His gut clenched. Best not to jinx it.
“Pretty cool,” he said, shortening the gap between them.
Poppy’s gaze met his, and his blood went on a simmer. A coy smile tugged at the corner of her lips, and in that fraction of a second, he wondered if she shared the same thought as he. Was she thinking about how well they fit together?
She snapped her gaze away, turning her head to the vast number of shenanigans on the table, and he had his answer.
Yes.
Damn it, she wanted him again.
Could they do it—for two months? He didn’t want to jeopardize her relationship with his children, but at the same time… when had been the last time he’d done something to put his needs first? Not that breaking his kids’ hearts could ever be justifiable. Hell, he knew how long it took each time to pick up the pieces every time Darcy walked in and out of their lives.
Poppy also wasn’t interested in long-term commitment. He couldn’t blame her. She was living the dream in New York City. What if, though, they kept their arrangement under wraps? The kids would never find out, and at the end of the two months, they’d go their separate ways. The idea injected a dangerous amount of adrenaline into his veins. Could it happen?
Poppy was a sensible, pragmatic woman. Maybe she wanted to scratch the itch as much as he.
“Do you want to join us?” Willow asked, pulling him from his thoughts.
“I’d love to,” he said, rolling up his sleeves and joining his daughter.
