Honeymoon Rivals

29| Secret

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Secret

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Chapter 29: Secret (Poppy's POV)

We sat at our table inside now, on the lower deck, having dinner. We both were done eating now and only sipped at our wine every few moments while talking and watching each other. 

He set his glass down and leaned back in his seat, watching me silently. 

I lifted my brows at him before taking another sip, finishing the last of my red wine. I wasn't getting tipsy or anything, but the wine sent a rush of heat to my cheeks almost immediately. My neck, my cheeks, every inch of my skin was buzzing, making me warmer than usual. 

I learned quite a lot about Josh tonight, more than I was expecting to. I heard some college stories, how he moved all on his own from Chicago to New York, how he ended up at Travel Addict Weekly, even how things happened when Blake was born. 

It was the first time Jenny contacted him in years, is what he said. She called him to the hospital for the delivery and demanded that he show up, no matter what and he didn't even argue with her, he was there the moment she asked.

"Josh, can I ask you something?" 

He nodded, leaning forward and resting his folded arms on the table. 

"This little... feud, if you will, that you have with Jenny." 

He paused and then nodded again. 

"Is it really necessary? I mean, you don't mean it, do you? You don't really hate her... do you?" 

"No," he said slowly, "of course, I don't hate her. She's my sister. But I hate what she did to me." 

"Which was what exactly? If you want to tell me." 

He contemplated it before downing the rest of his wine and then telling me. "Poppy, you have no idea what my parents are like. They are total control freaks, to the point where not only living with them felt suffocating, but to the point where we couldn't do anything we wanted. I understand why Jenny left and I'm not saying she shouldn't have. But she didn't consider me at all. In fact, before she left when I tried talking to her, all she had to say to me was that she didn't care about me or what happened to me. She wanted to leave and that was it." 

I frowned slightly. "She said that to you?" 

He nodded calmly. "And then that same night, she ran away." 

"To New York?" 

"No. She stayed with a friend for a few days before coming to New York, as far as I know." 

"What about your parents? They didn't try to bring her back home?" 

"Nope. Once they found out where she was, they didn't care. As long as she was alive, I guess." 

"And with you? Was it the same when you left?" 

He chuckled dryly, his tongue poking the inside of his cheek. "No. It was the opposite. They lost their minds, they went crazy trying to find me. They asked every friend they knew I had, every relative of ours, everyone. In fact, the first time they spoke to Jenny since she ran was when they were looking for me."