“I messed up,” she announced. She crossed back to Sally’s desk. “Can I get another form?”
“Sure, honey. Just a minute.”
Trav raised a brow. Bryce reached for Daisy, and she took him. She cooed at her son and gave him a raspberry on his chubby cheek. He grabbed her hair and shoved it in his mouth.
A moment later, Sally wheeled back, new form in hand. “Here you go.”
They traded baby for form. Daisy turned to where Trav now stood at the shelf where she’d been filling out the form. He stared at her, his expression uncharacteristically serious. An uneasy feeling snaked through her. Trav with a serious expression was a little intimidating.
She went for casual as she reached his side and grabbed a pen. “All set.”
“Marriage number three?” he asked quietly, opening his hand to reveal the crumpled form now folded neatly in his palm.
She swallowed hard.
He raised his brows, waiting for an explanation.
“Yes, but the other two barely counted,” she whispered. “In fact, they were so short I hardly remember them. I don’t think I need to report them.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “You might have mentioned them to me.”
“You never asked.”
“I’m asking now.”
She glanced back over her shoulder at the prying ears of Clover Park’s gossip central. “Can we talk later?”
He nodded. “Oh, yeah, we’re gonna talk. My place tonight for dinner. I know you get off early on Wednesdays. Ask your Mom to watch Bryce.”
It was more command than request, and she felt an unwelcome flutter of desire as Trav’s usual playful tone switched to badass. Not to mention it would be the first time they were alone together without Bryce. “Sure, no problem.”
His voice rumbled close to her ear. “And don’t lie on the form, sweetheart. It’s easy enough to check on records of marriage.”
Daisy steeled herself against the weakening in her knees and went back to filling out the form. Badass was not good. She had a long history of bad boys in her past. She loved bad boys. But they were no good for her, especially now that she had Bryce.
Marriage number: 3.
Sure, she’d been frustrated with Trav’s pleasant but distant personality and had wondered what ever happened to the bad boy in him, but now that he was making an appearance, she knew she was in trouble. Marrying a bad boy? That had disaster written all over it!
~ ~ ~
“It’s official,” Trav announced when he stopped by Ryan’s place later that day. His older brother had just gotten off an early shift as a police officer in nearby Fieldridge. It also happened to be the town where their father lived. His old man was sober going on three and a half years. Trav had made his peace with his father, as had his brothers, in their own ways.
“What’s official?” his younger brother, Shane, asked, coming in from the kitchen.
“You cooking for Ry now?” Trav asked.
“I was dropping off a crepe pan for Liz. She wanted to try her hand at it.”
Ry gave Trav a pointed look. “They’ve been exchanging recipes.”
Shane had graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and could easily have been a chef, but he’d focused on gourmet ice cream for his own shop in town, Shane’s Scoops.
“Lucky you,” Trav said. “Have a seat.” He gestured to the leather sectional in the living room.
“‘Have a seat,’ he says.” Ry took his time walking into the living room. “Like he owns the place.”
“Shut up. This is important.” Trav flopped down on the chaise end of the sofa and propped his feet up. He folded his hands behind his head. “I’ve got big news.”
He waited for Ry and Shane to take a seat. He felt like he was gonna burst from the news. “Daisy and I are getting married on Saturday.”
“Congratulations!” Shane said.
Ry grinned. “I knew if you hung in there, she’d come around. Congrats! Why so soon, though? Doesn’t she need time to plan? Liz has been planning for going on six months.” He shook his head. “You should see her color-coded spreadsheet. Scary.”
“It’s just gonna be a simple ceremony with a justice of the peace. We need to keep it quiet on account of we’re already supposed to be married.” He explained about the blog and the talk show appearance coming up on Friday.
Ry frowned. “So you’re getting married because of a TV show?”
Trav sat up, annoyed with his brother’s tone. “No, it’s not like that.”
“Kinda sounds like that,” Shane said.
“That’s just what got the ball rolling,” Trav said.
Ry and Shane exchanged a look.
“What?” Trav snapped.
