by Marie Force
At some point, Ned must’ve called Blaine, because he appeared after his shift ended to pick her up so she wouldn’t have to drive. When he came in the door, Tiffany leaped to her feet, threw herself into his arms and kissed him square on the mouth.
“We’re getting married! Tomorrow!”
“So I’ve heard,” he said, amused by her excitement. “Are you a little tipsy, babe?”
“Maybe just a little.” She couldn’t stop staring at the face that had become the center of her world in such a short time. It wasn’t lost on her that she should probably be freaking out about how fast it all had happened, but she wasn’t, because she had no doubt whatsoever that this was the right thing for her. He was the right one for her.
“What?”
Tiffany shook her head. “Nothing at all.”
“Now what in the hell am I going to wear to my daughter’s wedding tomorrow?”
Francine’s question made them all laugh.
Still held aloft by his strong arms, Tiffany lowered her head to Blaine’s shoulder and relaxed against him. This time tomorrow, he’d be her husband. She couldn’t wait.
Daisy woke when her phone chimed with a text from David.
Can’t wait to see you. Be there in twenty minutes.
Her heart fluttered with excitement. He couldn’t wait to see her. He was on his way over. Every one of those things was enough on its own to excite her, but all of them together sent her into anticipation overload. And then she remembered that they needed to talk, that she needed to give him an out if he wanted it.
That was only fair. Who knew if or even when she’d be ready to move forward with a physical relationship, and it wasn’t right to keep him shackled to her if there was somewhere else he’d rather be.
A picnic, she decided. We’ll go somewhere and talk it out over dinner. As she scurried around gathering what she needed, her heart shifted from fluttering to thudding. He’d said he couldn’t wait to see her. Had anyone ever said that to her before? Not that she could recall.
A knock on the door startled her so badly she dropped the basket she had retrieved from a closet shelf. Immediately, her excitement evaporated. It was too soon for David. Acting on instinct, she reached for the baseball bat the previous tenant had left in the closet and held it by her side as she went to the front of the house and peeked through a side window to find a young man holding a huge floral arrangement.
Feeling ridiculous for overreacting, Daisy propped the bat against the wall and opened the door.
“Daisy Babson?”
“That’s me.”
“For you.”
The overpowering scent of stargazer lilies filled her senses and had her heart fluttering all over again at the incredibly thoughtful gesture. “Thank you.”
“They were supposed to be here before you got home, but we were backed up today. Sorry they’re late.”
He’d wanted them there when she got home. He’d gone to some trouble, not to mention the expense. Surrounded by her favorite scent and standing before the befuddled delivery boy, Daisy felt the door to her heart swing open. The emotional overload frightened her. She’d certainly never felt this way before about a man, especially one she was planning to let go if that was what he wanted.
As the delivery boy went down the stairs, David pulled up to the curb. Unreasonably thrilled to see him, Daisy waited at the door for him. He wore a crisp white dress shirt with khaki pants. The sight of him brought back a rush of erotic memories from the night before that made her skin prickle with awareness. Before things went bad, it had been very, very good.
“They just now got here?” he asked, visibly displeased.
“He said they got backed up.”
“I wanted them here when you got home.”
Daisy carefully placed the flowers on a table, turned to place her hands on his shoulders and went up on tiptoes to kiss him. “They’re beautiful, and I love them.”
His arm came around her waist to keep her pressed against him. “I’m glad.”
“Major, major points for the most romantic gesture ever.”
“Ever?” His smile lit up his face.
“Ever.” Daisy kissed him again, lingering this time to stroke his bottom lip with her tongue.
His groan and the tightening of his arms thrilled her. She loved knowing she affected him as much as he affected her. He drew back from her, looking slightly stunned as he gazed down at her. “These points you speak of… How do I go about redeeming them?”
“That’s for me to know and you to find out.”
“These weren’t just any flowers. They’re stargazer lilies.”
“And the points accumulated will reflect that you got it exactly, perfectly, just right.”
“It’s been a very long time since I got anything exactly, perfectly, just right.”
Daisy smiled at him, pleased that he felt comfortable enough with her to admit that. “Well, you did today.” Her smile faded when she remembered the conversation they needed to have.
“What?” he asked, tracing a finger over her lips.
Despite her intense desire never to speak again of what’d happened the night before, she forced herself to meet his gaze. “I wanted to talk to you about last night.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“David—”
This time he left his finger on her lips to stop her from saying anything more. “I meant every word I said last night. If it takes a month or a year or two years or whatever, it doesn’t matter. I like being with you. I feel good when I’m with you. Do you know how much that means to me after feeling like shit for so long?”
“What if it takes forever?” she asked, voicing her greatest fear.
“I don’t think it will, but if it does, so be it.”
“You can’t mean that. What guy would willingly offer to go without sex for that long?”
“I haven’t had sex in two years, Daisy. I think I’ve proven I can live without it. Right now what matters is you and whatever you need. I’ll take all my cues from you and give you whatever you want when you want it. Nothing more, I promise.”
