Taken by Love (Love in Bloom: The Bradens #7)

by Melissa Foster

  Chapter Six

  AFTER A CRAPPY day, Daisy wanted to have a glass of wine—and stare at her offer letters until she came to a decision about where she was going to work. She needed to do something to keep from thinking about Luke, and planning her future was the perfect outlet.

  The sun hung low in the sky, and as Daisy crossed the parking lot, she took a minute to enjoy the peacefulness of the evening and to admire the mountains in the distance. Philly seemed a million miles away. She’d spent the last eleven years there, and she’d been so glad to get out of Trusty that she’d never looked back. Before the incident with Darren, she was having such a good time with Luke that she was actually starting to think that not looking back had caused her to miss out on the parts worth remembering. Maybe coming back to Trusty wasn’t the worst thing she’d done this decade.

  She exhaled loudly and headed to her car.

  “Hey.”

  Luke’s voice sent a shudder through her. She turned, and just the sight of him brought the feelings of the evening before rushing back. He smiled a slightly embarrassed, slightly flirtatious smile that sucked the air from her lungs.

  Holy. Smokes.

  He held his hands up. “I know you might not want to talk to me, but I couldn’t stay away. I thought about you all day, Daisy.” He held her gaze, but the flirtatious spark she’d seen changed to something else altogether. Genuine sincerity.

  “I thought about you, too.” She was surprised at the steadiness of her voice, given the nervous flips her stomach was doing.

  He took a step closer to her, and Daisy swallowed hard. “Can we go someplace and talk?”

  “I’d like that.” Why did he make her heart go crazy? She had a plan. Go home. Drink. Decide on a future. And with a handful of words, he’d swept those plans away without a trace.

  Luke moved closer again, so close the air between them shifted, heated, and she swore, sparked. He placed his hand gently on her hip. “I’m sorry for yesterday.”

  “Mm-hm.” She couldn’t form a sentence to save her life. The muscles in his chest twitched as he spoke, and the heat of his hand on her hip sucked her brain cells from her head.

  “No confrontations. I promise.” His eyes darkened, sending a shiver through her.

  “I’m not worried,” she managed. Daisy held her breath, anticipating the kiss she’d dreamed about all night as he lowered his face to hers. His whiskers scraped against her cheek. She closed her eyes, drinking in the feel of him as his warm breath whispered across her skin.

  “Thank you.”

  She wanted to reach out and stroke his cheek, to feel the line of his jaw and that muscle that bunched on the side when he was tense. The anticipation of the night, of the kiss she’d been dreaming about for years, was tangling her thoughts into knots. Heat coiled low in her belly, and in the next breath, before he could pull his lips from beside her cheek, Daisy threw caution to the wind. She pressed her hands to his cheeks, drawing his full, soft lips to hers. The first second was one of shock—for both of them—a tentative, cautionary grazing of their lips. The second was one of gratitude, and the next sixty? Gloriously intimate stroking, tasting, sharing of each other’s mouths. Delicious. One of Luke’s hands settled on the small of her back, his other buried beneath her hair as he deepened the kiss. Daisy felt her body become lighter, and as he made an utterly male and sensual sound of appreciation deep in his throat, the heat that had coiled in her belly spread like wildfire throughout her limbs. She breathed in through her nose, and his masculine, earthy scent seeped into her pores. His thumb stroked the sensitive skin on the back of her neck, and as their lips drew apart, he kept her close, lips grazing, thighs touching.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled against his lips. “I was afraid if I waited any longer, I would be too nervous to talk.”

  The right side of his lips cocked into a smile. “Daisy Honey, what kind of guy do you think I am?” He pressed another soft kiss to her lips, then shook his head, as if he were trying to clear his thoughts. “Wow. I was not expecting that.”

  She felt her cheeks flush, and he pulled her close again, initiating another greedy, hot kiss. If heaven had a taste, she was sure it would taste like Luke, lusciously sweet and strong, but somehow gloriously soft, too. Her knees weakened, and when he drew back, she was a little dizzy with lust.