Ry scratched the back of his neck. “Can’t you just pretend for the show? I mean…I dunno—”
“Do you love each other?” Shane asked.
Trav couldn’t honestly say he loved Daisy. Truth was, he’d never loved anyone. Except family. He didn’t even know what that would feel like. And he didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was his son.
“We love Bryce,” Trav said. “This is all for him.”
“What’s the rush?” Ry asked. “Why don’t you date or something first? Get to know each other.”
Trav blew out an exasperated breath. “Suddenly you’re the relationship expert? You couldn’t even stay with anyone for more than three dates until you met Liz.”
Ry just stared at him. Trav squirmed under his brother’s scrutiny.
“I want Bryce to have a family!” Trav exclaimed. “Is that so hard to understand? Why can’t you be happy for us?”
“We are happy,” Shane soothed. “We’re just looking out for you.”
“Well, don’t!” Trav jammed a hand in his hair. “Everything will be fine. You’ll see.”
Trav’s chest tightened. He couldn’t believe his brothers were giving him shit about this. They knew how much he wanted a family for Bryce. They knew what it meant to come from a seriously messed-up home. Their mom had suffered from depression and committed suicide when Trav was fifteen. After she died, their alcoholic father took off. Ryan, only two years older, had done his best to take care of them, but it was Gran who’d rescued them. If it hadn’t been for her, he was sure the three of them would’ve ended up in foster homes. He probably would’ve landed in juvie.
He was determined to do better for his son. Bryce would have a real family.
Shane held his hands up. “Okay, okay.”
Trav scowled. “I wanted you both to be my best man, but not if you’re gonna act like my marriage is a mistake.”
“I’m in,” Shane said.
“Me too,” Ry said.
The ache in Trav’s chest loosened. “Okay. I’m gonna ask Rico too.”
Ry snort-laughed. “Now you’re being ridiculous.”
Trav raised his palms. “I can’t choose.”
Ry socked him on the arm. “It’s your wedding.”
Trav smiled. “Yeah, it is.”
He could finally relax. Everything would be okay for Bryce. And once Trav was living with Daisy and helping with the baby, she’d be less exhausted and go back to her usual sunny personality. She’d keep their home bright and light. The kind of place he would’ve given anything to live in as a kid. The kind of place Bryce would be so lucky to grow up in.
And he couldn’t wait for a wedding night he could remember with Daisy.
~ ~ ~
Daisy heard a commotion coming from Garner’s kitchen as she punched in a customer’s order on the computer. Her father’s low voice and her sister Liz’s rising soprano. News travels fast through the O’Hare brother grapevine. Trav must have told Ryan about the wedding, who told Liz. They’d just gotten the marriage license this morning, so Daisy had little time to spread the word herself. After the license, she’d taken Bryce to his checkup at the pediatrician, fed him lunch, and went to work. She told her parents when she’d started her shift. They’d bee
n thrilled. At least Daisy didn’t have any worries there. Her future husband on the other hand…
“I’m taking a break,” she told one of the other waitresses.
Daisy slipped into the kitchen, where her mom was now offering Liz her usual glass of ice water with lemon and coaxing her to take a seat at one of the tall swivel stools by the side counter.
“How’re ya, sis?” Daisy asked, bracing for the explosion of unrelenting concern.
Liz jumped up. “How am I? How are you?”
Liz rushed forward, studying Daisy’s face, worry etched into her delicate features. Her sister was three years younger, but acted like she was the big sis. Truth? She’d let Liz play that role for far too long. Daisy had left all the worrying about rules and responsibilities to Liz. Until Bryce. Everything in Daisy’s life changed once her son was born.
“I heard the news as soon as I got home from work,” Liz said. “I would’ve been here sooner, but Ryan said I had to mellow out first.” She blushed scarlet and took a long swallow of water.
Daisy beamed a smile at her sister’s obvious embarrassment. Ryan had the magic touch with Liz. Her sister had softened from her previous uptight self and was much easier to deal with. Not easy, just easier. “I’m fine. No worries.”
