17. Poppy

SEVENTEEN

POPPY

I'm walking on cloud nine. Finally being with Jace has cemented my feelings for him. He's as genuine as they come and I've completely fallen for him.

"Girl, put on some sunglasses and hide those heart eyes you've got," Logan huffs out.

"What's wrong? Jealous?" I goad him.

"Uh, yeah. Considering I saw him first, then you just drive into town and swoop him out from under me." He makes a show of driving a car and slamming on the brakes complete with a screeching noise.

I roll my eyes and pull Logan in for a hug. "You're going to find your Prince Charming, just wait."

"I am Prince Charming. Now I just need a stallion!"

I laugh along with him. "What color did Marigold say she wanted the lettering?"

"See? You're lovesick and can't follow directions. You need to go home."

I shake my head. "I'm fine. I'm just happy. It's been a while since I met someone who's decent, you know?"

He softens his features and leans his hip against the counter. "I'm so glad you found someone. When you were still living in your old town, Marigold was so worried about you. She missed you something fierce so knowing you're here, makes her heart happy."

Knock, knock

I look up to see Jace standing in the doorway, aviators on, wearing a t-shirt and jeans, making him look delicious.

"Hey, you." His simple greeting makes my heart skip a beat. I quickly pull my apron off leaving it on the counter and walk right to him, wrapping my arms around him.

"I'm so happy to see you."

He wraps my ponytail around his fist and tugs lightly before letting my hair drop again. "I've been dying to see you but I was on shift. Text messages just don't cut it."

"I know. I just wanted you to know I was thinking about you but I didn't want to be a distraction at the station."

He laughs. "Never. But I wanted to come find you the moment I got off."

"Can you two please go somewhere else with this love talk?" Logan whines.

"That's a great idea, Logan. I came to take my girl to dinner. Can you leave or do you have to finish what you're working on?"

"Go!" Logan yells and I laugh at him.

"I'll text Marigold."

"You do that."

I grab my purse and follow Jace out the front door. We walk a short distance, taking in the Christmas lights strung around each shop, to the little pizzeria on the corner and wave to the owner as we enter and head to the back booth.

"How are you feeling?" he asks me as we slide into the booth.

"I should ask you that. You've been on shift for forty eight hours. "

"I've never been better actually." His grin lights me up. "But I mean about us."

"Us?" I shouldn't be surprised that he's jumping right into this. This is who Jace is. He needs things a certain way and needs to talk it out to know where he stands. In day to day life, he's very easy to read that way. I should have known it'd be the same once we became a couple.

Are we a couple?

"Yea, us . You and me. You've been a little quiet so I'm hoping I didn't scare your wild away."

I sit back. It's story time, Poppy, you've got to let him in . "You didn't scare my wild away. It's still there. I guess I'm just not used to someone being so upfront with me. If you haven't noticed I'm a bit much and for most of my life it's been taken the wrong way."

"What do you mean?"

"A wild, loud woman is just that. She doesn't know self-control, wants to be the center of attention, and is only down for a good time. That's not who I really am, though. I've allowed people to think that way, it helps me recognize who's genuine and who isn't."

"Well, I hope I've passed your test," he chides me.

"It's not a test, it's an observation. It's why I haven't spent much time dating. The first coffee date or something simple usually tells me if they're serious or not. If they can't spend the thirty minutes it takes to drink a cup of coffee without dropping some gross innuendo, I know what they think of me and I'm out."

"That feels very lonely."

I shrug. "Just the opposite really. I'd rather be alone and happy than with someone who only wants me around for a good time."

"I have the same feeling. Firemen sometimes have a stigma, especially the young ones, that all they want to do is party and sleep around. That's not me. I want someone who wants the good times and the bad times with me."

"You want bad times?"

"I want all the times. I want someone to choose me every time, not just in a good time."

In good and bad . I need to tell him my bad. He needs to know now, so he can choose whether he wants to stay or not. "Jace, I?—"

"What can I get you guys?" the waiter butts in.

"Want to split a pie and mozzarella sticks?"

I smile and sit back. "Whatever makes you happy."

He winks then tells the waiter, "Pepperoni pie, sticks and two sodas."

"You got it, man."

"I'm sorry we got interrupted. What were you going to say?" He reaches for my hand.

"I want you to tell me why you want to be a fireman." I chicken out and go with a safe conversation.

A big smile spreads across his face and I can see the love he has for service. "I watched too many movies as a kid."

"That is not why you want to be a fireman!"

He laughs. "No, but I'm sure that's what originally caught my eye as a kid." He shakes his head. "When I was ten, we lived on the outskirts of Love Beach. It's not a big town, but if you're not on the mainland it takes a bit of time to get anywhere. Our neighbor's house caught fire and the fire department couldn't get there in time. The whole place went up so fast, they were lucky to get out unharmed. But I remember watching and thinking to myself, I wanted to help so bad. I wanted to save them because if it was my house I'd be lost."

I swallow hard listening to his story. He's going to hate me. "You're a real hero, Jace Sullivan. "

"I'm not, but I hope someday I'll be able to help someone and really make a difference in their life."

"I think your love for your community is visible. Your character makes it easy to like you and trust you. That's a big deal."

"Thank you for saying that. I've always held myself accountable and done my best to stay the straight and narrow."

"It's admirable and you should be proud of yourself."

I'm not proud of myself, but I did hold myself accountable after what I did. Obviously I never meant for anything bad to happen. I just really hope he can see past it.