She could have talked to Raleigh all night. Those china blue eyes made her envision maternity and baby clothes again.
Then she heard a woman’s voice behind her, one that seemed to come straight out of the past.
“Hi, everyone!” Daisy’s voice.
No. It wasn’t possible.
Belle looked up and saw that it was not only possible, it was happening. Daisy was strolling across the pool area toward the group.
She was still beautiful, long brown hair swishing about her shoulders, a perpetual summer tan and golden brown eyes. The only change from college was a few additional pounds and brighter lipstick. The sight of her made Belle’s stomach tighten in all sorts of unpleasant ways. What was she doing here when she was divorced from Marco?
Daisy sauntered up to the table, nervously fingering her purse strap, her eyes on Marco. “My mother was able to stay with my sister, so I could come after all.”
Belle’s gaze went to Marco to see his reaction. At first his expression showed nothing but shock. His mouth fell open, and he made an effort to clamp it shut again. Was that anger in his eyes? Resentment? Then he smiled, and it seemed so sincere that she couldn’t be sure it wasn’t.
“Daisy,” he exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
As she walked around the table, Mrs. Dawson held a hand out to her, beaming with happiness. “I’m so glad you could make it. Here, give me a hug.” She stood, struggling a bit to get her feet beneath her.
Daisy glided over to the older woman and embraced her, so full of emotion she trembled. “I wouldn’t miss it.”
After a few moments, Mrs. Dawson released her. “I’m sorry to hear about your sister. How is she?”
“Much better. She’ll be fine.”
Mrs. Dawson smiled, relieved. “I’m so glad. I was worried I wouldn’t get to see you before…” She stopped herself and squeezed Daisy’s arm. “We’ll have to get caught up soon.”
Daisy nodded. “Yes, soon.” A genuine sadness laced her words.
Raleigh slid from Belle’s lap and skipped over to her mother. “Aunt Daisy, I can almost swim now.”
“That’s awesome, sweetie.” Daisy turned her attention back to the table, and the brothers-in-law scooted away from Marco to make space for her. She went that direction, her eyes trained on him.
Belle watched, heart pounding. What did all of this mean? Had Daisy just come to see her ex mother-in-law one more time? The two women clearly cared for each other. Then again, maybe there was more to Daisy’s surprise visit. Would Belle have to compete with Daisy for Marco’s attention—again?
As Daisy reached Marco, the two hugged—only a little stiffly. She sat down and gave him a smile, one promising all sorts of possibilities. Belle recognized the look. It was the same smile Daisy had used to steal Marco from her the first time.
Belle clenched her teeth, wanting to curse. What was wrong with Daisy? She’d left Marco and asked for a divorce. She had no right to show up like this now, with that smile.
Then again, maybe that smile wouldn’t work so easily again. Things had changed.
Belle watched his expression, trying to divine her future.
Marco sat rigidly but was trying to fake cheerfulness. “Really, you should have called me.”
Daisy shrugged casually. “I didn’t know if I could come until the last minute. But you know how much I would hate to miss your mom’s birthday. Besides, I wanted to be with you.” She leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. “You’ve only been gone a few days, but it feels like forever.”
He didn’t return the kiss. “Yeah. Forever was what I was thinking too.”
She gazed at him, lips pouting. “We’ll have to find a way to remedy that, won’t we?”
Marco’s eyebrows drew together, showing confusion and mistrust. Then he forced a smile, and the tension was gone. “Right. We’ll talk about that later.”
Mr. Dawson leaned toward Daisy to get her attention. “Have you already eaten? I can order something for you, if you’d like.”
“No. I’m fine. If I get hungry, I’ll nibble on Marco’s nachos.” She finally looked around the rest of the table.
Belle braced herself, wishing again that she wasn’t here.
When Daisy’s eyes landed on her they went wide, turning into stunned circles of disbelief. “Isabelle?”
Apparently she hadn’t changed as much as she’d imagined. Not everyone had a problem recognizing her. Belle made herself smile. “Hi.”
Daisy’s eyes narrowed, and she exhaled sharply. “What are you doing here?” Her words were blunt, an accusation.
