Endless Obsession

“I’ll let you know in a few days,” I inform her, going no further with it and changing the subject. “How well did Owen take to Kia being interested in that Noah boy?”

She huffs out a strained laugh, and I’m grateful she drops the Poppy topic.

“You should have seen his face when Bea told him. I thought he was going to pop a blood vessel. Of course he flatly refused to let her have anything to do with him at first. Kia threw a fit and screamed she hated him as she stomped off to her room. It took Bea hours to calm him enough to talk reasonably to her. He reluctantly agreed, but under the stipulation that she’s never to be alone with him.”

My lips tip up into a smirk. Owen is extremely protective of his girls, but I’m not surprised Bea was able to talk him down. He loves my sister and can never say no to her for long.

“He gave in easier than I would have. My daughter’s not dating until she’s thirty, and only if I like the guy.”

“Honey, there will never be a man that you like for your daughter. You’re setting her up to fail before she’s even born,” she notes, laughing.

“Well, then, it looks like she’s destined to never get married,” I mutter.

“Asher!” she scolds. “You can’t expect her to never marry just because you won’t accept she’s growing up.”

“Why are we even discussing this? I’m not even married yet, let alone have a kid.”

Not that it won’t be long before that happens. Once I have Poppy back, I want to get her pregnant as soon as possible.

I hear a beep and pull the phone away from my ear to look at the screen. Pulling down the notification screen, I see it’s a text from Poppy.

“Mom, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you later,” I tell her quickly, already pulling the phone away from my ear to hang up.

“Wait!” she yells. I growl in frustration and put it back to my ear. “Whatever is happening between you and Poppy, it’ll work itself out,” she rushes out.

“I won’t have it any other way,” I say with conviction. “Love you, Mom, but I’m hanging up now.”

“Love you, too, sweetie.”

I end the call and immediately go to my messages. I leave moisture behind on the screen from my nervous, sweaty fingertips as I tap mine and Poppy’s text thread. There are only a few messages in the folder, and the ones that are there are business related. All the others are on the phone I used as Sterling.

My heart leaps in my chest as I see Poppy’s text and a smile breaks across my face.

Poppy: I miss you.

After staring at the phone for several seconds to ensure I read it right, I drop it to the seat. My hands go to my keys, and I start my car.

She misses me. That has to say something, right? After seeing that, there’s no way I can stay away.

Two minutes later, I’m parking my car one house down from Olivia’s. The sun set about an hour ago, so it’s dark out, but the streetlights illuminate the streets pretty well. Indecision starts worming its way in. Olivia’s words from earlier has my hand slowing on the door handle. Am I making a mistake coming here? Will it push her further away?

I pull the handle and my door opens soundlessly. I’m here. I can’t be here and not see her. It’s physically impossible to just drive away now. I take my phone with me as I walk across the street, waving at the two men in the SUV parked in the empty driveway across from Liv’s house. I had Rex put another man on Poppy.

The houses and properties are big in this neighborhood, so it would be hard to spot me loitering. I stop outside the window Rex told me was Poppy’s. I don’t know if she’s inside her room, or if she’s in another part of the house, but standing here makes me feel closer to her. Instead of looking into the window, I force my back against the wall beside it. I send her a message.

Me: I’m here.

I stand and glance around as I wait for Poppy’s reply, hoping she doesn’t come storming out to tell me to leave, or worse, send Tony out. At least if Poppy comes out I would get to see her, even if she is mad. Olivia’s car is parked in the driveway so I know she’s home. I’m not sure about Tony, though.

My phone dings, and I hold my breath at Poppy’s reply.

Poppy: Where?

I wonder if Olivia told Poppy of our conversation, and if she knows I know she’s here.

Me: At Olivia’s.

Fuck! I hope I don’t regret this.