  “Wow.” It came out as one long whisper. She felt his heart slamming against his chest as fast and as hard as hers, and was glad that she wasn’t alone in feeling the world spin.

  “Are we going to kiss all night? Or should we go talk?”

  She bit her lower lip as embarrassment settled in, and she had a fleeting thought about how she’d just kissed Luke—taken the kiss from him—in a way akin to what she’d been accused of so long ago. The thought swirled and burned for a hot second before she quelled it and tossed it aside. She wasn’t that girl, never had been, and she’d be damned if she’d feel bad about kissing the man she’d spent years pining over.

  She thought getting that kiss out of the way would enable her to think more clearly, kick her nerves to the curb, but—wow—was she ever wrong.

  He arched a brow. “Don’t get any ideas. You’re not making me a notch on your belt.” He reached for her hand.

  She froze. “What?”

  “What? I was kidding.” His smile faded as understanding bloomed in his widening eyes.

  She was rooted to the ground, reliving high school all over again.

  His brows knitted together. “Hey, Daisy?” He settled his hands on her hips again. “I was honestly kidding.”

  She took a deep breath. Of course you were. I’m an idiot. “Okay. Sorry.” Jesus, Trusty is so not the place for me. Daisy was aware of how quickly she could spiral from a place of confidence back to the girl fighting a bad rep. She loathed the power those girls—and the stupid rumors—had on her. She swallowed against the pain of the past and drew her shoulders back, regaining her confidence. It felt good to move past those rumors.

  “I struck a nerve, huh? Well, if it’s any consolation, I’m obviously fighting a rep, too.”

  “I’m not fighting a rep.” She didn’t mean to snap, but even though she said the words, she knew she was still fighting that rep—even if only in her head. She took another deep breath and closed her eyes to calm her nerves. “I’m sorry. Yes, you struck a nerve, but I’m fine. Jesus, this place makes me a little crazy.”

  “Hey, look at me.”

  She drew her eyes to his.

  “I have a great idea. Let’s start over.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’m fine, really.”

  “Damn, and I was looking forward to reliving that kiss.”

  Five minutes later, Daisy was wrapped around him on the motorcycle, pressed against his back with her skirt tucked beneath her, and feeling warm all over despite the cool air whipping through her thin cotton skirt.

  LUKE CLIMBED FROM the bike, already missing the closeness of her body pressed against him. Usually, when he kissed a woman, it was with one outcome in mind. Getting laid. For the first time ever, he wanted to continue kissing her, to hold her, to soothe the worry he’d seen in her eyes when he joked about being a notch on her belt. He wanted to memorize the feel of her against him, the taste of her lips, and the press of her fingers on his biceps. But he hadn’t kissed her. She’d kissed him, and she’d shocked the hell out of him by doing so, stirring new and different desires in him, which had helped him resist taking the temptation further.

  The patio of Twilight Restaurant was lit up with colorful tiki lights. The restaurant had recently opened, and tonight there was a band playing outside. They offered picnic-style seating on the lawn, and Luke thought it would be the perfect place to relax and get to know each other, but after that amazing kiss, relaxing was not coming quite so easily.

  He reached for Daisy’s hand as they made their way across the crowded lawn to a free picnic blanket. She took his hand easily, comfortably, and he was relieved. He was out of practice as far
as real dates went, and his stomach felt funny. It had been a long time since he’d been nervous around a woman, but he was realizing that everything about Daisy was evoking different emotions. People swayed in their seats to the beat of the music, and as they settled onto the plaid picnic blanket, he noticed that Daisy’s shoulders swayed seductively to the tune, too.

  “I hope this is okay. I thought we could listen to music, have a little dinner, and maybe get to know each other better.” Luke’s typical dates had consisted of a quick beer at the local watering hole and an hour of pleasure before escaping to the safety of his house. Planning tonight’s date with the hopes of Daisy’s acceptance had supercharged his anticipation, and now the smile on her face told him he’d made the right choice.

  “They opened a few months ago, right? I’ve been wanting to come here, but I haven’t had a chance yet. This is perfect.”

