Running From Love (9 page)

“Oh my God, what are you … how did you …”

“Hi.”

The baby opened her mouth and her blue eyes locked onto him. A tiny smile curved, showing her toothless gums. “Hi there, sweetie? Aren’t you the cutest?” he said. She reached out her tiny cherub hands toward him. Trevor’s eyes met Poppy’s. “Can I take her?”

Poppy’s mouth opened, but no words came out. Her gaze darted from him to the baby. Was she more surprised that he was here or that her angry, red-faced, screaming infant niece was now smiling and about ready to giggle? Poppy nodded and released the bundle into his arms.

“Hi, beautiful girl, I’m Trevor. What’s your name?” He bounced up and down, an automatic response to having a baby in his arms.

“How do you …?” Poppy’s stared at him, astounded by his ability with the baby.

“What’s her name?”

“Hazel.” 

“Worked at a corporate nursery for a while. One of my first jobs. Catch on quick what makes them happy when they’re teething.” He slid his finger along her bottom gum. Her tiny mouth clamped down and he felt the tiniest spot that was a bit raised. The tooth hadn’t even poked through her gum yet. “There it is.” He pulled his finger from her mouth. “Feels like you’ve got another twenty-four hours of unhappy baby. The frozen washcloth helps though.” Hazel reached up and patted his face with her tiny hand. The shouting from the living room stopped and another child, adorable but  with tears on her flushed cheeks, turned the corner. Her gaze landed on Trevor and she stopped. She grasped Poppy’s leg as though it were a life preserver on the ocean.

“Hi there, I’m Trevor. “

She hid behind Poppy’s leg, but peeked one eye out.

“No strangers.” She pressed her face into Pop’s thigh.

“Laura, this is Trevor, he’s not a stranger, he’s my”—Poppy, with a look of open-mouthed shock on her face, glanced from Laura to Trevor—“He’s my, he’s my friend.”

“Can this
friend
come in?” Trevor asked gently.

“What?”—Poppy pressed her hand across Laura’s thick head of curly hair—“of course. I’m sorry.” She backed away from the door where Trevor stood holding Hazel. “I just … I’m so surprised. I wasn’t expecting …” She leaned down and scooped Laura up into her arms. Trevor stepped over the threshold. He couldn’t take his eyes off of Poppy. Every strand of her hair looked wild and unkempt. She wore a tank top with a dark smudge and a wet spot, possibly a clump of oatmeal, near her belly. Still, she was the most beautiful woman he’d seen in his entire life.

His heart beat a thankful tune that he’d found her, that she was here.

“Oh my goodness … I just … You’ll have to excuse …” Poppy’s eyes narrowed as a thought occurred to her. “Uh. How did you find me?”

His heart thudded to a stop. How to answer? What to say? He hadn’t closed the door behind him, and she could still push him out onto the front step. A part of her seemed to want to, but instead she raised one eyebrow.

“Charla told you where I was, didn’t she?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny.” Trevor glanced at Laura, who gazed back at him from her perch in Poppy’s arms. “You’re Laura?” he asked. “And who is that?” He nodded toward the doll she’d dropped on the floor beside Poppy’s feet.

“Lucy.” Laura leaned over suddenly, arms outstretched for her doll. Poppy hastily set her down before she could tumble over. Laura scooped the doll off the floor and bear-hugged it to her chest.  The baby in Trevor’s arms gnawed on the wet washcloth. Drool slid over her lips and onto his arm.

“Let me get you a towel.” Poppy turned and dashed around a corner.

“Thanks, sweetie,” Trevor whispered to the baby in his arms. “At least you got me into the house.”

Poppy reemerged and reached out to wipe Hazel’s chin. “Teething, up all night, and very cranky today because of it.” She started to lift Hazel from Trevor’s arms but the baby protested with irritated cries.

“I think she wants to stay in my arms.”

Pink flooded Poppy’s cheeks. Trevor wondered, did Poppy want to remain in his arms? He’d do anything to convince her that they were the best place for her.

“I’m hungry,” Laura whined.

Poppy bent down and picked her up again. “Okay. How about some mac and cheese?”

“Yes, please.” Laura snuggled into Poppy’s chest and tucked her thumb into her mouth. She wasn’t nearly as big of a pushover for Trevor as her baby sister, because she warily eyed him from the safety of Poppy’s arms.