“Eating dinner,” Belle said as pleasantly as she could.
Marco’s gaze snapped to Belle in surprise. “You two know each other?”
“Of course we do,” Daisy said. “We were roommates. Don’t you remember?”
And there it was. Now not only Marco, but the whole family knew who she was.
Marco’s eyebrows dipped as though he was trying to see the girl he’d known but still couldn’t. “Isabelle?” he repeated.
Belle held her breath, suddenly feeling transparent. Would he realize why she’d really come to this reunion? How could he not, when Belle was sure it was there in her eyes for anyone to see—and had been in her eyes every time she’d looked at him.
Marco grinned at her, as though he were seeing her for the first time. “Why didn’t you tell me you were Daisy’s roommate? You just said we had a class together. I thought—” He stopped himself and laughed. “Wow, what are the chances you would meet Flynn and start dating him?”
Belle let out a breath that was half relief, half disappointment. Marco didn’t know why she’d come to Cancun. He hadn’t seen what was in her eyes at all. Daisy, on the other hand, seemed to instinctively know. The set of her mouth was cold and hard.
“Astronomical,” Flynn said to his brother, and perhaps only Belle noticed how he said the word tightly. “But there you have it.”
Daisy’s gaze went to Flynn in confusion. “The two of you are dating?”
“Yep,” Flynn said. “Saturday will mark our six-month anniversary. I’m buying Isabelle’s fashion house. That’s how we met.”
“Oh.” Daisy’s gaze slid back to Belle in disbelief. “And now you’re here eating with the family. Well, that’s nice.” She picked up Marco’s soda and took a sip. “It’s great you get to finally meet everyone. I mean, you would have already met them all if you’d come to our wedding, but you couldn’t be bothered.”
The table had gone silent during their conversation, everyone’s gazes shifting between Daisy, Marco, Flynn, and Belle. Now all gazes landed firmly on Belle.
“Wait,” one of the brothers-in-law said, “You were that roommate?”
“She had a migraine,” Flynn said.
“That’s right.” Daisy’s voice was light but had an undertow. “I forgot the reason. It’s funny how much you forget. I guess that’s bound to happen when someone randomly cuts you out of their life.”
Belle felt as though she’d been slapped, but then, she shouldn’t have expected anything different from Daisy. “You’re right,” she said evenly. “You have forgotten a lot.”
Mr. Dawson cleared his throat, gathering the table’s attention. “I’m sure you can both let bygones be bygones. As Grandpa Dawson always said, we can’t change the past, only the future.”
Daisy took another sip of soda, eyeing Belle. “Right. It’s the future I’m worried about.”
What was that supposed to mean? Why was Daisy worried about Belle and Flynn dating when she’d divorced Marco? Or did she mean she was worried about Belle and Marco?
Daisy finished his soda and jabbed the ice in the cup with her straw, looking for more.
“We all make silly mistakes,” Mrs. Dawson said, trying to smooth over the situation. “The important thing in a family is that we all love one another.”
“Right,”
Belle said. “And I already love so many people in this family.” Her gaze slid to Marco, something Daisy didn’t miss. She stabbed the ice in the cup even harder.
Marco smiled at Belle, friendly, still clueless. Well, she supposed she shouldn’t expect more. He thought she was dating his brother. He wasn’t going to move in on his twin’s girlfriend. Daisy, on the other hand, definitely suspected the truth and was practically pulverizing her ice cubes because of it.
“We’ll have to catch up,” Marco said.
“Flynn’s already told me a lot about you and Daisy,” Belle said. Meaning, yes, she knew they were divorced.
Daisy shot Flynn a look. “Did he? How nice.”
Flynn took a bite of his fajitas, probably so he didn’t have to comment.
Mrs. Dawson’s gaze went over all of them. “Daisy and Belle will have to spend some time getting reacquainted. I’m sure you’ve both changed a lot.”
“Belle has definitely changed.” Marco’s eyes rested on her with approval. “You look great.”
“Thanks.” The compliment made the rest of the night feel like it had been worth the trouble.