She shook her head. “I hate to be cynical when you’re being so sweet, but my life has taught me that when something seems too good to be true, often it is.”
“Not in this case.” With his hands on her face, he compelled her to look up at him. “I feel good when I’m with you. I don’t actively hate myself when I’m with you. That’s a huge step forward for me, and that’s all your doing. Please don’t push me away because we had one difficult night. Maybe we’ll have a dozen more difficult nights, but that’s okay. I’m right where I want to be, and whatever happens, we’ll deal with it.”
Daisy wanted so badly to believe him. “I got some rather incredible news today.”
“Funny, so did I. How about we talk about all this good news over dinner?”
“I put together a picnic, just in case.”
His brows knitted with confusion, which was an adorable look on him. Hell, all his looks were rather adorable. “In case of what?”
“In case you decided to stick around.”
“I have to stick around.”
“How come?”
“Because I’ve got points to redeem, and how will I know what happens next if I cut and run?”
Amused and delighted to know he wasn’t going to take the easy way out, she smiled at him. “And you want to know what happens next?”
“Very much so. Don’t you?”
Daisy nodded and found she couldn’t look away. “Very much so.”
He took a step closer to her and then another. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he slid them slowly down her arms to join their hands. Then he tipped his head and kissed her.
Devastated by the sweet, gentle kiss, Daisy tightened her grip on his hands. Just as she was settling into the kiss, he pulled back. “Why did you stop?”
“I didn’t want to get carried away.”
“Please
don’t worry about doing the wrong thing. I was fine with everything until…you know…”
“Okay, I hear you.” He kissed her again—quickly. “The next time I kiss you, I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
“Will you promise me one other thing?”
“Sure.”
“Will you promise you’ll be honest if you get tired of waiting for me to get over my phobias?”
“I won’t get tired of waiting.”
“Still… Do you promise?”
He put his arms around her and hugged her to his chest. “I promise, but I don’t expect to have to make good on that one.”
Daisy held on to him for a long time, breathing in the familiar, comforting scent of his cologne. Daisy held on to him for a long time, breathing in the familiar, comforting scent of his cologne. “Ready for that picnic?”
“I need to stop at home to change first.”
“That’s fine. We’re not in any rush. Are we?”
“Not that I know of, but I’m always on call, which will get in our way sometimes.”
“We’ll work around it.” She started to walk away, but his hand slid down her arm to capture her fingers. “What?”
“I like how you said that. We’ll work around it. That makes me feel like you’re planning to stick around for a while, too.”
She went back to him and looped her arms around his neck. “Where else would I go when all I can think about is the next time I get to be with you?”
“That’s all you think about?”
Daisy worried for a moment that she might’ve said too much. It wasn’t like her to expose herself emotionally to a man. She’d learned the hard way to keep her thoughts and feelings to herself. But something about David and the closeness they’d shared for weeks now made her want to be honest with him, even if it meant risking her fragile heart. “Pretty much.”
“How do you get anything else done if all you’re thinking about is me?”
Smiling at his playful reply, she kissed his neck. “It’s not easy.” Daisy pulled away from him long enough to gather up the picnic basket and blanket. On the way to his house, they chatted about his day at the clinic and the family of ten that had checked loudly into the hotel earlier in the day.
She waited for him in the car while he ran into his house to get changed, which was how she caught a glimpse of his elusive landlord when he emerged from the big house, looking as if he’d been on a multi-day bender. Despite the scruff on his chin, the red eyes and the dark blond hair standing on end, Daisy could see that he was an exceptionally good-looking man.
David came down the stairs from his place and seemed surprised to see Jared on the deck. They exchanged a few words before David got in the car.
“Wow, he looks like hell,” David said.
“What did he say?”
“Nothing much. Just hello and how’s it going, but he’s usually so polished and put together. It’s weird to see him disheveled.”
“Ask him to come with us.”
David looked over at her. “To our picnic at the beach?”
“We’ve got plenty of food, and he looks like he could use a friend or two.”
“You’re serious.”
“Unless you don’t want to.”
“I was feeling kind of bad about leaving him when there’s clearly something wrong.”
“Then what do you say we eat here with him and figure out what’s going on. Then we can go for a walk on the beach by ourselves.”
He leaned across the center console to kiss her. “I say you’re an exceptionally good person, Daisy Babson, and I quite like you.”
Delighted by the kiss and the compliments, Daisy smiled at him. “I quite like you, too.”
They got out of the car and walked around to the back of the house, where Jared was staring off into space on the back deck, which was outfitted with gorgeous outdoor furniture that looked like it had never been used. Giant flowerpots full of colorful blooms sat at each corner of the spacious deck.
Daisy wondered if Jared had even noticed the obvious trouble someone had gone to on his behalf. Working at the hotel had taught her that rich people often failed to notice the little things that mattered so greatly to her.
