“Yes?” Freya prompted.
“Then why is the only single guy here, Noah?”
“Ah, well, Noah wasn’t supposed to be here but Charlie insisted he be invited, especially as this is his family’s hotel, and as it turns out Paul wasn’t the only single guy to get sick and call off today.”
Daisy wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. The looks she’d got from her other friends throughout the day made sense now. They’d known about Freya’s plan.
Just kill her now.
Noah noticed that Daisy had been a long time in the bathroom. If he hadn’t seen Freya go in after her, he’d be worried. Maybe he should be worried after what Charlie had just told him. He pushed back on his chair to stand. He wasn’t sure why he was standing but he was drawn towards the ladies bathroom, or more specifically, Daisy. He knew she needed his help as he could imagine what Freya was telling her about him. Although he couldn’t deny most of the stories that were told about him, he could assure Daisy that she was different, he was different. He groaned, that sounded like such a cliché.
Just as he’d got to his feet he saw Daisy walk out of the bathroom and head towards the elevators. This wasn’t good. He didn’t know what had been said but he wanted to, no he needed to, make sure she was okay. He made his way to the elevators only to see the doors shut with Daisy inside. What he saw ripped his heart open. She was standing with mascara running down her face looking totally dejected. Gone was the happy, fun Daisy. She’d been replaced with someone who just broke his heart. He was going to sort this. He needed to find out what Freya had said to her, even if etiquette said he shouldn’t.
He was glad when he caught up with Freya that she had the good grace to look sheepish. She was with Charlie and they looked like they were having an argument over something, which stopped abruptly as they saw him striding towards them. Luckily they’d sought out some privacy for their conversation so there were no other ears about.
“What did you say to Daisy?” he demanded.
Charlie stepped in front of his wife-to-be. “Hey, wait a minute I’ve got this. This whole thing has just got totally out of hand.”
“Ya think?” Noah replied, still desperate for answers. “Want to explain what just happened? One minute Daisy was laughing and joking and the next, after speaking to Freya, runs off in tears.”
A tear fell down Freya’s cheek and she looked like she was trying desperately to hold the rest back. “I-I’m so sorry Noah. I thought I was doing what was best for her.”
Noah knew he had to dial back the rage he was feeling before answering. He knew Freya was the nicest person you could ever meet but her match making was renowned, not always for it’s successes. Even although he knew her heart was in the right place and she loved Daisy, ultimately she’d ended up hurting her instead. With everything else he’d seen Daisy wrestle with internally over the few short hours he’d known her, he knew she wouldn’t be able to just shake this off. The look of total defeat that she wore in the elevator showed him that.
“Do you really think that little of me that you assumed because I was speaking to her that I was going to, what? Use her? Have some fun and cast her aside like something I’d just stepped on? What Freya?”
“Hey buddy I know you are upset but tone it down, she doesn’t deserve this.” Charlie put an arm around his soon-to-be-wife and pulled her into his side. “It’s not like you are dating Daisy. Why are you so defensive?”
Freya put a hand on Charlie’s chest to stop him. “No, Noah’s right. I did jump to conclusions about him. Noah you know you have a reputation with women that you’ve never denied. You date someone once or twice then it’s on to the next one, without seemingly caring about their feelings. I love Daisy like a sister and want the best for her. She doesn’t deserve to be just another notch on your bedpost. I just wanted to protect her from that. It was nothing against you. I know you’re a good guy and a great friend to Charlie, but...”
“Yeah, it’s always the but. Did you ever think that I was like that because I’d not met someone who made me want to change? You say I’ve been a great friend to Charlie so do you not think I could maybe be a great friend to Daisy too? Maybe more than that? Look Freya, this is your wedding and I don’t want to be the one spoiling it. You should be having fun with your guests, not standing here crying behind a statue of goodness knows what.”
Freya chuckled at that and stepped out of Charlie’s grasp to hug him. “I’m so sorry Noah, I just didn’t think. I’ll go speak to her and see she’s okay.”