Marco shook his head, still looking her up and down. “I can’t believe you’re dating Flynn.”
Daisy pursed her lips. “Neither can I.”
Belle ignored her and kept her gaze on Marco. “So how is the medical world treating you? Is it everything you’d hoped?”
“Some things are,” he said. “Other things in life, not so much.” He didn’t outright look at Daisy as he said the last sentence, but the meaning was still there. His marriage had been a disappointment.
“Well, things happen for a reason,” Belle said. “Even bad things. I predict some happy surprises for you in the future.” Saturday, to be precise.
Marco bit into a nacho. “That would be nice.” He didn’t know what Belle was talking about, but she enjoyed hearing his words anyway. Largely because they made Daisy flush with anger.
Belle was being mean, perhaps, but Daisy had been rude first. Besides, Daisy had already gotten her prince once, glass slipper included, while Belle stood by heartbroken. It was time the shoe was on the other foot.
“Speaking of the future,” Belle said, her attention on Marco. “What’s your suite number?”
Flynn nearly choked on a bite of fajita and had to cough.
Daisy gasped, horrified, and slammed the soda cup onto the table. “How low class are you that you’d ask for Marco’s room number in front of me—in front of his family?”
Belle blinked innocently. “I asked because Marco is making pancakes for everyone tomorrow morning. Really, Daisy, I don’t know what’s gotten into you. I mean, I’m sorry I missed your wedding, but I think Grandpa Dawson was right. You need to let the past go.”
Daisy glared back, but that was all right; everyone else was staring at Daisy as if she’d lost her mind.
“Room seven-fifty,” Marco said.
“Thanks.” Belle picked up her sketchbook and pencils. “I’ve still got some work to do. I’ll see the rest of you tomorrow.” She stood up and headed toward the resort.
Her exit felt triumphant right until she glanced at Mrs. Dawson. The woman looked stricken, as though she might cry.
The whole point of the reunion was to make Mrs. Dawson happy, and Belle had brought her to tears in front of everyone. She sent Mrs. Dawson an apologetic look, then hurried down the walkway.
Flynn was right. She shouldn’t have come to dinner. But then, how could Belle have known Daisy would show up and bite her head off? No one could have foreseen that.
Chapter 15
Flynn watched Belle stride away from the table and tried not to grind his teeth too noticeably. He should have foreseen that dinner would be a disaster. As soon as he’d walked to the grill and seen Belle, he should have figured out a way to get rid of her. But he hadn’t expected Daisy to join everybody for dinner. He’d assumed she would see Marco privately first. She must have decided it was safer to greet him when his parents were there too. That way, he couldn’t order her to leave. He had to at least pretend to be happy she’d come.
Marco hadn’t pretended very hard, though. As for Daisy—she really should have used more self-control. Granted, she knew that Belle had met Flynn last night and had hit on him, thinking he was Marco. And okay, it must be hard to see your old roommate eating with your family when you knew she had designs on your ex-husband, but still, she’d played right into Belle’s hands. No one else at the table, including Marco, had picked up on Belle’s subtle double meanings. Daisy had just made herself look rude, paranoid, and perhaps unstable.
Now everyone was gaping at her in shocked disbelief.
She flushed bright red and sent Flynn a pleading look—obviously hoping he’d divulge the truth about Belle to make Daisy’s reactions seem justified.
Nope. Not going to happen. Even if admitting that he’d lied about Belle being his girlfriend were no big deal, he wasn’t about to tell his parents that Belle had come to see Marco because she knew he was divorced.
Flynn sent Daisy a firm look back. She’d made her I-look-crazy bed; now she would have to pull on the straitjacket pajamas and sleep in it.
“I’m feeling a bit worn out,” his mom said. “I think I’ll go back to my room and lie down.”
His father pushed away from the table. “I’ll help you.”
His mom got unsteadily to her feet, leaning on her cane. “No, you stay and talk to the children.” She gestured toward Daisy. “You’ll help me get settled in my room, won’t you, dear? It’s been so long since we’ve talked. We’re overdue.”