“I’ll warm it up for you.” Poppy carried the little girl toward the tiny play table in the living room. “You draw and I’ll call you when it’s ready.” The girl slid down Poppy’s front and dashed toward the tiny pink table in the corner with sheets of paper scattered across the surface and a box of giant crayons.

“I suppose you’ll have to stay until that one settles.” Poppy nodded toward Hazel.

Trevor followed Poppy into the kitchen holding Hazel. She gnawed at the purple washcloth. Poppy pulled food from the refrigerator as Trevor watched, leaning against the counter. Her movements were quick and determined. There were so many things they weren’t saying to each other. The girls provided this strange buffer. Trevor’s desire for her careened through his belly and tightened in his legs. He had questions. Things he wanted to ask and words he needed to say. But that conversation would need to wait for a time when they were alone.

His eyes roamed her body, starting with her bare feet, tan and delicious with bright pink toenails. His gaze traveled north to her brown legs and the tiny shorts that clung to her full curves. Across her back toward the front of her shirt, where her nipples pressed against the fabric of her shirt. The weight in his arms grew subtly heavier as the baby relaxed. He glanced down. Hazel lay open-mouthed in the crook of his arm with the once-frozen washcloth on her chest.

“She’s asleep,” he whispered.

Poppy spun from the counter. Her gaze landed on Hazel and her fingers landed on her lips. “Oh my God,” she whispered. “She hasn’t slept that well in days. This teething is the pits.” Her gaze trailed up over Hazel and met his eyes. “Do you mind following me to her room? I’m afraid if I take her, she’ll wake up, and then I’ll never get her back to sleep.”

Trevor nodded. What he really wanted was to lean forward and press his lips to Poppy’s mouth. He’d settle for any amount of time she’d give him. At least, right now, she couldn’t run away from him. She was responsible for these two kids, and even Poppy wouldn’t desert her two nieces just to avoid his love.

An echo of the heat that pulsed through his body reflected in Poppy’s eyes. She could run, but she couldn’t deny her own feelings. Her face told him too much. Her tongue trailed across her bottom lip, her hand brushed across her hair, her eyes gazed up at him through those long eyelashes. Nope. Her body wouldn’t lie. Even now, her nipples budded into tight beads of flesh beneath the fabric of her shirt.

She turned. He followed her out of the kitchen, through the dining room, and down the hall to a room decorated with paintings of butterflies and fairies. The scent of baby permeated the room. Up Side Burger’s corporate nursery always smelled the same. Was it powder or talc? He couldn’t remember.

Poppy stood beside the white crib. “Gently,” she said, her voice soft.

Slowly he leaned over and lowered the itty-bitty girl into her crib. Poppy was so near, just to his side, and the heat of her flashed through him. He placed Hazel on the mattress and Poppy leaned over and draped a yellow blanket over the sleeping baby. Hazel’s mouth dropped open.

Trevor followed Poppy from the room. She pulled the door closed. Then she turned to him. “I can’t believe you’re—”

Before the words were out of her mouth, his lips were on hers. He clasped her jaw with both hands. Oh God, but he couldn’t wait. He needed to feel her lips on his, her body closer, the heat of her, the scent of her … just Poppy.

She stiffened for an instant. Then his arm slid around her waist and pulled her closer and it was as if in that moment her body remembered that she was meant to be his. Poppy was built for him and they were meant to be a couple. Her mouth slid open and his tongue slipped into her mouth. His entire body thrummed with instant desire.

Poppy. His Poppy. He’d found her and now he was kissing her. He pulled her closer and his sex hardened against her hip. Her mouth was fused with his and she returned his kiss with passion and warmth. Need jolted and careened between them.

She pulled away. “Laura is in the other room,” she said. “I can’t … not now … I can’t—”

“Tonight. See me tonight.”

She slipped from his arms and he fought the urge to pull her back to him, closer and tighter. Fear that she might run again careened through his belly.

“I don’t know … I mean … my sister … she’s at the …” She stopped herself before any of the facts that Trevor already knew thanks to Robert escaped her lips. “My sister is away this afternoon.” Poppy put her hands on her hips. “I’m not sure when she’ll get back.”

“We can go whenever it works for you.” He reached for her fingers and grasped her hand into his. “I need to see you, Poppy.”

Her gaze locked with his. 

“And you need to see me.” Trevor pulled her closer. 