“Shouldn’t you be tending to your guests? I saw a few poking their heads out of the banquet room probably looking for you.”
“They can wait a few more minutes. I made this mess, besides I won’t be able to do anything until I apologize and see for myself that Daisy is okay.”
Charlie gave Freya a quick hug. “Good luck. I’ll take casanova here to the bar and see if we can find where he lost his man card,” he said grinning at Noah. Yeah, Noah knew he deserved that the way he was acting, but really, was he losing his man card? He should be feeling fear at the thought but instead he felt happy, content even. A feeling he’d never felt before and it felt really good. Not that he was going to admit that to anyone, especially not Charlie.
“Yeah right,” he scoffed instead.
Daisy stood in front of the vanity mirror in her hotel bathroom, inspecting her tear streaked face. She let out a huge sigh and began to wipe her face clean with a wash cloth. She wasn’t sure whether or not she wanted to re-apply her make-up or jump in the tub that was silently calling her name, hoping things would be better in the morning.
She heard a quiet knocking at her hotel room door, which was getting louder with every knock. Noah. She surprised herself with that sudden thought. No, he didn’t know her room number, but she knew someone who did and went to let her in. She wasn’t angry at Freya, she was more angry at herself that she’d let her best friend make her wedding about finding her a date, rather than the delight of getting married to her soul mate. Charlie was a saint to go along with her and her crazy ideas.
“Daisy, I’m so sorry.” Freya threw herself around her as she opened the door. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied as she pulled herself out of her best friends clutches. “You look as bad as I did. C’mere and we’ll get your make-up sorted.” Leading her into the bathroom she turned, speaking over her shoulder, “I guess you being here answers my dilemma of whether to fix my makeup and go back downstairs or jump in the tub.”
Freya looked miserable and it broke Daisy’s heart. She knew her friend had her best interests at heart and she knew she was partially to blame because she’d let Freya assume too much about her over the years. Never contradicting her nor doing anything to show her otherwise. “Freya, this is your weekend. Let’s put all this behind us and have fun. You want to be able to remember this for all the good reasons, not for feeling miserable and crying in my hotel bathroom.”
“You forgive me?”
“There is nothing to forgive. You did it for the right reasons but please no more match making. Promise me.”
“Okay I promise. Noah said the same.”
Noah? She needed to find out what he’d said and was not going to allow Freya to warn her off again. She was an adult and could make her own decisions on who she could and couldn’t date. Date? She thought about it for a second. Yes, she wanted to date Noah. For some reason she knew he wouldn’t hurt her, at least she hoped he wouldn’t.
“What did Noah say? He saw me come up in the elevator but I just couldn’t face him. He looked worried. Is he okay?”
Freya scoffed. “Noah is always okay.” Then shook her head and faced Daisy. “That’s not fair. I haven’t been fair to either of you. I know I warned you off him because of his reputation, which is well founded by the way, however he is a great guy even if he does suck at relationships,” putting relationships in air quotes.
“I really like him Freya.
He did come across as a player when we first met but he doesn’t feel like that anymore. I know I’ve only known him a few hours but can you trust me on this. Even if Noah was playing me, do you not trust me enough to know that and choose whether or not I want to be played? Maybe a player is what I need right now. Isn’t that my choice to make?”
“Oh no what have you done with Daisy? I’ve unleashed a monster.” Freya joked, then turned serious. “Are you sure you’re okay with all this? I promise I won’t meddle anymore. I’m so proud of you for how you are handling all this, me not so much.”
Picking up a wash cloth Freya washed her face and then started searching through Daisy’s make-up for everything she needed to look presentable again. Daisy smiled, feeling relieved this had been sorted so she didn’t have to deal with this for the entire weekend.
It only took them twenty minutes to get ready and head back down to the rehearsal dinner guests. The dinner luckily had ended before all this drama had started and the guests were now congregated in the main downstairs bar.
