“Don’t be.” I press my lips over hers. “I want to be in your world. You’re mine.”
A tiny dimple breaks out in her cheek as she sheds an anemic smile. First one in hours.
“I’m your world?” She wrinkles her nose as if the thought were ridiculous on some level.
“Yes.” I inch back, taking her in. Daisy’s skin glows like a pearl under the light of the third quarter moon. “You’re it.” My arms cinch tight around her. “When my parents died, I vowed to take care of Lucky for the rest of her life. And I’ll be there for her every day that she needs me.” I close my eyes and feel the sting of tears before blinking them away. “There was something about you, Daisy. When we first met at the Black Bear last year—I just had this insane desire to get to know you.”
She gives my ribs a pinch. “You had an insane desire to get to know a lot of girls. And I watched you land them night after night. You’re pretty good at getting to know the girls.”
“You’re funny.” I take a grazing bite of her earlobe. “But that’s not what I meant. You were different. They were just a distraction to keep my mind off you. No offense but I was dead set on not getting involved with anyone beyond a one-night stand. They amounted to a bodily function. You were the one who my heart ached for. I didn’t want it to. I knew if I ever got involved with anyone, it would distract from Lucky, and believe me when I say this. Lucky still needs to be parented.”
“That’s what you’ve been doing.” Daisy lands her cool palm over my cheek and holds it there. “You’ve been a mom and a dad to that girl.”
“That’s what I’ve been doing, but you proved me wrong. I can open my heart to you and still be there for Lucky. Plus, it’s pretty clear it’s going to take the two of us to wrangle her from her wild ways.”
A hearty laugh ripples from her. “That girl might be wild, but you can’t really blame her. Everything is new in her world. New school, new friends. She’s in college. She wants to have fun—and she should. You’ll have to let her expand her wings a bit if she’s ever going to learn how to fly.”
I press my lips to her temple. “I don’t want her to fly. She’ll break a leg or something.” We share a light laugh. “That’s why you’re good for me. I would never let Lucky jump, let alone take a flying leap on her own. And I think I need to. It’s probably time.” A moment thumps by, and I lose myself in Daisy’s diamond bright eyes. “I have a confession to make. When I saw you last year, I wanted desperately to make you mine. When I got to know you, I just wanted to be around you all the time.” I give a slight nod, hoping she knows where this is headed.
Her mouth rounds out. “That’s why you were at Stilettos so darn much!” She swats me. “I bet you were just chomping at the bit to see if I would let the girls loose.”
“I didn’t want you to. Deep down, I knew I wanted those all to myself. I’m more of a private show kind of a guy.” My palms break out into a sweat, and I rub them over my jeans. I never was good at fessing up to anything. “I asked Scarlett why you were doing it, and she mentioned you needed the cash.”
She sucks in a deep breath and presses her hand to my chest. “It was you!” She gives another playful swat. “You’re the big tipper?”
I wince as she says it. “It was my way of taking care of you. Besides, you earned it. You put on a hell of a show.”
“You!” She swats me a few more times for good measure before pulling me into a wet kiss. “Thank you—for the tips.” She cocks her head to the side. “I’m vehemently against the idea of being a kept woman. I’ll get another job—one day.” Her chest quivers with her next breath.
“There’s an opening down at Think Ink. It’s yours if you want it.”
“Oh, I can’t stand needles!” Daisy contorts with grief as if I’ve just asked her to perform brain surgery. The position down at the shop hardly qualifies as anything close, but it does require a friendly face and brains, and Daisy has both on lock.
“You don’t have to be around a single needle. I promise. I need someone else up front. I had someone quit a few weeks back, and Honey needs a break.”
“I’m in!” She slaps me five. “Thank you.” Daisy presses a lingering kiss to my lips, and my chest pounds, demanding so much more. “Hey”—she pulls back, her eyes growing serious again—“can I ask what happened to your parents? I think you mentioned something about your dad once.”
“Yes.” I set my gaze on those stars in the sky, same ones my father and I used to gaze at before he went feral. “My dad was a sloppy drunk. He drank until he passed out on most occasions. My mom”—a heavy sigh expels from me—“she died several years later. Some said of a broken heart, but, believe me, she didn’t miss him. She had an infection that went septic.”
“Jet, that’s terrible.” She buries her face in my chest a moment, and I savor the sensation of her breath warming me. “And your dad?” Tears cling to the tips of her lashes, and it makes her that much more magical. “Did the alcohol kill him?”
“No, I did.”
Everything Is Coming Up Daisies
Daisy
Jet Madden isthe most beautiful man I have ever laid eyes on—black hair, blue eyes, heart of solid gold. But a murdering felon? I don’t think so. At least I pray not. I may not have entered into law school just yet, but I know all too well that guilt by association is a very real thing.
I clear my throat. “Don’t talk like that. You didn’t drive him to drinking. Some people just can’t cope without a crutch in their life—and it sounds like alcohol was his.”
Jet’s somber expression melts to something far more peaceable. “You’re sweet. That’s what I love about you.” He pulls me so close, his hot breath searing my neck. “But I’m not talking in metaphors. This is real.” His eyes hook to mine. “It’s true. The night my father died he was rip-roaring drunk. He had just finished laying out my mother, and it tortured me to see her banged up like that. I was about ten. He was twice my size. I knew I couldn’t go against him, so I devised a plan. I stood at the base of the stairs, and when he came bounding down, I shoved my baseball bat into the landing. He flew like a bird without feathers, landing face first on the tile. He didn’t move.” Jet’s eyes swell with tears, but he doesn’t let them fall. “My mother was too injured to see what the commotion was about—not that there was one after that. It was the first time the house had a moment of silence, a sense of peace.” He shakes his head, looking just past me at some unknowable horizon. “I waited an hour, called a neighbor for help. My dad was dead on arrival.” Jet glances down at our conjoined chests as one lone tear burns a hole in my flesh. “That’s my story, Daisy.” The idea of a smile pulses on his lips. “So you see, I know a little about secrets myself.”
“Jet.” I wrap my arms around him tight, pushing my face over his shoulder as I struggle to hold it together. “I will never tell.”
“You don’t have to keep my secret.” He pulls back and gives my thigh a gentle tap. “I ratted myself out to the cops a long time ago.”
“What?” My heart pulsates in a clap of thunder strong enough to kill me. I wasn’t expecting this wild ride into the past. Jet’s truths are far more painful than any of the lies that are circulating about me.
