Clover:
Say goodbye to the boot, baby! I can drive again. Sweet, sweet freedom!
Chapter Forty
Daisy
Owen sent a group text asking us all, including his mom and sister, to meet at his mom’s place after practice, so here we sit. I’m holding my niece, hoping she’ll protect me from the evil eye her father is sending me from across the room.
“Your face looks so much better. How does it feel?” Mia asks, diverting my attention.
“Not too bad. Half the time I forget all about it. Then I see my reflection in the mirror and remember why people seem so sad when they look at me. I hate seeing the pity in everyone's eyes.”
“It’s not pity. We just worry about you.”
“I know, but really, I’m good.” I kick my sneaker-covered foot in front of her as if to say, what could be wrong?
“How does it feel to be out in the open about Owen?”
There’s no stopping the smile that stretches across my face, so I don’t even try. “I’ve never been happier, Mia. I know we’vegot a lot going on. It’s not like all of that isn’t on my mind. But as long as I have him, everything is right in the world.”
She smiles, but it’s apprehensive.
“What?” I ask defensively. My brows furrow. “You don’t think we’ll make it?”
“It’s not that. You two have years of history. It’s not Owen. It’s the fact that someone tried to kill you. Your family's ranch was torched. You’re going through a lot right now.”
I love Mia, but my blood is boiling. Little Gracie is my saving grace right now; the warmth of her little body pressed against my chest providing a sense of calm.
“You think once it’s all over, Owen and I will be too?”
“Hey.” She places a hand on mine, not patting the baby’s back. “I’m not saying that. This is all new to the rest of us, and it’s happening at a pretty traumatic time for you. I love you both.” She looks over my shoulder to make sure nobody’s listening, then lowers her voice. “I don’t want to see either of you hurt.”
I take a deep breath, granting myself a moment to find the words to reassure my best friend. “Mia, I understand how it looks, I do. But please remember that Owen confessed his feelings to me long before any of this started. I’ve known for months, more than likely a decade, that I was in love with him. My feelings for him aren’t new, and they aren’t a reaction to trauma. I loved him long before my fall. In some ways, this terrible situation is the best thing to ever happen to me.”
Her smile holds mischief as her glossy eyes flash over my shoulder a heartbeat before powerful arms wrap around my waist and his chin rests on the shoulder not already occupied.
“I love you too,” Owen whispers in my ear.
I reach back and cup his cheek. “How was your day, baby?”
“Have I told you how much I love it when you call me that?”
“Nope.”
Mia steps away, leaving us on our own.
“Didn’t see your truck outside. You didn’t drive on your first day of freedom?”
“Smith drove me and Mom back to my place so I could get more clothes, and of course, shoes. I let him drive us here, so I could ride home with you.”
“Good girl.”
Two words. That’s all it takes. My nipples pebble and my nether region heats. All with an infant in my arms. Damn him.
“Behave. I’m holding a baby.”
This time when he speaks, his lips brush my ear. “Are you wet for me, Clover?”
