The Last Waltz

Chapter 23

When Poppy awoke early the next morning, Isaac was already dressed and sitting in a much more substantial chair. She must have been exhausted to have missed them moving it into the room.

Stretching, she eyed Isaac, who was watching her warily.

"What!"

"Nothing." He shook his head and watched her crawl out of bed toward the tray of fresh tea on the small table next to him.

"How and when did that get here?" she asked, pointing at the chair.

"About an hour ago. I was using the bathroom on the floor below when I ran into Jackson, and he got it for me from somewhere," Isaac said placidly.

"What's going on out there?" she asked between sips.

"I couldn't say. I've been waiting for you to get up. All I did was find a bathroom. I met Rainer Stevens along the way." He looked at her accusingly.

"What!" she exclaimed again. "He's my uncle. What was his reaction when he saw you?"

"There are more famous people than not in the house right now, aren't there?" he demanded.

"I don't know, I haven't done the math! What was Uncle Rainer's reaction?" she demanded again.

"He paused, looked me over, shook my hand, welcomed me to the family, then walked away laughing as if I had just told a good joke." Isaac watched her, waiting.

"Sounds right. Dad gave him a horrible time when Beth married without telling anyone, and now, he's probably going to give Dad an equally hard time about my marrying without telling him." Poppy waved her hand. "Don't worry about it."

Sitting the cup down, she walked over to her bag in the corner and started to pull out something to wear. Then she moved to the sink in the corner, brushed her teeth, and washed her face before combing her hair and braiding it.

"Are you hungry?" she asked as she moved to the clothes she had laid on the bed.

"Yes."

"I'm going to change now," she warned him.

"Go ahead." His face was stoic.

Poppy pulled her nightgown over her head, and his expression remained the same. "I need to change my underwear." She reached for the waistband; this time, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes. 

Poppy changed her underwear, then told him she was decent, and he opened his eyes.

"What part of decent do you not get?" he asked as his gaze scalded her body.

Poppy rolled her eyes as she continued to dress, silently pleased that he didn't close his eyes again.

"You're a bit of a prude, aren't you?" she asked, realizing that she had only seen him shirtless a handful of times, and he always left the room to change. "If it's your scar, I've already seen it."

"And no questions?" he asked with a lift of his eyebrow, not saying if it was the scar that was the reason for his modesty.

"Of course, I have questions, but I figured you weren't willing to answer them." Poppy buttoned her jeans and pulled her sweater into place. "Are you?"

"No." He stood. "You're not wearing a bra," he pointed out.

Poppy looked down at her thick sweater; she was at home with her family. "Easy access, just in case," she said as she breezed by him with a sweet smile.

She moved quickly down the stairs just as she always had, and he had no trouble keeping up. It only took them a few minutes to make it to the dining room, where some of her family were having a leisurely breakfast. When they entered, everyone stopped talking and stared at her and Isaac.