“I was about to put on some fresh coffee for Liam. Would you like a cup?”
“That would be great. It might warm me up.”
“Have a seat then, and I’ll have it in a few minutes.”
She'd never had a reason to entertain company before. Well, not any who came to see her. She’d never had girlfriends or anyone her age to talk to, so playing hostess to Callie was new and, silly as it was, exciting.
The coffee didn’t take long to brew. She carried Liam a cup, along with another cinnamon roll, before serving Callie and herself. They sat at the kitchen table, her new friend taking a small sip from her mug before looking up at her. “So,” she said. “How are things with you and lover boy?”
Daisy choked on her coffee, sputtering before having a coughing fit. When she could breathe again, her eyes lifted to Callie. Her new friend was laughing, her head thrown back while her body shook.
When Callie’s laughing fit subsided, Daisy grinned and said, “Clay is not my—lover boy.” She blushed, her face going so hot she knew it was red. “Where do you come up with this stuff?”
“I read a lot.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “Old Lady Whisnant—that’s the lady I work for—gets a steady supply of dime novels, and some are…shall we say, risqué.”
“Risqué how?”
Callie grinned. “I’ll bring you one. It might enlighten you.” She raised her eyebrow again. “Unless you already know what goes on behind a man and woman’s closed bedroom door.”
She did not, and the blush on her face probably said as much. Callie laughed again, her body shaking with it, and Daisy hoped Liam couldn’t hear them talking.
“Let me guess. You’re saving yourself for marriage.”
“You’re not?”
Callie laughed again. “Hell no, and you shouldn’t either.”
It was scandalous even to think. Wasn’t it? She’d always been told good girls didn’t bare their bodies to boys who were not their husbands, but when she thought about it, she didn’t think Rose had waited. Her sister and Graham had been too close when they courted not to be sharing more than heated kisses, and Rose had been at his house so often before they were married, it appeared too many that they were living together when they weren’t.
“Please tell me you, and that handsome cowboy you’re with are…”
“Are what?” she asked when Callie stopped talking.
Her friend grinned and held up her hands…making a rude gesture that mimicked what a man and woman did—alone.
“Callie!”
Callie laughed. “I take it from the look on your face that the answer is no.”
Daisy’s eyes widened. “Of course not. Have you?”
Callie grinned and nodded. “Many times. You don’t know what you’re missing.”
Rose and Violet would tell her to steer clear of Callie. She was too bold. Too worldly. But that’s what Daisy liked most about her. She wasn’t afraid to say what she thought. Her ideas were more modern than most, and maybe Callie was right. Maybe she needed to be more direct to get what she wanted.
“We’ve kissed,” she finally said when Callie wouldn’t let the subject drop.
“And?”
“And what?”
“How was it?”
“Nice.”
Callie rolled her eyes. “Nice? That’s it?”
She snorted a laugh. “What more is there?”