“I thought you left,” Jared said to David.
“This is my girlfriend, Daisy.” David put his arm around her as she absorbed the simple pleasure of hearing him introduce her as his girlfriend. “You seem upset or something, and we thought you might like some company.” He placed the basket on the table. “Are you hungry?”
Jared shrugged as if he had no idea how to answer that simplest of questions.
“I don’t know what I was thinking when I packed so much food for two of us,” Daisy said cheerfully, earning a grateful smile from David. “You’d be doing us a favor if you ate some of it.”
“Um, sure, okay. Thanks.” Jared gestured to the chairs. “Have a seat. Do we need silverware or anything?”
“It’s all in the basket,” Daisy said. “My friend Maddie gave me the whole setup for my birthday last year because she knows how much I love picnics. This is the first time I’ve gotten to use it.” Daisy knew she was babbling, but she couldn’t stand the sense of desolation that radiated from him. She recognized the desolation because she’d felt it herself. Recently, in fact.
Daisy unpacked the fried chicken, potato salad and tossed salad she had put together for her and David to share. She wasn’t lying when she’d said there was plenty. Knowing how often David’s work forced him to skip meals, she had made extra in case he was famished.
“This looks great, Daisy,” David said, diving in with his usual zest for home cooking.
“Help yourself, Jared,” Daisy said.
“Thank you.”
Between bites of chicken, David uncorked the wine she’d included and poured some for each of them.
“Thank you.” Daisy took a sip of her wine. The tart, dry flavor made her taste buds explode with sensation. “Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you Jared? I know we just met, but sometimes a stranger can be better to unload on than a friend.”
Jared put down his red plastic fork and wiped his face on the red-and-white-checkered napkin. “A couple of days ago, I asked my girlfriend to marry me,” he said flatly, staring straight ahead as he spoke. “She said no.”
“Wow,” Daisy said in a whisper. “Did she say why?”
Jared bent his head and ran his fingers through his hair repeatedly, which he’d probably been doing for quite some time judging from the way it stood on end. “She can’t do life in the fishbowl. She said she loves me, but she doesn’t love my life. The media is relentless, the rumors, the gold diggers, the lavishness. It’s not for her.”
“I’m so sorry, man,” David said. “That sucks.”
“Big-time. I couldn’t stay in the city after that, knowing it was over between us. I had to get out of there.”
“You did the right thing coming here,” Daisy said. “It’ll be good to get some space and some perspective.” She looked to David to help her out, because she had no idea what to say.
“Daisy’s right. You love it here, and it’s peaceful and quiet.”
“You know what I’ve been thinking about since I got here?”
“What’s that?” David asked.
“How I could go about getting rid of the money. Maybe if I didn’t have the money anymore, I could give her the normal life she wants.”
“But is that what you want?” Daisy asked and immediately felt like she was being overly forward with someone she’d just met.
“I want her. I want us. I’ve never been in love with anyone the way I am with her. I don’t get why she couldn’t see past all the reasons it wouldn’t work and see all the ways it works perfectly. We’re so damned good together.”
When Jared’s eyes filled with tears, Daisy looked away. She felt as if she was intruding on an intensely private moment.
“I’m sorry, guys,” Jared said. “I apprecia
te what you’re trying to do, but I’m not very good company tonight.”
“That’s okay,” David said. “We’ve both been there, so we get it.”
“This happened to you, too?” Jared asked.
David glanced at Daisy, seeming to seek her approval to tell Jared what he’d been through.
Under the table, she curled her hand around his. When their eyes met, she nodded and smiled.
David squeezed her hand. “I was engaged to my girlfriend of thirteen years and managed to completely screw it up a year before the wedding. I definitely understand how you’re feeling right now, and it does get better. With time.”
“How much time?”
“It’ll hurt like hell for quite a while,” David said. “And then one day you’ll meet someone new, someone who makes you feel hopeful again.” He looked at Daisy. “It won’t be the same as it was before, but it’s possible it’ll be even better.”
He wore the expression of a man who’d traveled a long and difficult path and had come out on the other side better for the journey. The warm, loving look he directed her way along with his words made Daisy feel about ten feet tall because she’d done that for him.
“It was really good of you guys to hang with me,” Jared said. “I won’t keep you from your evening.”
“Jared,” David said before the other man could make his escape. “Do yourself a favor and don’t make any big decisions right away. Don’t give all your money to charity or anything like that. You may regret it in a week or two when the fog clears.”
Jared nodded and disappeared into the house.
“Poor guy,” Daisy said.
“Poorest rich guy you’ve ever met.”
“Money can’t buy happiness.”
“No, it can’t. Thanks for the picnic and for talking to Jared.”
“I like him, and I feel so sorry for him.”
“He’ll bounce back. He’s usually bursting with confidence and bravado. I barely recognized him tonight.”
“He’s heartbroken,” Daisy said with a sigh. “He has everything money can buy, but what good is it without the woman he loves?”