There was a renewed confidence in her step as she walked Freya arm in arm to her soon-to-be-husband. She knew Freya wanted to spend as much time with Charlie as she could before midnight when they’d be separated until the actual wedding ceremony. She glanced at Freya who was back to wearing a grin that spread from ear to ear. Yes, things were back to normal thank goodness.
They walked into the bar and her eyes automatically began to search out Noah. She spotted him almost immediately as if her eyes had Noah detector senses installed. This would have been a good thing if she hadn’t been met with a sight that had her heart dropping to the floor. Freya must have noticed at the same time as she did and dragged Daisy to the side of the room before everyone else noticed her reaction.
A blonde wearing something that was just short of decent was hanging all over Noah at the bar and he wasn’t pushing her off. He was actually talking to her. So much for being a changed man.
Taking a deep breath, wanting to be strong for her friend, she moved towards Charlie, pulling Freya behind her. She would not spoil her best friend’s wedding and if that meant sucking up what had just happened and acting like an adult then she’d do it. Once she was safely back in her room the deal was off, she just needed to make it that long.
Why wouldn’t this woman leave him alone? She’d been coming on to him since he’d got to the bar. Couldn’t she take a hint? The bar had filled up with locals and other hotel guests so it wasn’t just wedding guests that were in the bar now. He wanted to be left in peace while he waited for Freya, and hopefully Daisy, to come back. He was hoping he’d let Freya see that he was looking for something more with Daisy, for the first time ever. He grinned at the cheesy chat up line he’d just heard the guy behind him use, but thankfully had never used himself.
Oh no, the woman thought his grin was for her. He needed to shut this down fast.
“Look, I’m here with someone.” Only half a lie, he was here with someone, even if she wasn’t actually here, nor his official date. He looked at her, nope it still wasn’t getting through. “I don’t cheat when I’m in a relationship so if you’ll excuse me I need to go find her.” He wasn’t sure where that had all come from, but it felt right.
The blonde pouted, then grinned, “I won’t tell if you won’t.”
Normally she was exactly what he’d go for, no strings. It was then that he realized what he’d been doing all these years. He was ensuring that he’d never meet anyone that he could ever have a real relationship with. He’d been protecting himself after believing he’d failed at following the family tradition and letting his family down when he hadn’t found ‘the one’ as quickly as his parents or grandparents had. How could he have been so stupid?
He had to find Daisy.
Noah ignored the woman and scanned the room to see if Freya had returned. He finally saw her over in the corner with Charlie … and Daisy. She’d come. He sighed in relief while a huge grin appeared on his face, one he couldn’t stop even if he wanted to and he didn’t want to.
Eating up the distance between them he suddenly sensed that something wasn’t quite right and slowed his approach. Daisy looked upset although she was trying to hide it and Freya was ranting at Charlie in hushed tones, while he looked as if he was going to spit fire. As he approached them they all seemed to spin round to face him at the same time and the anger in their gazes only seemed to intensify. This was not good.
He wasn’t sure what had happened between Freya going to see Daisy and now but he could sense it wasn’t good. He hadn’t done anything wrong so was a bit perturbed that their anger focused at him. What had Daisy said the last time they spoke? He racked his brain and as far as he could remember, she’d left him with positive feelings, which were definitely not the feelings coming off her now.
“Daisy, you okay?” he asked, not sure if he wanted the answer.
“Fine,” she replied and turned away from him.
If there was one thing he knew with certainty, even without ever being in a real relationship before, was that when a woman said she was fine, she was anything but. Unperturbed he pressed on. “I’m glad you’re okay. Can I get you a drink?”
“Drink?” Daisy shrieked and turned so fast that he almost fell over. Okay that was obviously the wrong thing to ask and it was obvious by the deep breath she’d just inhaled she was going to tell him exactly why that was the wrong thing for him to ask.
