I huff as I move to sit up. “What, you feel guilty now that your husband set the record straight?”
“No,” she pouts. “I felt guilty while I was saying it, too. I was just so angry that I couldn’t stop myself, even though I knew most of it wasn’t true.”
Maybe we’re not as different as I thought.
She pauses and stares at me strangely. “Did you trim your chest hair or something?”
I glare back at her as I scratch my bare chest. “What is wrong with you?”
“A lot,” she replies with a sigh. “It looks nice, by the way. You know, you’re not a bad-looking guy, Landry. You could stand to flaunt your assets a little more.”
“What for? I already have a wife, remember?” I reply dryly.
“Aha! I thought this was a marriage of convenience,” she points out, narrowing her eyes at me.
“Regardless of my reasons for marrying Daisy, I wouldn’t disrespect her by dating around. I’m not that desperate to get laid,” I grumble. That last part’s not quite as true today as it was yesterday, though.
“Then why’d you suddenly start grooming yourself?” she asks accusingly.
I cross my arms while I think of a reply. “Maybe I thought my wife would like it.” I sigh. “Not because I’ve been trying to sleep with her or anything. But maybe I just can’t help doing stuff she’d approve of, all right?”
“Because you accidentally fell for her, even though you didn’t want to?”
Now I’m the one pouting. “Maybe.”
She smiles and reaches out to pat my leg. “La-aan,” she drawls. “That’s so sweet.”
“No, it’s not,” I retort. “It’s like you said before, I’m too old and mean for her. She’s probably only into me because I’m the first man she’s gotten close to. None of this is right or fair, and?—”
“I was wrong. I shouldn’t have said any of that. If you have feelings for Daisy, then you deserve the chance to see that through. You’re both adults. The age difference shouldn’t matter.”
I shake my head. “I might have thought for a second that it was okay, but you did the right thing by reminding me I’m not good enough for her.”
Her shoulders droop, and her eyes water again. “Tell me you don’t really believe that?”
“Of course I do,” I say, my voice thick.
“Is it because of what I said, or did you feel that way before?”
“I’ve never felt good enough for anyone, much less Daisy,” I admit, looking down at my hands.
“Is that why you’re so anti-commitment, because you’re afraid of burdening someone? Because you don’t want anyone to feel like they’re stuck with you once they realize you’re not worth it?”
I swallow hard. No use lying now, since I can’t feel any worse. “Yeah. Mostly.”
She surprises me by scooting closer and sliding her much smaller hand over mine. “I get it, you know. Boy, do I.”
I glance up at her, remembering what Blake had confessed to me before about Loren having trouble with her self-worth. “Is that why you hesitated when he proposed?”
She nods. “The only part of me that didn’t want to be with Blake was the part that was convinced he could never really love me or that he’d get tired of me after a while. I couldn’t risk ending up like Mom.”
“But you’re nothing like her. And Blake obviously loves you and the girls too much for that,” I find myself telling her.
“Yeah, well, pregnancy hormones don’t care about the truth or your feelings. They made me think Blake was only fulfilling an obligation, that it was impossible to believe him when he said he loved me.”
I shake my head. “He wasn’t just taking care of you because he had to. I mean, even I could see he’d do anything for you. When you love someone that much, you can’t help yourself.”
She shrugs and smiles. “I know that now, but it was hard to see it a few months ago. Just like it’s probably hard for you to recognize what you have with Daisy.”
