Ruin Me Please (13 page)

He was impressed. 
He looked
around to take it all in.   Inhaling deeply, he could never get enough of the musty scent of old books. 

“This is one of my favorite rooms
.
 
We are all
avid reader
s.
”
  S
he pointed out.  “Of course feel free to choose something if you would like.
” 

Poppy looked at Piper.
“T
his is also where you will
find Piper
curled up in
a
window seat. 
Do you
enjoy
read
ing
,
Hawksley
?”   

Declan
nodded
his head in assent.  “I have been reading the
Odyssey
by Homer.  Have you read Homer?” 

Poppy turned towards Hawksley and
smiled
,
“
Indeed
.
  My father insured that we had a vast library. 
In addition,
I have a subscription to the
lending
library
in Town
.  I get all of the la
t
est novel
s
. 
I’m
attempt
ing
to
read
as many
books
as I can.
”
 

Piper cut in, “
You can borrow anything that you like while you are visiting
,
”
s
he said
as she gestured
towards their vast collection. 

He bowed slightly
.
“
Thank you, you are
both
most kind.” 

Closing the door,
Poppy
glanced
farther down the hall and pointed to the next door on the right
.  “
That
is the
b
illiards
or
card room
, whichever you prefer
. 
It is
Parker and Peyton’s f
a
vorite room
,
”
s
he mentioned with a grimace.  “
A bit
t
oo much cigar smoke for my taste
.
”
S
he glanced at Hawksley from underneath her lashes, fanning
her hand back and forth in front of her
charmingly wrinkl
ed
nose. 

Merciful heavens, she was dangerous, Declan thought.

She paused to open
the door to her
left
,
revealing t
he bright and sunny breakfast room.  Cheery yellow walls enhanced by the bright sun that was pouring thr
ough the large bay wi
n
dows
flanked
on either side by
the colorful stained glass door that lead into the conservat
o
ry
.

Each new marquis
endeavored
to
put his own mark on the ancestral home.  With each new generation, the additions
gave the house a somewhat jumbled
, yet unique appearance.

One of Poppy’s favorite additions was the
conservatory, which
her grandfather had i
n
stalled.
In the winter,
it wa
s one of Poppy’s favorite es
capes, a
heated tropical getaway, such as she had only read of in books.  She loved to take tea in the
furnace-heated
structure during the wi
n
ter
forgetting the bitter chill out of doors
.

A large
marble-topped
rosewood sideboard held an assortment of breakfast delights
,
enough to feed a small village.  It was practically groaning un
der the weight of all the food
spread across the top.

Parker rose quickly, rounding
the table
in quick strides greeting his friend enthusiastica
l
ly
,
“Hawk,
how is
my long
,
lost friend?
” 
He shook Declan’s hand v
igorously.  “It
’
s good to see you.
”  He slapped him on the back.
 
“
I have missed you
, my friend
.  I see you have become a
c
quainted with my
lovely
si
s
ter
’s
.”

“Yes I have
,” he
said
with a
smil
e
.  “Your sister
s
ha
ve
been kind enough to give me a quick tour of the immediate rooms
.
”
H
e
turned a speaking look
towards Poppy.  “It was my good fortune to be greeted by
Poppy’s
companion
,
Georgie
,
when I first arrived
.
”
A
broad smile transformed his fe
a
tures.  “You have a lov
ely home here Ash,
”
he said politely.

“Thank you. 
I am extremely proud of it
,
”
h
e agreed.  “Grab yourself something to eat.”

Turbulent emotions continued to flow through Poppy.  She had never felt this nervous
, giddiness
before.  Heat poured throughout her entire body.  She knew she was attracted to
Hawksley but
she definitely did not understand what this all meant? 
Glancing at
Piper
, surely s
he would be sensible about all of this.

After serving
herself some eggs and toast, Poppy sat next to her brother
and
pour
ed
herself some tea.  She watched as Declan piled his plate high with bacon, ham, eggs and toast
.  Sitting opposite her, he
poured a cup of hot black co
ffee and took a sip.

Poppy listened
with interest
as
they rehashed
old times.
Grinning
and once even chuc
k
ling
aloud
at one
of the reckles
s
escapades,
they had shared
.

“D
o you remember when we were in B
ath?” 
Parker arched his brow.

Clutching
at
his stomach
, Declan
groaned, “Ugh, please do
not
remind me.”

“No one forced you to drink so much of the water.” 
Parker snickered.

“You say!”  Declan scoffed.  “
Rockwell bet me fifty pounds.”

Poppy laughed outright
again
.
 

It was a joyful, melodious sound and Declan found himself joining her in a wide smile.
  “
Then y
ou should be a very healthy man.”

She thought she was prepared.  She thought she knew what she was doing. 
Now
that he was sitting in front of
her,
she had no idea how to proceed. 
When he flashed
her
his
deva
s
tating smile, he took her breath away. 
She was uncomfortable with the direction of her thoughts. 
Not knowing how she should proceed.  She felt as if she had a multitude of em
o
tions swirling throughout her all at once.  She felt as though she were suffocating
in the heat of ne
w
found arousal that tempted her
.  Unable to
breathe
deeply, she began to panic again.  Ta
k
ing shallow breaths, she need
ed desperately to escape.

Quickly, she pushed back her chair making more noise then she had intended
.
“Please excuse me
.
”  S
uddenly s
elf-conscious
, Poppy
gave up any attempt at a more graceful, dignified e
s
cape.  “I forgot some
—
items that need to be taken care of before our other guests arrive.”  She raced from the breakfast room before she embarrassed herself even more.

“Please excuse Poppy
,” Parker
apologized as he sat there puzzled
,
sharing a look with Piper
.  “This is so unlike her.” 
He stared t
houghtfully at the door.  “She is naturally sanguine and
spirited
,
but normally she is more composed with guests present.”

Declan looked thoughtfully
at the
now
empty seat in front of him.
“No need to apol
o
gize
, I
am sure I
discomposed her
when I surprised her in the garden.  Your sister is qui
te char
m
ing to say the least.”  He understo
od her dilemma, he felt addled himself.

Parker said nothing,
Scrutinizing
his friend, it was clear to him
when he glance
d at Hawk that more had transpired
than either
was
letting on.  Understanding dawned as he re
c
ognized the look in his
friend
’s
eyes. 
Blast
.
  Hawk
had the look of someone that had the breath knocked out of him by an elbow to the gut.
 
That happened a lot when people met Poppy. 
L
oo
k
ing at his friend with a crooked smile, a very interesting visi
t this may prove to be i
n
deed.

The door swung open and
Peyton entered the room.  “What
on earth is the matter
with Poppy?” 
He glanced
behind him.  “She almost knocked me over running up the stairs
.
”

Parker raised his brow and p
ointed
towards
Hawksley.

“Oh
,
I say.  I did
n’t
realize
guests had alr
eady
arrived
.
”
He
grinned moving forward to greet
Declan
.

“Apparently, I am causing a disruption in the household
.
”
Declan
laughed.

“Hardly
.
”
H
e
snorted.  “We are expecting a
crowd
later today
.
”
 
Peyton smiled as he piled his own plate high with eggs
and a rasher of bacon
.  “She is such a managing female.
”  He shook his head.
 
“
She probably just needed to
re
o
rganize another hour of our day,” h
e said as he chewed
a piece of bacon.  “Do
n’
t be surprised if she hands you a schedule to follow
.
”
H
e
s
huddered
.

***

Poppy ran
up the stairs to her room, slammed
the door and press
ed
her back against the wall.
“
What to do, what to do, w
hat to do?
”
s
he
muttered
softly,
wringing her hands, flu
s
tered.