Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 32348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Poppy had acted like she was crushing on him all this time, but what if she was also pretending?
"Did you really say 'Mr. Rossfield'?"
The unmistakable sound of Poppy's voice cut into Valerian's thoughts. She had squeaked each word out as well, but instead of finding this amusing, Valerian was stunned to feel his heart pound instead.
What the hell was happening?
"How many times do I have to tell you?" Valerian heard Giovanni groan. "It really is him, so will you hurry up and get to the phone? Joy will kill us both if she finds out how long we've made him wait! Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
Valerian heard Poppy taking audible gulps of breath before coming to the line, but with Camelia's deception still too damn fresh in his mind, he would be an idiot to make a big deal out of this.
"Mr. R-Rossfield, good morning."
Her breathless tone suggested she was nervous, but that didn't have to mean anything either.
Just play it cool, he told himself, and see where you stand with her.
If it turned out he had kissed her against his will, then he would apologize and bear the consequences for his drunken mistake.
But if that kiss was not unwelcome?
Stop getting ahead of yourself, dammit.
Valerian took a deep breath.
Play it cool.
But when he finally spoke, the words that came out were the fucking opposite.
"I think I asked you to call me something else already."
Poppy gasped at this while Valerian was already up on his feet and literally slamming his head against the wall.
What the hell, Rossfield?
It was unlike him at all to think one thing and do something entirely different the next. Was this because he was concurrently dealing with a hangover while talking to Poppy?
"I'm...I'm afraid that's not possible, sir."
Poppy's awkward tone spoke volumes. "You're not alone, are you?"
"No, sir."
"So you can't say what's on your mind?"
"That's correct, Mr. Rossfield."
"But if no one else was listening...would you call me what I asked you to?"
Poppy gasped again, and if he had been the type to gasp, he would've done so as well. Why the hell had he asked her—-
"Yes."
His brain completely shut down at the speed of her reply.
I think I'm losing my mind.
Was it exhilaration or adrenaline that was suddenly making his heart race?
The last time he felt like this was when he had gone skydiving.
He had to be involved in something wildly risky and out of control—-
And Poppy was that, Valerian realized.
To consider dating her was a risk of unimaginable proportions, the variables too many to count. They were so damn different, he couldn't even picture how things would work between them.
And that was what made her perfect.
"Can I ask you something, Poppy?"
He had always called her 'Ms. Cortez' in the past, and Poppy's gasp made it clear this wasn't lost on her either.
"Y-Yes?"
"Did I do something last night that I have to apologize for?"
Valerian could easily imagine Poppy saying 'yes' or 'no'. But just when he was starting to feel confident about either answer being a good thing—-
"Mr. Rossfield? I can't hear you. Sir? Sir?"
The line suddenly went dead, but before he could figure out what the hell had happened, a text from an unsaved number landed in his inbox.
You don't remember anything about last night.
It was as if someone had pulled the rug under him, and Valerian suddenly found himself in unfamiliar territory as he grappled for something to say. To lie wasn't even an option. But to tell the truth was even worse.
Poppy: It's true. Isn't it?
Valerian spent one full second cursing and groaning in his mind before succumbing to the inevitable.
Valerian: Can I call you again?
Chapter Eleven
POPPY'S THOUGHTS WERE a mess.
Again.
In not so many words, Heather had warned her against keeping her hopes up for no reason. But she had still ended up tossing and turning the whole night, with her mind tirelessly replaying the moment the billionaire had pulled her into his arms and tasted her mouth with his tongue.
And now this.
Her only thought this morning was to convince herself that what happened was an accident. Valerian was drunk, as his half-sister had taken pains to point out. 'In vino, veritas' only applied to words, and the fact that the billionaire couldn't even recall kissing her was proof of this.
Wasn't it?
Poppy's mind insisted that it was time to put an end to her one-sided crush. But her heart begged to differ. Poppy's mind was desperate to protect her from more pain while her heart was willing to risk everything for the slightest possibility of something more.
But was there?
For eight painfully long months, Poppy's heart had exiled itself of its own volition. Chained itself against the sinful urge to beat for a man who already belonged to someone else. Flogged itself again and again because of her inability to walk away.
She would’ve kept doing that, too...for as long as she deemed her feelings wrong.