  They watched the band for a few minutes, and Luke spotted the waitress, Lynn Haverty, heading their way. He knew her from around town, and as Daisy caught sight of Lynn and her body went rigid, he realized that they’d been in the same graduating class. Lynn wore black slacks, a white button-down shirt, and a name tag that said, Hi, I’m Lynn. She flashed a smile at Luke, and it faded when she looked at Daisy.

  Lynn tucked her wavy dark hair behind her ear and ran her eyes between them. “Hey, Luke, Daisy. Heard about the fair last night. Darren’s such a jerk.”

  Daisy tried to smile, and Luke could tell by the shadow of worry in her eyes that it was forced.

  Luke nodded. “Hey, Lynn.”

  She leaned in closer to Luke and lowered her voice. “Dude, that guy deserved so much more. Tell you what. I’ll bring you a bottle of wine on the house. My treat.”

  “You don’t have to do that.” Luke was glad to see he wasn’t being criticized, but he didn’t want to be singled out for what happened with Darren, especially while he was with Daisy.

  Lynn swatted the air. “Oh, please. How often does someone stand up to Darren?” She took their orders and disappeared into the restaurant.

  Luke noticed that when Lynn left, Daisy breathed a little easier. Someone else might see Daisy and think she was a beautiful girl enjoying a musical evening. Luke saw something more. In addition to the worry pooling in her baby blues, tension rode her fingers as she gripped the blanket. He realized that with Daisy, he was noticing many things, like how her shoulders tensed when he’d joked about her reputation, and on the opposite end of the spectrum, the way she’d melted against his back on the motorcycle—which was the best sensation of all.

  She was leaning on her right hand with her legs tucked to her other side, watching the band. Luke covered her fingers with his, and she lifted her gaze to him.

  “Hey, you okay?”

  She smiled a little, and he felt her fingers unfurl beneath his. “Yeah.”

  Lynn brought them the bottle of wine, and Luke felt her fingers grip the blanket again. “You guys enjoy. If you need anything, just flag me down.”

  “Thanks, Lynn.” He picked up Daisy’s rigid hand and uncurled each finger; then he laced his between them and brought them to his lips. Once Lynn was out of earshot, he moved closer to Daisy. “Want to spill the beans on why she makes you tense?”

  She looked at their intertwined hands with a furrowed brow. Luke withdrew his hand.

  “Hey. That was sweet. Give me your hand back.” She reached for his hand.

  “Either you’re really hard to read, or I’m worse at this than I thought.”

  She laughed a soft, feminine laugh that was music to his ears. “It’s totally me.”

  “Wanna clue me in?”

  “Not really, but I will.” She glanced in the direction Lynn had gone.

  “Hey, no pressure.”

  “No. It’s okay. You know how you said something about my reputation?”

  “Yeah, and you wanted to clobber me for it?”

  “Yeah, right. When I was in high school, the girls around here were pretty cruel. They started rumors about me sleeping around and doing all sorts of things I never did, and the guys who were in their clique that they said I had done those things with sort of ignored it, but they never stood up to say it wasn’t true.” She shrugged.

  Luke read right through the shrug to the hurt in her eyes, and it pissed him off that she’d been treated that way and that he hadn’t done something more to stop it at the time. He’d been a teenager himself and wrapped up in what was going on in his life. The town ran rampant with rumors, and half the time they were white noise to him. He’d probably known about her rep back then, only she was younger, too, like Janice and Lynn. And he’d been a typical teenage kid. Like most teens, unless something was in his face—like it had been the night of the party when he’d stepped in on Daisy’s behalf—he was too wrapped up in his own shit to notice anyone else’s.

  “I know, Daisy. I know about the rumors, and I know they weren’t true. I’m sorry you went through that, and I’m sorry I wasn’t more aware back then. I was a stupid kid, like everyone else. I was focused on my own stuff, or the next party, and leaving for college.” He shook his head, feeling like a heel.

  She lowered her eyes. “You were the only one who ever publicly stood up for me, and that meant the world to me. Besides, it was a long time ago, and I should be over it.”

