She’s deep in thought, not responding to Nick or to me, but when my hand slips behind her neck, she leans into me and closes her eyes.
I kiss her forehead. “Everything’s going to be okay, Daze. You’re in control. What do you want to do?”
She opens her eyes and straightens, holding on to that anger that seems to be fueling her as she speaks. “The days of me staying out of it are over. It’s time I step up and speak for myself, Nick. If Damien wants to embarrass himself further by planning a wedding without a bride, that’s on him.”
Nick is silent for a moment. “Wow, Daisy. I’m—” He sighs. “I’m so damn proud of you, sis. Trust me, I want to shield youfrom this shitstorm more than you’ll ever know. Hell, I’d take delight in destroying your ex while I was at it. But I love that you feel empowered enough to do it yourself. But please don’t go straight from Ms. Nice Girl to first-degree murderer. Even my reach might be limited when it comes to keeping you out of the slammer if you kill this guy in broad daylight.” He chuckles, trying to bring levity to the situation, but my sweet little Daisy is too busy being a hellion to simmer down.
With the same commanding tone that her brother would usually use as the owner of the New York Monarchs, she starts. “We’re coming back to the city for tonight’s game. Because we all have a job to do, and dealing with Damien’s publicity stunt is not a part of my job, at least not anymore. If he wants to make a fool of himself, he’s free to do so. And when I have a clearer head on the matter, I will be releasing a statement of my own.”
“Remind me to never piss you off,” Nick mumbles to himself as he types away on a computer. “When do you think you’ll have a statement ready by?”
She gives an incredulous look, as if he could see her. “After I talk to my girls. Duh.”
I smirk at the thought of Daisy and her friends gathering and scheming ruthless ways to handle Damien. Almost makes me feel bad for the guy.
But not quite.
She hangs up, promising to swing by her brother’s office once she gets to the stadium.
We both look at my sister as she tries to sneakily slip out the front door. “Sorry, I think I’ve caused enough havoc for today. I’ll leave you guys to it. Daisy, it was nice to meet you. Sorry I was the bearer of bad news.”
Daisy walks straight toward Valentina and doesn’t stop until she’s pulling her in for a hug. “Nonsense. This is my mess and it’s about time I clean it up for once and for all. But I’m so glad I gotto meet another incredible person in Luke’s corner. Why haven’t I seen you at a game? I know a couple of girls I’d think you’d get along with.”
My sister pales at the mention of visiting the baseball stadium. The same way she does every time I’ve invited her out to a game or charity event.
I know she has a history. Our parents were best friends before we were born. Her dad was a famous Dominican baseball player turned team manager. He was still employed by the MLB when he and his wife passed away in a boating accident in the Dominican Republic while on vacation. Valentina was only fourteen. We’ve always been neighbors and had grown up together like family. When her parents died, her custody was left to my parents in their will. My parents later decided to formally adopt her, even though it wasn’t legally necessary since by the time the paperwork was done, she was close to turning eighteen.
She split her time between our home and her extended family’s in the Dominican Republic. She even spent the last two years of high school there, after she begged my mother to let her spend more time with her biological family. My parents agreed, but I knew something was off when she made the mid-semester decision.
I knew that she was seeing someone but never found out who. I’m five years older, so I never really knew many kids her age. I assumed a bad breakup had sent her running, but I could be off since that would be a bit extreme, even by teenage standards.
She never had a problem coming to any of my games when I got drafted into the league, but for some reason she flat-out refuses to come to Monarchs Stadium.
I’m no expert in trauma or grief by any standard, but given my own past, I know well enough to leave her be. She knows she can talk to me if she wants to, just how I know I can talk to her.
So much so that I spilled my guts about my feelings for Daisy just days before her wedding, after indulging in a few too many pity beers. It caused Val to ramp up her calls to check in on me.
Which is why I wasn’t totally surprised to find out she was heading my way this morning. I just figured I’d beat her to the cabin so I could warn Daisy properly before my sister made her grand arrival.
I take in Val’s tight smile and decide to throw her a bone. “I’m sure Valentina would love to meet you and the ladies at that bar your brother bought for Luisa. What’s it called again?”
Daisy smirks, probably at the reminder of how insane and possessive her brother is of his wife. Shit, I think I might be like that too. “No Boys Allowed. Luisa thought it was fitting since the night he bought it for her, he had all the men kicked out.”
Color returns to my sister’s cheeks as she laughs with Daisy. “Okay, that is definitely a man obsessed and a story I will need to hear over drinks.” Val sends me a thankful look.
“Sit down. Have some coffee and a cookie while I load up my truck and close up shop around the house. You’re not driving back by yourself. I’ll follow behind you to make sure you get back to the city safely.”
Both Val and Daisy roll their eyes while smiling at one another. “Is he this overbearing with you too? I assumed he just had a thing for kidnapping runaway brides,” Daisy whisper-shouts.
“Oh yeah. One time, he ran off one of my college boyfriends because the model of his car was recently recalled by the manufacturer and the poor kid had no clue. Luke chewed him out for trying to pick me up on our date in that “death trap,” and the next day, I got a very politely worded breakup email. Honestly, I didn’t blame the guy.”
Fucking hell. They’re going to gang up on me all the time now, aren’t they?
“Yes, we are,” they say at the same time.
“Fuck, did I say that—you know what? Never mind. Eat a cookie or don’t. We’re hitting the road in ten. Let’s hope by then you two haven’t conspired to run me up a wall.”
Daisy tilts her head. “I’m thinking we can make it eight minutes if we really put our minds to it.”
