7. Poppy

SEVEN

POPPY

"Goldie!" I yell the nickname Maddox gave Marigold as I enter her house that she shares with him. He's at the station so she invited me over for girls night tonight. We're decompressing after the huge dessert rush at Cakeology for Thanksgiving. The shop has been running on fumes for the past week. We finally crashed and had a quiet dinner here on Thanksgiving. It was the perfect night, even if Jace wasn't here.

"In here!" she calls out and I round the corner to find her in the kitchen prepping some cheese and crackers on a platter. I place the bottles of wine I brought onto the counter and go to the cabinet to get two glasses.

"Wow! It smells so good! What are you making?"

"Homemade pizza! Logan is on his way over, too. I hope that's okay." She opens the stove, pulls out the pizza and slides it onto a board. The cheese is bubbling and my mouth waters.

"Of course! I love him almost as much as I love you!"

"I heard that!" We both jump as Logan makes his presence known and I giggle.

"For a big guy you're pretty quiet when you want to be," I muse .

"Mm. It's how I find out the good stuff." He gives me a pointed look and it makes my heart race.

"Come on, grab another glass for Logan and let's go sit in the living room. This pizza needs to cool for a few minutes. We can snack while we wait." She goes to the fridge and pulls out a tray of fruit to accompany the cheese and crackers.

"We're going to drink while we wait. Poppy, you have some explaining to do." Logan purses his lips and raises a brow.

I freeze in my tracks and Marigold looks between Logan and I. "What's going on?" she asks with caution.

"Fiiiiine," I breathe out. "Come on." They follow me into the living room and we sit. "I knew I wouldn't be able to keep this a secret for long."

"I want to say I did not come here tonight to out you. But girl, you're a firebug!" Logan exclaims and Marigold laughs.

"Oh come on, I've told you about this, Logan. When my ex cheated on me, Poppy set the bushes in his front yard on fire. It was a beautiful campfire as I drove out of town." She throws her hand over her forehead and leans back on the couch before bursting into giggles.

"It was more than a campfire," he says dryly.

She furrows her brows, sitting up quickly. "What do you mean?"

I glance back and forth between them. "I didn't want to upset you and I knew if you found out, you'd come running right back home to help me. I didn't want that. You needed to leave and start over," I speak quickly then take a breath. "Turns out I did, too."

"Tell me." Marigold's voice is stern.

"So, the fire got a little out of control."

"A little? Our Miss Poppy could have been the fourth member of that singing group, TLC. Remember the chick who burned her boyfriend's house down?" Logan jumps right in exposing my act.

"No! Poppy! What happened?" Marigold looks very nervous.

"It didn't burn down completely, but I misjudged the distance between the bushes and his front door. The fire department came and put it out, his homeowners insurance covered the damage and I completed community service. All's well that ends well."

Marigold studies me. "Were you forced to leave?"

"No, but it was made clear I wasn't wanted there anymore."

"Are you on probation or something?"

"I was. But I stayed out of trouble for six months and now it's over." It's not over because if Jace finds out I'm sure that will be the end of us before we even have a chance to start.

"Well, of course you did. You're not that person!" Marigold grabs me up in a hug. "I'm so sorry. I wish you had told me. I would have?—"

"You would have come home, given up on your dream, wouldn't have met Maddox and we'd both be miserable."

"Is this what turned you on to firemen?" Logan quips.

I bump his shoulder. The three of us sit close together on the couch and it makes me feel good to have them. I'm glad they know, even if it is embarrassing. "Jace turned me onto firemen."

"You have to tell him what happened, Pop. You don't want him finding out through the grapevine. I can only imagine how the story would be all spun out of control."

"I know. But how do I tell him? ‘Hey I like you and I also started a huge fire that almost burned the guys house down. I know you're a fireman so if it ever happens again, I've got the right guy?'"

"You tell him the truth."

"You're right. I will."

Marigold lets out an exhausted sigh but follows it with an excited laugh. "Now, tell us everything! I know you were at Love Beach Brews with Jace. Isaac told Reece who told Vienna who told me and now you better tell us everything!"

I laugh. "Small towns don't ever change do they? It was fun. I just happened to stop in and he was there. We sat together, flirted a bit and then I went home." I shrug. "I can't get a read on him. He's so quiet and standoffish."

"When I first met him he was the same. He's opened up a bit since and he and Maddox are becoming good friends. Why don't we double date?" She bounces in her spot on the couch shaking us all.

"Oh, that's a great idea. Get him out of his element and see how he acts," Logan says.

"I know the guys are on call for the tree lighting tomorrow but why don't we plan to go out the next night? I can ask Reece to have Isaac save us a table."

"That sounds like a lot of fun if Maddox can get him to say yes."

"I'll ask. He'll never tell me no."