I side-eye Ryder to see how he’ll answer that, but he’s giving nothing away, not in speech or body language. Unlike Shelby’s, his face is as unexpressive as a Botox victim’s. It’s as immovableas granite. Frozen as ice. My mood dips, and this time, it’s not from coffee withdrawal.
Unfortunately, my shift in mood doesn’t freeze my tongue. I wave a hand. “Eh. Ryder’s publicist wants us to date. Fake-date, I mean. They think it will save my reputation, make me look not so pathetic. But I told Ryder no. I wouldn’t want to inconvenience him just because of one little imprudent video. Plus, he’s my boss. So pretending to date would be highly unprofessional. And I’m always super professional.”
Ryder rolls his eyes. At least he’s not Frozen Man anymore.
“I’mnot your boss,” Brendan says. “If you won’t fake-date Ryder, you can fake-date me.”
I grin, thinking over his suggestion. “Oh? How will that help?” I ask.
“Yes, Brendan? How will that help?” Shelby snaps. She does not look happy.
Ah. So that’s the way the wind blows. Shelby’s taste is more stuffy businessman and less uptight rock star. I decide I like Shelby. She has good taste in shoes and asks incisive questions.
“The tabloids will say that Daisy is soothing her broken heart with me, Ryder’s brother. You won’t look pathetic, and you don’t need to date the boss. And Ryder can do what he wants, like always,” Brendan taunts. “Problem solved.”
“Hmm. That might work.” My eyes are wide with admiration. “I must say, Brendan. I didn’t think you’d have such a good grasp of celebrity gossip and PR strategy.”
“Blackmoor Holdings owns two of the biggest social media sites and a media empire. I know my way around a tabloid, and I get a daily briefing of everything going on in business and the world, including my family.” He crosses his arms and watches Ryder with a curve of his lips.
“She’s not fake-dating you,” Ryder says flatly.
“Why?” Brendan asks.
“Yeah, why?” I interject.
“Because she’sreal-dating me, damn you.” Ryder’s expression is challenging, as if to say,How are you going to respond to that?
My mouth opens. And closes.
Yeah, I got nothing. And this might be the first time in my life that I’m speechless.
Shelby gives me a wide smile. “Now, thatisinteresting.”
CHAPTER 31
Daisy
(TEN YEARS AGO)
Dear Diary,
The memories came back to me sporadically, as if from a dream. I remember sneaking into the living room last night, hoping to avoid Sebastian because I knew if he saw me, I’d be sent straight back to my room. But he wasn’t there. He’d probably already adjourned to his bedroom with a girl.
Instead, there was a group of good-looking, well-dressed people in their twenties doing shots and probably a good deal more, judging by the number of times they got up to go to the bathroom. I was glad I put on my favorite black dress, makeup, and heels before coming out of my room. I’d sewed the dress myself, copying one I saw in the latest issue of Chic magazine. A handsome and handsy guy named Davey invited me to sit next to him. He handed me drink after drink of something clear and strong. I took them all.
That’s when the night gets fuzzy. We went to a club. And then another one. At some point, I remember looking up from a couch in a room filled with blaring music and spinning, glittering bodies. Someone was calling my name. I tried focusing as hard as I could, only to find Chase’s worried eyes staring down at me.
Everything went hazy, then blank. It might have been no big deal. Just a night of teenage rebellion. A memory to one day laugh and shake my head over. It might have been. If there hadn’t been paparazzi outside the club. And they hadn’t gotten photos of Chase carrying me out.
And that’s when the nightmare started.
(NOW)
A few hours later, I’m settled back in a guest room once again. The guards have brought all my things from the pool house, and I spent the morning going through them, inspecting for damage, and arranging everything in my new room. Luckily, most of my items were in good shape. The walk-in closet and bathroom area of the pool house were mostly untouched, apart from some flooding. Ironically, Archie’s penchant for shoes saved them because I’d developed the habit of storing everything out of his reach on higher shelves. So the water didn’t get to them.
I hang up the last items of clothing while I talk to Taylor on speakerphone, catching him up on everything that happened in the last twenty-four hours, which, admittedly, is a lot. After I told him about the storm, the tree, and Ryder rescuing me, I gave him an abbreviated version of the night and morning. I feel bad talking to Taylor about Ryder when I’ve confided none of it to Olivia yet. We still talk on the phone almost daily, but since she’s engaged to my brother, I don’t want to put her in theawkward position of having to keep my relationship with Ryder a secret. Taylor has no such divided loyalties.
“Girrrrrl, so you and Ryder hit the sheets, and now he wants torealfake-date you? What did you tell him?” Taylor cries. “I thought you were doing Operation Fall out of Love. News flash. Spending more time together in sexy and romantic scenarios is not how you accomplish this.”
