Read Online Trust by J. C. Valentine - Free Book Online Page B

noticed something was off.
    Where was Bo?
    Looking around the room, she saw no sign of him. He was always in his corner, her silent sentinel, but tonight he was nowhere to be found. Her heart punched against her ribcage as a sliver of panic set in.
    Maybe he got thirsty and went down to the kitchen for a drink of water, she reasoned. Listening hard, she thought she might have heard a small rustle downstairs, but she couldn’t be certain.
    When the furnace clicked on, her nerves twitched and as the warm air began to blow through the room, Poppy laughed at herself. She was being a dope. So what if Bo wasn’t in his bed? Had she been in bed where she was supposed to be, then she wouldn’t have even noticed his absence in the first place. He was probably restless because she was restless.
    In the hall, Poppy went into the bathroom and drew herself a warm bath, pouring plenty of bubbles inside. Hopefully, it would be enough to relax her, but she already knew there was no hope for any more sleep tonight. The best she could hope for was an uneventful day ahead of her.
    As she slipped into the water, Poppy thought about the first time she had met Felix. He had been so cute, cold and chattering from exposure. She had been attracted to him from the moment she laid eyes on him. A sad smile formed as she recalled the embarrassing moment when she’d fallen into the tub with him, inadvertently feeling him up, and setting off a chain of events that would lead her to the happiest moments of her life.
    She ignored the stab of pain in her chest, because that night had also led her to this moment. She was alone now, steeped in depression and crippled by heartache. What a difference a day makes, or in her case, a moment.
    As she drew a mound of bubbles up to her chest, Poppy heard the sound of Bo’s nails clacking up the stairs. She listened as he created a commotion in the hallway then settled until it was quiet again. He must have been downstairs like she thought, just getting water or food. Knowing that he was asleep just a few feet away was comforting. At least Bo would never leave her for another woman.
    Poppy stayed in the tub until her fingers and toes pruned and the water grew too icy to tolerate. No longer warm, but chilled enough to make her teeth chatter, Poppy pulled the plug and grabbed a towel from the hook. As she stepped out and dried herself off, her ears kept pricking.
    Bo must have been restless, unable to sleep until she was there with him. She heard him moving around in the room, th e hallway, then the room again, almost as if he were pacing the floors. Hurrying through her routine of putting on lotion and combing out her hair, Poppy tidied up the bathroom before heading out to offer her comfort. Bo was just as sensitive to her emotions as a child and she hated the thought of him being upset.
    The moment she stepped out of the bathroom, Poppy knew something was off. Call it women’s intuition, but she knew she wasn’t alone. The air didn’t feel right. Her ears strained as she struggled to pick up any foreign sounds, but all she could hear was the soft roar of the furnace blowing and water glugging down the drain as the tub finished emptying.
    Taking cautious steps, Poppy entered her bedroom and stopped dead in her tracks.
    There must have been fifty candles lit. They dotted every surface of the room—the dresser, both night stands, even some on the floor along the walls. They ranged in size, from tall, fat pillars, to tea lights, each of them on their own dish to prevent spillage from the melting wax. All of them were white, and the scent…the whole room was filled with the smell of gardenias.
    She began crying before she knew what she was crying about. There was only one reason she could think of for all of this, and all of it pointed to Felix.
    “ I know how much you like candles.” Poppy stiffened at the sound of Felix’s voice. “I know I’m the last person you want to see,” he said gruffly as he walked