“There was a sale,” I deadpan.
I finish loading the bags and shut the door. I walk over to Daisy’s door and knock on the window. She lowers it and I rest my forearms over the door, using my body to block any view of her.
I nod at the phone in her hands. “Any word yet?”
She knows who I’m referring to, but I refuse to speak his name near her. “Nope. And at this point, I’m wondering if maybe it’s socially acceptable for my fiancé to ghost me after I used nude lipstick to break up with him.” She winces.
“Ex-fiancé,” I correct before I can tuck the caveman inside me back where he belongs.
“Right. Ex-fiancé.” She nods as she nudges the engagement ring on her finger.
The sight still kills, but that’s my burden to bear, not Daisy’s.
I’m about to push off and walk into the small grocery store a block away when her hand unexpectedly keeps me in place. “You wanna know the saddest part about this?” She lifts her left hand, and I force myself to keep my eyes on her and not the ring. “A part of me is waiting for some kind of permission to take it off. Like I should be expecting an email confirmation to tell me that it’s okay to remove it and return it to its rightful owner.” She smiles sadly as she tilts her head. “And the pathetic part about it? I don’t think I know what role I’m supposed to play now that it’s all over.”
“Daisy—”
She raises her phone and shows me the last text message from her father.
FATHER:
CALL ME IMMEDIATELY. WE ARE NOW IN FULL CRISIS MANAGEMENT MODE. IF YOU’RE NOT AT DAMIEN’S HOME BY 5PM, YOU’LL BE SORRY. DON’T KEEP US WAITING. YOU KNOW CARMEN WOULD BE SO DISAPPOINTED BY YOUR ACTIONS.
I want to throttle her father through her phone. Hell, I might even take Nick up on the ride on his jet he offered so I can get my hands on him quicker.
But Daisy refocuses my attention by keeping her phone angled toward the both of us as she taps the screen a few times before hitting the “block contact” option.
“I may be a little lost right now, but I have one firm boundary that I’d never let anyone cross, and it’s using my family or loved ones against me. He’s well aware that I still struggle with the fact that I never had a mother growing up. He’s most likely used that fact to lure me into the fucked-up relationship we have. I’m not completely oblivious. But he made a grave mistake assuming he could speak about my mother’s emotions on her behalf, when I know for a fact he was never truly there for her.” She tosses the phone onto the center console and leans back, pulling down the bill of my baseball hat. “I may have no clue who I am or who I’m supposed to be, but I know for sure that I won’t let my father speak to me that way.”
I know I shouldn’t touch her, especially at a time like this, but my body is incapable of withholding comfort from her. I lean into the truck and wrap my fingers behind the back of her neck, allowing my thumb to brush over her cheek.
“You’re Daisy fucking Stonehaven. You’re the first person people call when they need to feel safe or seen. The most supportive sister and friend who would drop everything at a moment’s notice to be there for the ones lucky enough to knowyou.” I pause, eyes imploring hers. “And the only person who was able to bring a soulless dead man back to life.” She sucks in a shallow breath, but I don’t stop. “But Daze, the two people who should have cared for and protected that big, beautiful heart of yours the most decided to take advantage of it instead. I know it’s not my place, and there are details of your relationships with them that I’m not privy to, but honestly…” I nod my head toward her phone. “Fuck them. Your dad chooses to berate you instead of being concerned about your well-being, and your ex…” I chuckle darkly, accidentally squeezing the back of her neck and angling her face toward mine. “Let’s just say, if you were mine, I would be scouring every inch of the earth for you until I had you back, safely in my arms.”
“Luke.” Her voice cracks, but I’m not done.
“But it’s all right, because that people-pleasing version of you decided to get gone and buried the moment you let me toss your wedding veil out my truck window.”
She cracks a watery smile. “It was a very expensive veil. I’m sure Damien’s mother had a conniption over that alone.”
Her ability to joke loosens the tension in my chest, and I release my hold on her.
If you would have told me five years ago that my heart could beat for someone like this again, I wouldn’t have believed it. After tragedy struck me and my former team, I was sold on the idea of living in solitude, holed up in my cabin alone for the rest of my days.
Yet here I am trying to infuse a bit of life into the woman who singlehandedly handed me back mine.
“Who you want to be or act like is completely up to you. I’ll be here, every step of the way. And I mean it. Because whoever wants a bit of your attention is now going to have to go through me. I’m going to be on you like a rash.”
She chuckles. “Love the visual.”
“Thought you would.” I smirk.
She bites her thumbnail as she asks, “So does this new Daisy get freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and ice cream by any chance?”
I narrow my eyes at her. “You saw the bakery two streets over on the drive in, didn’t you?”
She shrugs. “This new and improved version of me doesn’t feel compelled to answer that question.”
I bark out a laugh and quickly cover my mouth, not wanting to draw attention to us. “Something tells me that this new and improved version of you is going to give me a lot of attitude.” I quirk a brow. “And that was supposed to be a surprise. We’re picking up a dozen cookies and ice cream on the way home so you can eat them on the drive back.”