Liz blustered on. “What made you finally say yes to Trav?”
Daisy lifted one shoulder up and down. “It was time. You know? Why play hard to get? He’s Bryce’s father. We both love Bryce. Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy. Happy family.”
“Don’t give me that crap.” Liz grabbed Daisy’s arm and pulled her away from their eavesdropping parents and the cook staff, who were pretending to be busy so they could listen in. They went into their dad’s small office.
“Sit,” Liz commanded, taking their dad’s tall, leatherback chair for herself.
Daisy sat meekly in the plastic chair opposite her sister. She knew Liz wouldn’t let her off easy on this one. Her sister had understood perfectly Daisy’s reluctance to marry because of the baby. Now she’d want a good explanation.
“Tell me the truth,” Liz said. “Why the change of heart? You said Trav didn’t love you. That you didn’t want to marry just because it was convenient.” She paused, and a light of realization slowly dawned on her face. “Did he say he loves you? Have you been seeing each other?”
Daisy’s lips formed a straight line. “No and no.” She got up and shut the office door. “This doesn’t leave the room. Not even to Ryan.”
Liz crossed her heart and silently nodded, the gesture a solemn callback from when they were kids and confided their deepest, darkest secrets. Sadly, the deep, dark secrets had all been Daisy’s. Liz was an open book, but also a really good secret keeper.
Daisy explained about the interview and Trav playing her husband.
Liz looked relieved. “Oh, it’s a pretend marriage. Now that makes more sense.” She crinkled her nose. “But Ryan said he and Shane were going to be best men. Are you sure Trav knows it’s pretend?”
Daisy twirled a lock of her hair. “Well…Trav will only go along with it if we make it a real marriage.”
Liz stood, bright spots of color dotting her cheeks. “That’s blackmail! He can’t do that! I’m calling Ryan. He won’t let Trav do this.”
“No, I said this doesn’t leave the room,” Daisy said patiently. She went for a surefire distraction. “Besides, we don’t want any bad blood between brothers before your wedding. It’s only four months away.”
Liz sat down again, a dreamy smile on her face. “That’s really soon, isn’t it? I can hardly wait. I’ve got everything planned, though I was rethinking the flower girl’s headpiece…wait, you’re trying to distract me from the real issue. Daisy, are you sure you want to marry Trav?”
“Sure. Who knows? Maybe we’ll grow on each other. You know, learn to love each other.” Her mind flashed to tonight’s dinner, and she wondered which Trav would greet her at the door. Goofy guy or bad boy. She secretly wanted bad boy, even though she knew she shouldn’t. That wasn’t part of the new and improved Daisy’s life.
Liz waved a hand in front of Daisy’s face. “I asked you if the wedding is really this Saturday, as in three days away?”
“Yup.”
“I just don’t see why you have to rush. You can hardly plan anything good with so little time.”
“It doesn’t have to be a fancy wedding. We just want to get it done and move on with our lives.” All of Daisy’s weddings had been small, legal ceremonies at a town hall. Besides, she could hardly have her dream wedding on the beach in the middle of winter.
Liz fixed her with her classic responsible sister look—a mixture of listen up, and I know best that used to make Daisy feel secure, but now irritated the hell out of her. “It just doesn’t seem wise to try to pull off lies on national television. I think you should back out of the interview. I’m sure they can find other guests. This could go very wrong. If people think you’ve misled them, gosh, all those moms who look up to you, you could be ruined career-wise. And I don’t like this rush wedding just because Trav says so. Get rid of the interview and everything goes back to normal. No lies. No rush wedding. Marry Trav if you love each other, not because of lies.”
“Are you done?” Daisy asked tightly.
Liz’s eyes widened. “Don’t be mad. I’m just trying to help you fix the problem.”
“There is no problem. I fixed the lie by making it the truth, and I will go forward with the interview. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I’m not going to let it pass me by!” She stood. “I’d better get back to work.” She almost made it out the door when she heard her sister’s gentle rebuke.
