Chapter 38

Roman hesitated before going into the room with Poppy. The amount of guilt he was feeling, mixed with the grief of his brother, had him feeling like a failure. As of late, he was wondering why his father thought he was worthy of being the leader of the D'Amico family. Often, he believed maybe Remi was a better choice. She didn't seem to worry over things the way he did or take things so personally.

Pushing the door, it squeaked open, making Poppy turned her head to the doorway with a weak smile. "Hey handsome."

"Hey, princess. How are you feeling?"

"Sore, but I'll be okay."

Stepping in, Roman slowly approached, taking her hand in his. Sitting next to her in the doctor's rolling chair, he couldn't even look the poor women in the eyes. He hated she was here. It was his fault, and there was no denying it.

"Poppy, I'm so sorry. I should have called the doctor sooner. Hell, I shouldn't have had you kidnapped. I'm a monster."

"You called me Poppy," she said, giving his hand a soft squeeze.

"Yeah. I guess the doctor didn't tell you. We found your family. Your bother is outside in the waiting room. That dude is scary as shit."

Letting out a weak giggle, Poppy cringed. "Ouch… Don't make me laugh. From the black eye you have there, my guess is Rick's here. He swings first and asks questions later. But don't worry, deep down he's got a big heart. He's just protective of me."

"I see that. He got me good. The guy has a mean right hook. I'll give him that. We talked, and he said he'd stay in town if you choose to stay. He knew since you said you'd help find my brother; you wouldn't leave. Poppy, you don't have to stay. It's not your responsibility, and you're just an innocent bystander in all this. You can go back to your loft apartment or back to Indiana. I'll tell everyone around it's my fault that you were pretending to be Claudia."

Shaking her head, Poppy looking up at the light above her, contemplating what to do. "It's my fault I pretended to be her. When I tried to tell the truth, no one believed me, and I shouldn't have let it go on so long."

"Yeah, and I'm sorry about that. But you really do look like her."

"And that's why I'll stay. I'll even pretend to be her for a while longer until you figure out where she is. Whatever is going on, I think Claudia is part of all this. Roman, do you think she's trying to turn you and Luke against each other?"

"I don't want to talk about him. I want to focus on you."

"He needs to know, Roman. He's expecting a wedding."

"Listen, it's his fault my brother got into drugs. I'm not exactly ready to forgive and forget. For now, all the matters to me is you. I want to get you home and into bed."

"Still trying to get me into bed, huh?" she teased. "At least let me recover before taking advantage of me."

"Haha, funny girl. I was very worried about you."

Poppy turned her head to him, not seeming to believe him. "Were you worried about me, or the fact it would be your fault if I died? I don't blame you. You didn't know I was sick. But maybe next time a girl tells you something, you listen. That's the problem with you and Luke. Neither of you listen. You talk and talk just to hear your own voice. You're just used to listening to the echo chamber of your own bullshit and everyone around the both of you go along with it. If you want things to get better for your family, which I know you do because Tate told me, I suggest you start by putting your listening ears on."

Giving a smirk, his eyes finally met hers. "What am I, five? My listening ears. That's what my teacher in elementary school used to say."

"Yeah, probably because you talked too much back then, too."

"Okay, you're right. Tell you what. If you promise to help me with finding Beau's murderer, and pretend to be Claudia a while longer, I promise I'll talk to Luke and make some peace. I can't say we're going to be besties again, but I will at least settle thing between us for now. As far as what's going on with my brother's death, anyway. We have a lot of bad blood between us that can't be fixed."

Raising a brow, she asked, "And the drug stuff? Will you work that out too? He really is remorseful."

"Let's not push it. As a matter of fact, I'm sending Remi to see him soon. Maybe she can find out if he knows anything else."

Sitting up slightly, Poppy asked, "Roman, can we go home now?"

"Yeah, princess. We can go home."

As she tried to stand, he stopped her, then scooped Poppy up in his arms. "I got you. It's the least I can do."

"You owe me big after this. You know that, right?"

Giving her a wink, he carried her out the door. "Anything. Just name it."

"A fashion show as soon as I can be Poppy again. I think it's time Pink Halo by Poppy Fields goes mainstream."

"You're in luck. I know just the people to make that happen. You and me, sweetheart, we're going places."

"Starting with your bed?" She giggled.

"Now who's trying to get who in bed? Naughty girl. We just officially met."

"You have a point. Hello, Mr. D'Amico. I'm Poppy Fields."

"Nice to meet you Poppy. I'm an asshole, and the man who kidnapped you. I hope you don't hold a grudge."

"Eh, we'll see how it goes."

As they entered the waiting room, her bother rushed to take Poppy out of Roman's hands. Scowling at him, he grumbled, "I got this. You keep your hands off my sister. You've done enough damage."

"Ricky, it's okay."

"The hell it is. And I'll deal with you when we get back to this rich asshole's mansion. You're calling Dad and you're telling him everything."

"But—"

"But nothing. You could have gotten yourself killed."

As her brother was walking her out of the doctor's office, everyone was following close behind. Looking over her brother's shoulder, she smiled at Roman with a giggly shrug. She knew Rick would be angry.

Being the bratty sister she was, she whispered to him, "He's hot, isn't he? I bet he's good in bed."

"Poppy, don't make me have one of the mob guys shoot you. I don't need to hear my sister talk about sex."

"Admit it, he's hot."

"Yes, he is, but I have my eye on that Tate guy. I love a bear. Don't you dare tell them, though?"

"Why?"

"If I'm going to work for these guys, I need to keep my head in the game. You don't lay all your cards on the table with people like this. Too much information gets people killed, and I don't want to be wearing cement boots at the bottom of Lake Michigan."

"You're going to help?"

"Do I have a choice? You already told lover boy you'd stay. So, I guess I'm here for the long haul. I hope you have an extra room in that apartment because I need my beauty sleep."

Wrapping her arms around her brother's neck, she looked over at Tate, who was watching her brother intently. Maybe her brother had a chance, or maybe Tate didn't trust him.

Time would tell.