Cupid for Hire by Lila Monroe

Author:Lila Monroe [Monroe, Lila]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lila Monroe Books

14

Poppy

Here’s a fun question. Would you rather:

a) Be covered in honey and dropped in a pit of fire ants?

b) Get locked in a small room listening to German death metal music at full volume for twenty-four hours?

Or

c) Be stuck on a double date with your asshole ex in the middle of a lake when you’ve forgotten sunscreen and bug spray?

There’s no contest. As we climb out of the canoes and wade ashore on the tiny island in the middle of the lake, I would gladly take the fire ants and Rammstein. Because somehow Operation Avoid My Toxic Ex-Boyfriend has turned into Operation Trap Poppy in a Confined Space with Said Ex instead.

Dylan is going to owe me for this. Bigtime.

“It’s so pretty here!” Jasmine exclaims. “Look, Poppy, birds!”

“Yay,” I manage weakly. “Birds.”

Jasmine insisted on rowing girls vs. boys with me on the journey out to the little island in the middle of the lake, so I’ve been able to avoid Tyler so far, but I can feel Dylan’s lovestruck eyes on her the whole time. The minute we reach dry land, he’s right back at Jasmine’s side again. “Let me show you around,” he tells her. “If you like birds, there’s a nest just over that hill.”

They take off up the incline together, leaving me with the one man I would happily swim back across the lake to avoid.

“Poppy,” Tyler grins at me, looking ridiculously preppy in head-to-toe seersucker. “Looks like you couldn’t stay away.”

“We’re on an island,” I inform him, gesturing around at the small beach. “There’s not really anywhere else to go.”

“Aww, come on, you’re not still hung up over what happened between us?” Tyler asks, strolling closer. “We’re both adults. It’s water under the bridge.”

I take a deep breath, about to set him straight . . . and then think better of it. Tyler loves to argue, it’s like verbal foreplay to him. The most annoying thing I could possibly do right now is simply keep my cool.

“Sure. Water. Plenty of it,” I say brightly. “Well, great catching up. I’m going to enjoy the sun.”

I sit myself down on a patch of sand and pull out my notebook. Since I’m clearly working this afternoon, I may as well get a jump on that love poem Dylan wanted.

What rhymes with dimple?

Simple . . . Tinkle . . . Pimple . . .

A shadow falls across the paper. “Did you pack sunscreen?” Tyler asks. “Your face is looking kind of red.”

“I’m fine,” I reply.

“You always did burn easy,” Tyler adds. “Remember that trip we took to Atlantic City? Your shoulders were peeling for a week.”

I swallow hard. “You mean that trip where you flirted with the waitress and then swore you didn’t, even though I found her number in your pocket?” I ask. “Fun times!”

He drops to the ground beside me. “So, how have you been?” Tyler continues, tossing pebbles into the water. “I’m glad we ran into each other. You know, you’re looking great.”

I can feel his eyes on me, but I refuse to look up over.

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