a virgin margarita. Or even—’ he made sure he had her full attention ‘—an almost-virgin one.’
‘Why do you keep …?’ Her cheeks blazed and she looked down at her boots. When she lifted her chin again realisation flamed in her eyes. ‘Oh, my God. I didn’t …?’
‘Didn’t what?’ Izzy’s eyebrows formed a V. She looked first at Poppy and then at Isaac. ‘What are you two talking about? What didn’t you do?’
Isaac saw the pain on Poppy’s face and knew he’d stepped too far. She did sarcasm like a pro, but had also relied on him to hold her secrets close to his chest, and he’d never been tempted to share them so he wasn’t going to start now. Although sometimes she was a little too damned serious for her own good. Honestly, she didn’t need to repent for ever. Everyone had at least one thing in their past they regretted. And being sexually inexperienced wasn’t exactly a crime. Some man would be very lucky indeed to reintroduce Poppy to the dating scene. Isaac only hoped it wouldn’t be a jerk like the last one.
And why did the thought of Poppy with another man make his blood pressure hike? Things weren’t making sense today. ‘Didn’t … get to sort out the rest of the tree decorations. Right, Poppy? Maybe you and Izzy could finish them this afternoon.’ And stay out of my way.
Izzy picked up her bags and shook her head. ‘Rubbish. We’ll come with you to set the traps. I’m so glad you’ve chosen the humane ones—I’d hate to see anything get hurt. We can be The Three Mouseketeers, releasing the mice into their true habitat outdoors. You must call me if you catch any. I’d love to see them. Then we’ll tag along and see what an amazing bar you’ve created, Isaac. I’ve heard so much about it.’ She turned to Poppy. ‘Come on, please? I don’t get the chance to do this very often. I feel like living dangerously. Okay?’
‘Oh, okay. Just a quick drink, but I’m on water.’ Poppy sighed.
And for just a second he was back in that bed watching as she fell asleep. How many times had he shared his bed? Too many to count. And no woman sleeping had made his heart squeeze as she had last night, as if he’d wanted to protect her, to stop her feeling as rotten as she clearly felt. To stop her needing to outright ask for a sexual experience. The accidental glimpse of a woman’s nipples hadn’t ever before made him feel so aroused.
No woman had looked so damned hot with a hangover either.
His groin tightened as he watched her. Goddamn—he needed a bit of distance, not to give her a guided tour of his bar.
Catching Isaac’s eye, she frowned and shook her head minutely, but just enough for him to understand. He got the message loud and clear. Don’t mention it, don’t think about it and definitely don’t ever consider spending another night in my bed.
Which was one hundred per cent fine by him.
Blue lived up to the hype. Even through foggy hangover vision Poppy could see why Isaac had won the Best New Bar Award this year. Decorated in vivid midnight blue with a wall of cascading turquoise water in the centre of what used to be a bank it was startling, edgy and yet a very comfortable place to be with soft, plump easy chairs she sank into.
Or would have been comfortable if she hadn’t been in direct eye line of Isaac all afternoon, on tenterhooks wondering what the heck he was going to say and how she was going to answer. He’d always had slick one-liners, been far too cocky for his own good and she was so out of her league here—tongue-tied with embarrassment.
As it was mid-afternoon the place was quiet with just a couple of other customers sitting up at the long mahogany bar reading the extensive cocktail menu. Izzy tapped her martini glass against Poppy’s sparkling water. ‘Cheers. I’m very impressed—no wonder he’s doing so well if all his bars are like this. He’s a bit of a mystery, though, isn’t he? Flitting in and out of the country … He’s sort of been vaguely around the edge of our group on and off for years, then he’s suddenly rich and successful and renting a room at yours.’
Poppy nodded. ‘Believe me, the renting’s only temporary. He wouldn’t have been my first choice of flatmate. But when Alex offered him your old room I couldn’t exactly say no. I guess Alex thought he was doing us both a favour.’
Izzy winced. ‘Sorry. I didn’t mean to leave you in a mess.’
‘Ah, look, I’m a landlady, I have to expect these things to happen. Funny, though, we were so settled for all those years, just you, me and Tori in our lovely flat.’
‘Your lovely flat.’
‘Yes, well, I always thought of it as ours really—you helped me find it and decorate it. I just bankrolled it. But then in the space of two months everything’s changed so much I can barely keep up. Tori moved out to be with Mark, and you moved out to live with Harry. Alex moved in, Tori moved back into the box room, Isaac took your old room. And just to spice things up a bit, we had Matt for a month. I’m getting a bit dizzy. It’s like the place has a revolving door at the moment.’ If only Isaac could see fit to revolve out permanently instead of staying over for a few nights here and there … usually unannounced. Still, paying full rent in advance meant his contribution to the mortgage was a big relief to her money worries. In the short term. ‘Besides, with his job he’s hardly around.’ Until recently. Now it felt as if he was around rather too much for her liking.
‘And he hasn’t got a girlfriend? Or at least no woman to stay with until his flat’s ready.’
‘Oh, trust me, he’s had plenty of women.’ Poppy sipped her water and thought briefly about exchanging it for something stronger so she could find some of the bravado she must have had last night. Kissing someone—not even asking, just kissing—took guts. She hadn’t known she had any. Not those kind of guts, anyway. Asking for what she wanted, taking what she wanted. Typical it had ended in disaster.
Izzy clarified, ‘No long-term woman.’
‘According to Alex, Isaac’s dating record is a month. Thirty days. That’s not enough to give anything a chance. I’ve heard of the kind of things he used to get up to with Alex and it’s not pretty. The man’s just a flirt. No self-respecting woman would want long term with him, anyway, not that he’d ever offer. I think watching his mother have failed marriage after failed marriage has put him off any kind of commitment.’ So said the ex–junior psychiatrist in her.
She watched him so comfortable there behind the bar with his colleagues, laughing and joking. The smart shirt accentuated the pecs of steel she’d seen this morning. Her mind drifted back to the tight boxers and her heart rate escalated. She swallowed another gulp of water to douse an unexpected heat rushing through her. God. Hot and bothered just by looking at a man. This never happened. Never. Was she eighteen again?
Ugh. She shuddered. She damned well hoped not.
‘There’s a funny vibe between you two. There’s always been a funny vibe, but it’s getting more vibrant.’
Bless Izzy and her wishful happyed-up thinking. ‘There’s no vibe.’
Her friend touched her arm. ‘Just be careful.’
This was the girl Poppy had known for ever. Only once had she ever kept a secret from her; every other single thing about their lives they had shared. Openly. Everything. And yet she didn’t want to tell Izzy about last night, about kissing Isaac and the weird sensations he was instilling in her. Didn’t want to confess about the hole she felt she had