  Thinking of his father abandoning him, he said, “Some things cut deeper than others. I wish I had done more. I’m curious about something, though. You don’t have brothers or sisters, right?”

  “Nope. Just me.”

  “I was in my own world in high school, you know? Lost in that indestructible, selfish phase. But if anyone had said those things about my sister, Emily, I still would have pummeled them. Since you didn’t have a brother to step in, did your dad do anything?”

  “I have to tell you something funny first. When I heard you say Emily’s name in the diner, I had forgotten she was your sister, and…I was a little jealous.”

  “Really?” He arched a brow. He liked that. He liked that a lot.

  “Yeah, but we’re not going to talk about it.” She held his stare for a second before continuing, leaving no room to discuss the way she’d just blown his mind.

  “My father?” She looked away for a beat, and when she looked back, she shrugged. “Not much. I guess I never would have expected him to. He was so busy with the farm and the business, and he never paid much attention to gossip. My mom, now, she was right there in the thick of it with me. She’d come into my room at night and reassure me.” She looked away, as if watching a memory unfold before her eyes. “You’re going to laugh, but I remember asking my mom to change my name long before high school. When I was little. I was eight, ten, maybe. I came up with all sorts of names I thought were stronger, and I can still see her shaking her head and looking at me like she completely understood. But she didn’t agree to change it. She said I should be proud to carry my grandmother’s name.” Her eyes widened and her tone grew more determined. “And I am. I’m proud to be Daisy and I’m even proud to be Daisy Honey, because I’m proud of my family, but it sure wasn’t an easy name to grow up with.”

  “And now?” He remembered when he’d first seen her in the diner, the way she’d threatened him when she told him her name and how cute he’d thought it was. Now he knew better. She’d been fiercely defending herself from judgment.

  She sat up a little straighter. “Now…” She sighed. “Now I am who I am, and it still stings when I see the girls who were so cruel, like when they come see me at the clinic with their kids, and I have to take care of them without judgment. They don’t even necessarily look at me with the same snotty looks now, but I still feel that zing of pain, you know? My body flashes ice-cold and my defenses go up. But mostly, I think it just made me stronger.”

  “Pain has a way of doing that. It must have been hard to come back to Trusty.”

  “Harder than I thought it would be, actually. I have two job offers on the table, but when my dad got hurt
, coming here seemed like the right thing to do while I decided which one to accept.” She took a sip of wine.

  “Well, I’m sure glad you’re here. What’s your specialty?”

  “I just finished a residency in family practice, and I can’t wait to get started in a practice. The clinic is great, but there’s so much more that I want to be exposed to, and that’s not going to happen here.” She met his gaze and held it. “What about you? Your family has such a strong reputation. How did it feel to come back into town with an arrest on your back after your trip with Wes?”

  “Wow, you really don’t sugarcoat, do you?” She was a delicate combination of strength, vulnerability, and cutthroat honesty, and he liked it. He liked her. Very much.

  “It’s not a strength of mine.” She ran her tongue along her lower lip, leaving it slick.

  He lifted his glass in a toast to keep from leaning forward and kissing her. “To being direct.”

  She clinked his glass. “And to avoidance.”

  Her smile was so cute that after they took a drink, he couldn’t resist. He pulled her into a sweet, wine-laced kiss. “Sorry. It was killing me. I thought if I didn’t kiss you soon, I’d be too nervous to talk.”

  She covered her eyes. “Great. I’ll never live that down. If anyone saw us, it’ll just confirm what they already think of me.”

  He pulled his cell phone from his pocket and pretended to text. “I’ll just send a note to the papers in case they missed it.”

  She swatted his arm. “I answered your question. Your turn.”

  Luke contemplated his response. It sucks. I did the right thing, and I don’t understand why, or why it makes me feel like a pariah. Nothing sounded right in his head, so he fell back on the comfortable shrug.

  “Come on,” Daisy pleaded. “Let me in a little. I told you my dirty secret.”

  He narrowed his eyes. “That was your dirty secret? How the hell did you get a rep if that’s your best secret?”

  “I never said it was my best secret.” She wiggled her shoulders in a take-that tease.