“Me too, babe. Don’t forget to come back for lunch and tobring Hannah with you. I want to introduce her to some eligible warriors andget her sights locked on someone other than you.”
“That sounds like a good idea. She has been spending toomuch time with Demascus during breaks. I have a feeling he has been feeding herlies and false hope. Her meeting other warriors will benefit all of us,” heagreed.
After a couple more kisses, where she could see Tamin andRodin making fun of Wheaton by making smoochie faces, she finally kicked hisbutt out. Turning to the men who had become her close friends, she shook herfinger at them. “Knock it off, will ya? He is going to kill you both if youkeep teasing him.”
Both men laughed at her statement but agreed with her. Theyeach took turns giving her hugs and she was surprised when Tamin whispered, “Iwas not kidding when I said that another warrior would take his place if he wasstupid enough to let you go.”
“Really, Tam, who are you referring to?” she asked with ateasing smile.
She wasn’t prepared for the completely serious expressionthat came over his face when he replied, “I know at least three.” Then heturned and walked back to the supply room.
Rodin nodded in agreement. Well, that was interesting.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Poppy might have warned Hannah off Wheaton but she wasn’tgoing to be so dumb as to look like crap when the time came for lunch. Excusingherself to the bathroom to freshen up before they arrived, she stared at herreflection. Comparing herself to Hannah would do her no good. Where she wasdark and curly, Hannah was platinum and sleek. It was apples and oranges. Thankgoodness Wheaton preferred her apples. Smiling at herself, she smoothed herhair, or as much as she could. Hearing voices in the hallway outside the door,she listened closely, wishing she had just a bit more time. The male voiceswere muffled just enough for Poppy to be unable to make out who’d arrived.Slicking on some lip gloss and straightening her top, she opened the door to seethat Behyr had arrived.
“Hey, Behyr!” she said, giving him a big smile in greetingthat was followed by a quick hug. Of course he stiffened up again when shehugged him, which caused her to add in a whisper, “Remember I’m a hugger andthis torture will not stop.”
At his low chuckle, she stepped back and gave him a seriousface, which caused him to still, most likely thinking that something was wrong.
“About last night—” she began, only to be interrupted.
“No worries, Poppy. I was out of line showing you my teeth.I can understand Wheaton’s distress and it will not happen again.”
His face was so serious she was afraid he was actually goingto go back to being Mr. Cold on her.
“Oh no, Behyr! He wasn’t mad at you, not really… We wereboth frustrated with not seeing each other for days on end, and you wereconvenient for him to get mad at.” Noticing his disbelief, she went on, “I’mserious. You have become a great friend.” Turning to the other men in the room,she glanced at all of them in turn. “In fact, you have all become amazingfriends, and I don’t know how I would have survived this past week without anyof you. Wheaton is going to need to accept that humans need friends and that’sexactly what you are to me.”
Nodding her head at the men who watched her while shakingtheir heads, she continued, “Really, you guys have kept me sane. I have had funthis past week instead of staying in my room crying…and that’s all thanks toyou guys.”
The men were silent for a couple moments before Behyrstepped forward and spoke.
“Poppy, Wheaton may not be comfortable with that. We valueyour friendship as well but Wheaton is a formidable warrior and I would notwant to be on his bad side.” Both Tamin and Rodin nodded their heads inagreement.
“Don’t be such a pussy,” she said jokingly while pattingBehyr’s arm.
Noticing his perplexed expression, she waited for it…
“A cat?”
When the question popped out of his mouth, she giggled.
“Not that type of pussy. There are many meanings ofthat word in our language. I was using it to replace ‘being scared’,” she saidbetween giggles.
“That is not nice, Poppy. I am scared of nothing,” Behyrsaid in the most affronted voice she’d ever heard him use.
“Well then quit acting like it, Behyr. In fact, all of youneed to knock it off. Don’t freeze up when he’s around. It took me a while toget you comfortable and joking, and I don’t want to go back and have to startover.” She followed up her edict with a shoulder nudge to Tamin.
Walking from the room with the others following, she glancedback and asked to anyone who would want to answer, “Who’s bringing the food?”
“I believe Wheaton and Hannah will be bringing lunch,” Rodinreplied.
Behyr was apparently out of the loop, because he stared atPoppy as if she’d sprouted two heads. “Isn’t Hannah…” he started.
“We’ve decided to make nice and have lunch together today.”Making a funny face at the men, she went on, “My goal is to distract her withother beefcake options, and she’ll move on and leave Wheaton alone. Any ideasof who might be waiting for a bride?” she asked with an eyebrow wiggle.
“Is she anything like you?” Behyr asked with obviousinterest.
Poppy couldn’t help but sputter out a laugh at the thoughtof being compared to Hannah.
“Oh no, my dear friend. We are nothing alike. Infact, I can safely say she is the exact opposite of what you see standingbefore you today.” Sweeping her hand up and down her body like a Price IsRight model, she laughed again.
“Well then no, I would not like to distract her,” Behyr saidwith a straight face while the Bobbsey Twins nodded in unison.
Poppy was flattered by their compliments. “Aw shucks, youmen sure know how to make a gal feel good about herself.”
The door to the med center swished open and she turned tosee Hannah and Wheaton enter with platters in hand. Walking up to Wheaton andtaking the tray in exchange for
