The Awakening of Poppy Edwards
Page 6
‘Yes.’
I was so intent on getting ready to do battle, I thought I’d misheard. ‘What?’
‘Yes.’ She smiled at me, a smile I hadn’t seen before. ‘I said yes. I’m in love with you, too. I realised how much I was in love with you that day in the restaurant, and there was no way on earth I was going to let you know how I felt when I thought that you couldn’t—wouldn’t—but now you say that you will and I—I love you, Lewis.’
‘Why the hell didn’t you just say so!’
To say we fell on each other makes it sound less than romantic. We were starving for each other, though. We kissed as if we were parched. As if we couldn’t get enough. You’ll tell me it’s a cliché, but I don’t care. They felt different, those kisses. I felt different. When I kissed her, I was telling her with my mouth and my hands how much I loved her. How terrified I’d been at the thought of losing her. That I wanted her with me, inside me, tucked right there, inside me.
Yeah. Exactly. But there you go; it was the truth. And it felt as if she felt the same. And when I started to undress her there by the pool, she shook her head, and took my hand, and led me up to her bedroom. And you know what, I’m going to close the door on what happened then, because that was different, too. We made love. Enough said.
Epilogue
Variety Magazine, April, 1924
RMS Olympic docked today in New York harbour. The sister ship of the tragic Titanic, there were no signs of her war service when she was piloted into her berth, paintwork spanking new, brasses shining.
Amongst those on board were the London stage actress Daisy Edwards and with her a real English aristocrat, Lord Harrington, known better to those who like to take to the air as the owner of Harrington Aviation. Miss Edwards was reunited with her sister, our own star of the silver screen, Poppy Edwards. As our photograph shows, despite the tears, the sisters made a glamorous pair.
No wonder movie mogul Lewis Cartsdyke is smiling there in the background. A little bird tells us that the sisters will be starring in his brand-new production on Broadway. A musical about the war in Europe, Mr Cartsdyke told our man in the theatre. Well, that’s certainly something we’ve never seen before! Though since our Mr Cartsdyke has never been one to swim with the tide, we shouldn’t be surprised. His studios in Hollywood are currently closed for what he calls extensive renovations. The particulars are strictly under wraps, but we can tell you exclusively here that they’re all in the name of talking pictures!
What will he think of next, you ask? Mr Cartsdyke had nothing to say on the subject, but the look on his face says it all. We reckon it won’t be long before wedding bells are ringing for the lovely Poppy and her dashing producer. But let’s keep that one under our hats.
Born and educated in Scotland, Marguerite Kaye originally qualified as a lawyer but chose not to practice. Instead, she carved out a career in IT and studied history part-time, gaining a first-class honors and a master’s degree. A few decades after winning a children’s national poetry competition, she decided to pursue her lifelong ambition to write, and submitted her first historical romance to Harlequin Mills & Boon. They accepted it, and she’s been writing ever since.
You can contact Marguerite through her website, www.margueritekaye.com.
eISBN: 9781460335673
THE AWAKENING OF POPPY EDWARDS
Copyright © 2014 by Marguerite Kaye
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