Double check the locks before you go to bed.
Daisy
What’s the point when the Big Bad Wolf has a key?
I tap my fist against the headboard behind me and whimper. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt this way before. Whatever it is that Daisy’s been using to get me to do her bidding is even more potent when she uses it to flirt. It’s torturous, wanting her this way and having her so close and easily coaxed into satisfying that yearning, yet knowing it’s not the right thing to do. And it’s only been a couple of days.
Daisy
Landry?
Are you driving home yet?
What if I told you my dress was caught in my hair again? Would you come to my rescue and help me out of it?
I growl and toss the phone down. How am I going to survive going back home after this? I’m not a particularly lustful man, but I am human—a very impulsive one, at that. I’ve done everything in my power to resist my attraction to Daisy, and it’s only grown stronger with time. There’s only so much I can take of my hot-to-go wife practically begging me to consummate our marriage before I’m bound to break, especially since I’ve never actually managed to resist giving her anything she’s asked me for before. And this is something I’dreallylike to give her.
Thalassemia, giardiasis, cryptosporidiosis, strongyloidiasis, toxocariasis …I take a deep breath before I work up the courage to text her back.
Landry
Sorry, wifey. I think it’s best if I stay here tonight.
Daisy
But it’s Christmas …
Landry
I know. But I need a few more hours to clear my head, okay?
Do me a favor and push your dresser over to block your bedroom door.
Daisy
Fine. Merry Christmas, hubby. See you in the morning.
I’ll try to untangle my dress before then.
Landry
*heart react*
I’m grinning to myself and reveling in that warm, fuzzy state that only Daisy’s attention puts me in when it hits me—this is why people get married. Why wouldn’t I want to feel like this for the rest of my life, especially now that I’ve learned there’s less risk involved? After all, didn’t Loren and Tenley both just teach me that a little humility and a good apology go a long way and that I actually deserve to experience this degree of love and acceptance?
I stand up and begin pacing my old bedroom while running my fingers through my hair. I need Daisy more than she needs me, and I’ve got to figure out how to make her my wife for real, even if that means swallowing my pride and admitting that I actually want all the things I’ve been fighting against for most of my life. I already know I’m in love with her. Hell, I’d figured that out as soon as I’d allowed myself to think about her romantically. And while I haven’t been able to admit it out loud yet, I’m pretty sure she understands how I feel, since she can practically read my mind at this point.
Daisy was right about us all along. She’s my person. I can’t imagine having to spend another day without her, and I have to make sure she knows that.
I’ve got to tell her right now—I can’t afford to waste another second.
She needs to know that I’m crazy in love with her, that I’m willing to do anything to turn this into a real marriage, that I want to dote on her and take care of her forever, and maybe even make a couple of babies together.
I’m about to reach for my pants when I force myself to stop and think this through. If I were to go home right now and declare all this to Daisy, there’s a pretty good chance we’d end up making that last part happen sooner than later. And maybe that wouldn’t be so bad, except we’d want to check in with her neurologist beforehand to make sure pregnancy and delivery would be safe for both her and our potential children. I also want to make sure Daisy’s ready before I allow us to take that risk.
Instead of acting on my impulses and intrusive thoughts, I’ve managed to pause and fully consider the long-term consequences, both good and bad. And I obviously need to get my dumbass back into bed before I screw this up.
I pick up my phone one more time.