Daisy gulped. She looked at Marco to see if he would protest. He didn’t. “Of course,” she said and got to her feet. She walked to his mom and linked her arm through hers for support.
They were not quite out of earshot when Gavin said, “Grandma is going to yell at Aunt Daisy, isn’t she?”
Kennedy shushed him. “No, of course not. Grandma doesn’t yell at people.”
“Yes, she does,” Gavin insisted. “She just yells in a nice Grandma voice.”
Paige laughed, then put her hand over her lips to stop herself. “Out of the mouths of babes.”
Raleigh climbed onto her mother’s lap, a french fry in one hand. “What does low-class mean?”
Paige brushed her hand over her daughter’s hair, straightening some of the tangles. “It’s nothing you need to worry about, honey.”
Yep, time to admit it. The first day of the reunion was officially a debacle.
Raleigh pressed her lips together in thought. “I bet Aunt Daisy is jealous ’cause she doesn’t live in a castle.”
Marco watched their mother and Daisy disappear around the side of the building. “I can’t believe she just…” He swallowed his words instead of saying them, then turned to Flynn. “Sorry she went off on Belle like that. It was inexcusable. And strange. I didn’t know she still held a grudge about the wedding.”
Flynn shifted in his seat. “Daisy has been under a lot of pressure lately.” Because of the divorce. “Because of her sister’s illness,” he added for his father, aunt, uncle, and the children.
Noah was dipping his fries in ketchup. “What happened at the wedding? What did Belle do?”
“Um…” Kennedy turned to her husband. “You know, it’s time we bathed the boys and got them ready for bed.” She stood, taking one son’s hand and reaching for her other son. “It’s been a fun day. We’ll see you all tomorrow.”
Noah let out a huff. “You never tell me anything.”
Gavin tried to tug his hand away from his mother. “Why do I have to go to bed? I didn’t ask about the wedding.”
Paige motioned to Tyler. “We’d better get going too. I don’t want the kids to fall
asleep before we brush their teeth and get them into their PJs.”
The group left, children grumbling. Everyone else still sat at the table. Aunt Karen and Uncle Bob were finishing up their food in silence, pretending t
hat things hadn’t just turned tense.
Flynn’s father looked first at Marco, then at Flynn. “I don’t want anything else happening at this reunion that upsets your mother. No fights, no wild accusations.” He shook his head in frustration. “What were the hard feelings for anyway? A missed wedding. What a bunch of nonsense. Daisy should know better.” He lifted a hand to stem off interruption. “I know you’re not married, but you’ll need to talk with her anyway.”
Marco coughed, startled. “I—what?”
Flynn felt his stomach squeeze. Did their parents know about the divorce? Had all the pretense been for nothing?
Their father’s gaze zeroed in on Flynn. “Even though you’re not married to Belle, the same family rules apply to her. I’m sure she’s not too happy with the way Daisy just treated her, but she’ll have to do her best to get along with her anyway. I won’t have your mother worried that her daughters-in-law hate each other and are going to cause a rift in the family. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” Flynn and Marco said at the same time.
“Good. I’ll expect Daisy and Belle to be as happy as peas in a pod the next I see them. You two talk to them and make sure it happens.”
“Right.” Marco pushed his chair away from the table. “Flynn and I will go, um, see to that.”
*
Inside Marco’s suite, Flynn rummaged around the fridge. Marco sat on the couch, feet on the coffee table, flipping through TV channels. His attention was clearly not on the screen. “I can’t believe Daisy just showed up. How did she even know where we were meeting? I didn’t tell her.”
Flynn kept looking for something to drink, delaying the moment he’d have to face Marco. Milk, orange juice, stacks of eggs, cheese, bacon—all supplies for tomorrow’s breakfast.
“She must have called Mom,” Marco went on, pausing on a sports channel. “Daisy probably said she’d lost her reunion itinerary, and Mom emailed her a copy.”
Flynn had emailed her a copy. He pushed aside packages of strawberries to reach some sodas in the back of the fridge.
How I Met Your Brother (Power of the Matchmaker) Page 13