I look down, avoiding Daisy’s gaze.
Avoiding my own uncomfortable thoughts.
CHAPTER 13
Daisy
(TEN YEARS AGO)
Dear Diary,
Daisy + Ryder forever
Daisy Black
Daisy & Ryder Black
Mrs. Daisy Black
(NOW)
Ryder wears his responsibility heavily. Before, he struggled with the weight of other people’s expectations. Now, it’s grief.
Ryder shakes his head, his jaw tightening. He takes a swig of beer. His gaze shifts to the song list.
“Damn. They do have a lot of my music,” he comments, changing the subject.
He raises the pint of beer to take another deep drink, his bicep popping with his move.
I follow his lead to a new topic. “Yup. Lots of Ryder Black on the playlist. Wanna karaoke yourself?”
I’m happy to see his mouth curve up.
“Not on your life,” he says.
“I’ll tell you what. Let’s play a round of darts, and whoever wins gets to choose a song for the loser to sing.”
“How are you going to play darts with your ankle?” His eyes linger on me.
“Oh, Ryder. You really shouldn’t underestimate me,” I say merrily. “You can help support me while I play. I’ll manage just fine.” I don’t add that I’ll be very happy to lean all over him during our game.
He rubs the stubble on that beautiful jaw of his, his eyes bright. “You know, I’ve played a hell of a lot of darts over the years. One of my tour buses has a board.”
I hide a smirk.
Thirty minutes and four games later, Ryder swears while I cheerfully look over the song list again. My cheeks are still pink from how close we stood together and how his strong arm on my waist steadied me the entire game. I loved his possessive grip and the way he glared down any guy who approached me.
“How the hell did you do that?”
“Are you kidding? I was practically raised in a bar. It gave me something to do when my parents were getting shit-faced. It’s like riding a bike, a skill that never leaves. Now, I command you to sing…” I pretend to mull it over. But I know exactly what I want.
She’s Magic.
It’s my favorite of all his songs. It was the runaway hit on his first solo album and one of the few that I didn’t watch him write that summer. It’s soulful and romantic. It makes every womanmelt because he’s so obviously in love with the girl he’s singing about.
I should despise the song. Because he wrote it when he dated a supermodel who was obviously magic in every way. But I can’t hate it because I love it too damn much.
“I choose… ‘She’s Magic.’”
