Chapter Twelve

"HE ASKED ME TO WAITafter that," Poppy shared with a blush, "and I said, um..."

"You"d be happy to wait?"

"Better."

Heather"s brows shot up. "Really?" This, she had to hear.

"I told him I"d wait for as long as he—-"

Heather groaned even before Poppy had finished. "That"s worse, Poppy. That"s the absolute worst!"

"I just felt the need to be honest," the younger woman said sheepishly.

Heather could only sigh in response. Honesty was the best policy, after all, and even she didn"t think it was right to insist otherwise.

"You"re so pure, Poppy."

Poppy immediately shook her head at this. She was not pure at all, considering how every night she hadn"t been able to stop herself from reliving the time she had fallen into Valerian"s lap. Now that the memory was no longer "forbidden", all she could think about was how her nipples had instantly turned hard as they scraped against the hard wall of his chest.

Such thoughts were the opposite of pure, but she just couldn"t help it. Valerian was the first man she had ever felt such a powerful attraction to. And after eight long months of denying such feelings even existed, it still seemed surreal that there was no longer a need to hold back on anything.

Heather suddenly reached for Poppy"s hand to give it a squeeze. "I just want to say thank you. Valerian"s been working nonstop to turn things around for the company, but I know that"s still not an excuse to not call you for an entire week."

"I truly don"t mind," Poppy assured the other woman. "It"s not like I haven"t ever seen him at work." There was also the fact that she had gobbled up all the articles and interviews she could find about Valerian, but that was probably something she should keep to herself. Heather was already worried she was too nice to her brother as it was.

Poppy headed back to work after her lunch date with Heather, and she spent the rest of the day like she usually did. Ever since her phone call with Valerian, it was as if she had been operating under a rose-colored haze. Nothing had been able to make her stop smiling—-not even when Giovanni had seriously asked Poppy if her creepy smiles were an indication that she was auditioning for a horror movie.

What she had with Valerian Rossfield might not be enough to qualify as a relationship, but something was still better than nothing. Since she didn"t even allow herself to think of him in the past, what she did have now was enough to have Poppy feeling over the moon.

Not only could she fantasize about him without guilt, but he had even given her a reason to hope for something more.

And when she saw his name flash on her phone late that evening, Poppy honestly felt like she had won the lottery. Her heart started to pound, and her voice came out breathless as she answered his call.

"Hello?"

"You sound out of breath. Did I catch you at a bad time—-"

"No—-"

"Or are you that excited to hear from me?"

Poppy barely managed to keep herself from squealing. His words might be too arrogant for others, but she didn"t care. She had been trimming his hair for eight months, and they had acted like strangers to each other the entire time.

So the fact that Valerian was now flirting with her over the phone?

It was like winning a million dollars again and again and again, and Poppy"s giddiness was such that all she could do was speak the truth. "The latter?"

A moment passed, and Poppy couldn"t help smiling as she heard him groan exactly the way his half-sister did.

"Have you no guile at all?"

"Uh—-"

"Never mind. The fact that you have to think about it is answer enough."

"I"m sorry?"

"Don"t be. I can"t believe I"m saying this, but I"ve just realized that it"s what I like the most about you."

Poppy started pinching herself. He likes me? That was what he said. Wasn"t it?