“Are you sure you’re doing the right thing?”
Daisy shook her head and kept going. Liz didn’t believe in her. Her parents didn’t believe in her. She knew why, her past haunted her through their eyes. She just wished they’d give her a chance to prove she’d changed, that she could make good choices. She knew she could pull this off.
“Excuse me,” Mrs. Peters, Daisy’s old first-grade teacher, called. “Can someone take our order?”
Daisy got back to work. “Coming, Mrs. Peters!”
Chapter Six
Daisy Does It All
Mom, wife, domestic diva
I’m going to be on TV!!!
I’m super excited to announce I’m going to be on Mornings with Jessica! Thank you, ladies! I couldn’t have done it without all your comments, shares, and tweets! Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!! This Friday the crew will be arriving at my house to interview me, Darling Husband, and Baby Delight. I’ll let you know the air date as soon as I hear. I can’t wait!
I have no idea what to wear. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Dressy as in a dress? Business casual as in whatever-the-heck that is nowadays? My usual casual attire—sweater, jeans, boots?
Happy dance!
Mojitos all-around!
See you on TV!
XOXO!
Daisy
~ ~ ~
Trav decided he’d cook for Daisy. And that meant the one and only thing he knew how to make: fried chicken. Gran used to make it for them once a month. After he’d left for college, he’d craved it so much he forced himself to master the recipe to keep homesickness at bay. While the chicken bubbled in the oil, he dumped a bag of frozen mashed potatoes into a pot, emptied a bag of salad for Daisy, and dreamed about some biscuits to go along with the meal. Not having the skill for biscuits, toasted slices of baguette would have to do. He turned the chicken.
He wasn’t one to quibble over details—he was getting the marriage he wanted—but it was hard to overlook the fact that he was husband number three for Daisy. What else hadn’t she told him?
Just as he pulled the last of the fried chicken from the pan, the doorbell rang.
Daisy stood on his doorstep, a wine bottle in hand. “Hi,” she said softly.
“Geez, don’t look so nervous,” he said, taking the wine. “It’s just dinner. I thought we
should get our story straight before we go on national TV as loving husband and wife.”
She blew out a breath and brightened immediately. “Of course! Great idea.”
He led the way into his apartment on the second floor of the old blacksmith place. His landscape office and equipment storage area took up the bottom floor. “Have a seat,” he said, indicating the sofa. “I usually eat there at the coffee table.”
“Okay.” She took off her white down parka and draped it over the chair where his own coat hung. She wore a form-fitting shirt with stripes and shiny sequins, tight jeans, and the black high-heeled boots of his fantasies. Screw dinner. He wanted her for appetizer, entrée, and dessert.
She looked around curiously, and he tried to see his place through her eyes. The walls were white. He had one framed picture on the fireplace mantel of him with his brothers and Gran. That was it. TV, sofa, coffee table, couple of chairs he’d picked up at IKEA. The kitchen was tiny, added after the fact to the old place.
He filled a plate for her, then his own, and carried both to the coffee table.
“This looks wonderful,” Daisy enthused. “I only know how to make grilled cheese.”
He grinned. “I only know how to make fried chicken. Between the two of us, we’re all set. Be right back.” He opened the white wine and grabbed two wine glasses. He was more of a beer drinker, but he kept the glasses on hand because he’d found most women liked wine. He joined her on the sofa.
She dug into the chicken right away. “This is delicious! Wow! You should give my dad your recipe for Garner’s.”
He laughed. “Gran would kill me. It’s a family secret.”
“We’re practically family,” she said, licking fried chicken spices off her fingers.
His brain stopped working for a moment. Talk first, he reminded himself. He took a swallow of wine and regrouped. “So tell me about husband number one and two.”
She waved her hand. “Not much to tell. Husband number one was freshman year of college. We were too young. It lasted two weeks.” She looked away, and he knew there was more to the story. “And husband number two was a friend. He died shortly after our marriage.”
Daisy Does It All (Clover Park, Book 2) Contemporary Romance (The Clover Park Series) Page 5