“Yeah a drink. I thought we could get a drink and talk some more.”
“Oh really? Why don’t you go and ask your blonde friend over there if she wants a drink? I’d hate to think you feel obligated to keep me company.”
What was she talking about? Oh. Realization hit him like a sledgehammer and he grinned. She must have seen him with blondie at the bar and was jealous. Well that was a turn up for the books, at least he knew now she was really interested. He just needed to explain … if she’d let him.
“Why are you grinning? Do you think this is funny? I …”
Noah stepped forward and kissed her. It was the only way he could think to shut her up. As he pulled away she stepped back and just stared at him. He was grateful to both Charlie and Freya that they hadn’t jumped in. Although he did notice Charlie had a hand on Freya’s arm to stop her protecting her friend.
“Finished? I don’t think it’s funny. I think it’s cute. You’re jealous and I’m flattered. The blonde,” he said spitting out her name as though there was a bad taste in his mouth. “Wouldn’t get the hint that I wasn’t interested so I told her I was in a relationship and waiting for you. I also told her I don’t cheat.” He couldn’t get the grin off his face, even although he didn’t know Daisy well enough … yet, to know how she’d react, or whether she’d trust him enough to believe him.
“But, but I saw you with her. You were grinning at her, pretty much like you are grinning at me now.” Daisy was looking less angry and more unsure, which meant he was making progress. Yes, he thought, he could do this relationship thing with Daisy.
He took one of Daisy’s hands and moved it over his shirt. “Feel that?”
She let out a small gasp as she replied, “Yes.” It was so faint he could hardly hear her.
“It’s boyfriend material,” he replied with a grin.
Daisy pulled back her hand and hit him on the chest without much force behind it and groaned, “Seriously?”
Charlie burst into a fit of laughter beside him. “Seriously man, did you really say that? I wouldn’t let my five year old nephew say that line. How did you ever get any dates using lines like that?”
“That’s what I was grinning at earlier. I heard the guy in the green sweater over at the bar say it. Thought you’d appreciate it.”
“I don’t,” replied Daisy. She’d turned serious.
Noah’s grin slipped off his face, maybe he’d read her wrong.
“Do you have directions?” she asked.
Directions? What was she talking about? “Directio
ns? To where?” he asked. She was confusing him.
“To your heart,” she blushed.
Thank goodness! She forgave him.
Daisy woke up with a huge smile on her face. It was the day of Freya and Charlie’s wedding and she’d arranged to meet Noah for breakfast. She couldn’t wait. Last night had been the most fun she’d had in a long, long time and she was ready for a repeat. She stretched over to get her cell from the table beside the bed. It was a daily habit where she’d check her emails and any other messages she’d received while she’d been sleeping and answer the important ones before getting up. As she’d switched off her cell during the rehearsal dinner she was bombarded with one ‘ping’ after another. Groaning, she wondered if she should just have kept it switched off.
There was a voice message left from Mark Fredrickson. Mark was the company Chief Financial Officer and brother to Julian, the CEO. She got on with both brothers, although over the past few months they’d come under a lot of pressure from competitors who’d poached a few of their biggest customers. Mark knew she was at the wedding this weekend and she couldn’t believe he had called her. This was the first time off she’d taken in months, she even worked weekends. She swiped to listen with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. This was not going to be good.
“Daisy, this is Mark. I’m so sorry to interrupt your weekend.” Sure you are. “Something has come up and we need the marketing report now. Can you sent it to me as soon as you get this message. I know you and you’ve probably already done it,” he chuckled. She felt her blood pressure rising. Yes, she’d done it because she didn’t have a life outside of the office and everyone, Mark especially, took advantage of that. When David, a marketing executive, had left the company Mark had asked her to cover his tasks until they’d found a replacement … eighteen months ago. She was still doing both jobs, with no extra pay and definitely no thanks.
Finding the One (Lakeside House Hotel Series Book 1) Page 3