Angry fire flashed in her eyes and then was gone. She nodded. Yes, she did. Even she had to admit that they had to talk about this love between them. She’d run and now he was here, and he wasn’t about to let her run away again without at least hearing everything he needed to say to her.

“Okay.” Her voice softened with surrender. “I’ll text you.”

“Will you?”

She nodded. A tiny smile crossed her lips. “I will. I promise.”

“Okay, if you promise.”

“I do,” Poppy said. “I won’t run away tonight. I can promise you that.”

“What is this place?” Poppy followed Trevor through the giant house that sat on the Malibu beach. The windows were two stories high. The Pacific spread out beyond the windows just past the pool.

“It’s my parents’ place.”

Poppy turned from the view and her eyes swept over Trevor. He wore loose fitting sand-colored pants and a white t-shirt. Super casual, and yet he could have just stepped off the pages of a men’s fashion magazine.

“Your parents? Are they here?” Poppy’s gaze swept the room. Wow, Trevor’s parents were shockingly successful. There was so much she didn’t know about him, many things she’d avoided finding out in an attempt to keep her distance and save her heart.

“I thought we could have a couple drinks and some dinner and
talk
.”

Poppy’s stomach pitted when she heard the “T” word. Yes, she’d agreed to come to dinner with Trevor, and yes, she’d felt the heat that simmered between them, and yes, even though she was loath to admit it, she loved Trevor even though she was afraid to.

Love hurt. She’d rather keep her heart safe. Better to be safe with her heart than sorry with her lover. She walked out the giant back sliding doors and onto the deck. The sun hovered low in the horizon, lighting the sky with a fiery orange light. Blue and green pillows covered the chairs and sofas. Candles and a lit fireplace provided a flickering glow as the sun set.

“Do your parents live here?”

Trevor shook his head. “This is their beach house.” He poured a glass of wine for Poppy.

“That’s a bottle of—”

“Yeah,” Trevor interrupted and handed her a glass. “It’s from their private stock. They keep some here and some at the house.”

From any other person those words might have sounded obnoxious, as though Trevor was bragging. But from him it was just a statement of fact. A statement that seemed to include, without him saying so, that he completely understood these things were his parents’, and not his.

“How’s your writing?” It was another topic that seemed safe. They’d had a number of odd conversations on their ride from the Westside to Malibu. There had been nothing about their relationship or their future, only bits about the last week.

“Good. Okay. Nonexistent.” Trevor sat beside her. “I’ve been preoccupied with other things.”

A breeze wafted across her skin. “There are a lot of things that we didn’t share with each other.” She looked out at the ocean and took a long deep breath. “It’s not that I don’t want to share these things with you …” Her gaze came back to his face. What a beautiful face. His sharp blue eyes that penetrated her with a breathtaking intensity. His nose and high cheekbones. His longish blonde hair that fell just below his ears. Sun-kissed perfection. Even at Mesquale, Trevor had simply been himself. Never trying to impress. He’d never let on that he came from … her gaze drifted out across the ocean and then back up to take in the Malibu home. “You could have been
staying
at Mesquale, not working there.”

“I went there for a very specific purpose.”

“Don’t tell me you were investigating the company like Ryan?”

Trevor shook his head. He tilted his wineglass to his lips. “Nope.” He swallowed. “I wanted to be certain that I could live without all of this.” 

“Are you giving all this up?”

“Maybe,” Trevor said. “Depends. There are decisions that I need to make very soon. One of them will change my finances for the rest of my life, and determine my career path for the next twenty years.”

“I don’t think I could give up all this security.” Her gaze locked with Trevor’s. “I mean, I can’t imagine what it feels like, to never have to worry about money. I don’t even mean spending money, but simply not having to worry about it? Is that what your life is like?” She leaned back into the couch cushions. “My sister’s life is the closest I’ve ever seen to being secure, and even they have challenges. But to be wealthy and never worry about money … what a luxury.”

“We both saw some very unhappy people with loads of money.”

Poppy nodded. “We did. But I suppose if you can be happy without money than you can be happy with money. What’s the choice you have to make?”

“I either run the family business or lose my inheritance.”

“And the family business is?”

“Up Side Burger.”

“
The
Up Side Burger?”

Trevor nodded. “That’s the one.” Trevor poured Poppy more wine. “My grandparents started it and my dad and my mom ran it and now—”