"The wedding this weekend, Hannah and Graham. It was beautiful,” she said with a wistful smile on her face.
"Oh, yeah, it really was."
"They seem really happy, did that bother you? I mean since you used to date Hannah?"
"What?" He wasn't sure where this was coming from. Yes, he dated Hannah, but that was years ago now. It wasn't anything serious, just a summer fling. Later that year he met Abbie, who he had been with for years after that, they had even been engaged. "No, Hannah's great. What we had was nothing serious. I wish nothing but the best for her and Graham."
"Ya know, that summer you and Hannah got together, I was so jealous," Poppy admitted.
Josh felt his heart drop right out of his chest. "Jealous? Jealous of what?"
"Of you and Hannah, but you apparently have a type, you like them serious and blonde."
She was no doubt referring to Abbie who was very serious, at times downright unpleasant.
"I wouldn’t say serious and blonde is my type," he protested.
"It totally is. You picked Hannah, and then Abbie. Serious, check. Blonde, check."
"Okay, let's stop there, Hannah is fun to be around, you know that better than anyone. As for Abbie, we all have lapses in judgment sometimes" Giant lapses in judgment that last for years in the case of him and Abbie. "Plus, I once asked out a fun, beautiful, girl with dark hair and brown eyes, and she turned me down,” he smiled over at her.
“If you are referring to when you asked me to prom, that was a long time ago.”
“I’m just saying, if I ever had a chance with you, things may have been different.” The words were out before he could take them back. They danced in the air between them. He wanted to pretend he hadn’t just said that. Poppy meant too much to him, the thought that a slip of the tongue would make things weird or make her uncomfortable for even a moment spiked his anxiety and his heart fluttered in his chest. Finding the courage, he looked at her.
Her eyes had a sparkle he had never seen before, and his anxiety evaporated. Her tongue ran across her bottom lip and Josh’s heart raced and felt a familiar stir in his pants. Poppy reached out and took his hand. Looking down he saw her painted nails; her thumb was even painted with a daisy. Poppy and her flowers. His thumb grazed over that painted flower.
He looked up and saw her face. The look on her face was not one Josh recognized. There was an earnestness where her effervescence usually was.
"It’s funny how you can know someone your whole life, but never really know them. I did like you that summer,” said Poppy.
And just like that, Josh's world was thrown off its axis. He had been in love with Poppy Smith since fourth grade when they sat next to each other on the bus on their way to a field trip. She was like a magnet. He was always pulled to her, but she never showed any interest. He had managed the courage to ask her to prom. But after she turned him down, he closed the door on the idea of them as a couple, but never on her. He couldn’t imagine a world without Poppy Smith.
Now he knew. He knew that Poppy had liked him at one point. Those words had just come out of her mouth. That was not something he was going to forget. And now she was sitting here on the floor next to him, her leg resting against his and her hand in his. There was something magical in this moment. A spark of anticipation danced between them. It was like nothing he had ever felt.
"Used to like me? As in not anymore?" he said. He watched her. He watched a slow smile spread across her face. She looked down at their hands joined on his lap. The thumb with the daisy painted on it grazed lightly against his own thumb. Something clicked into place.
She looked up at him and took a shaky breath. He hoped she felt it too, whatever this was. The air was electric with the spark dancing between them.
Just then the door thundered open and in walked the director, one of the cast members and someone Josh had never seen before.
The magical moment that existed between him and Poppy evaporated as she pulled back her hand and quickly moved to stand.
"Oh good, you’re here. I just saw the girls pull up in the parking lot. I called the rest of the cast early tonight. I have a surprise,” said Steve as he strode confidently to the stage.
Poppy stood up. Josh ached at the absence of her and the magic of the moment that had happened between them.
The director and this stranger took the stage as the other cast members started to filter in and took a seat in the first few rows.
"I would like to introduce you all to Damien St. Cloud."
This guy took off his sunglasses and smiled. He stood there in a leather jacket and ripped jeans, looking like a perfectly manicured James Dean. He smiled and waved. Josh fought the urge, but couldn't help himself, he turned to look at Poppy. Her kilowatt smile shining her light up there on the stage, on this obnoxiously handsome stranger.
"Sadly, Ms. Maple had to leave town to take care of her sister who had a fall. We needed a music director, so I reached out to Damien. He’s an old student of mine and is currently between shows... on Broadway."
There was a collective gasp and Poppy gave a little squeal and clapped. Josh felt a rain cloud settle over him. He watched as Damien ran his hand through his hair and winked at Poppy.
"I look forward to working with all of you. I'm here for two weeks. Let's get this show up and running."
"Places for Suddenly Seymore," called the director and rehearsal had begun.
CHAPTER 4
Poppy
Poppy had been watching for signs since she did the spell Saturday night. She had been disappointed when she didn't wake up to find her own highlander that first morning, but she kept a watchful eye for anyone new or any possible meet cute on the horizon. The spell had brought Hannah her love and she trusted in the magic to do the same for her. Although that day nothing happened. After her shift at the orchard, she went to the bookstore in town and stopped by the Elbow Room for a drink that night. Nothing out of the ordinary though, just the normal Mystic Falls stuff.
She woke up Monday still on the lookout. Looking for a stranger in town or someone when she was working the register at the orchard, but nothing. Some tourists picking their own apples, a field trip, and a few locals picking up produce, but no sign of her soulmate yet. So, she worked the register and snuck back to the kitchen to bake some pies. Baking was the only thing that made her job at the orchard tolerable.
It wasn’t until rehearsal that night she actually got the magic she had been hoping for. She had been running lines with Josh, and for a moment she had thought maybe something was happening with Josh, but Poppy knew her spell had worked when she saw Damien St. Cloud walk in the door. This was it. He was her soulmate. She smiled up at the ceiling thanking that wonderful little woman for her magic.
She watched as he walked onto the stage, and when she found out he was an actual Broadway star, she squealed with excitement. This was even better than a guy from the past. This was a sexy Broadway star that could help to finally get Poppy's life going somewhere. She could already see herself back in the city, living in the hustle and bustle, and maybe even seeing her name in lights. This was it. It was time to find the piece she’d always felt was missing.
He was going to be there for two weeks. Poppy knew what she had to do. She had just watched her best friend fall in love. Now she would make Damien St. Cloud fall in love with her.