She lifted her eyebrows, not sure what to say or where he was going withthis.
“I’m just saying that you might care more about Beckett than youprofess.”
“I—” she started toprotest.
“You don’t have to be honest with him about it—or even me—but you should be honest with yourself.” He practically ran out of the room after firing off his advice like acannon.
Daisy thought about her deep response to Beckett’s negative comments. There were several internet trolls who made it a point to tear apart each and every one of her episodes, and their comments—which were mean-spirited and personal—never stung like Beckett’s, and she hadn’t even heard it firsthand. Vivian was more protective than a mama raccoon, but she never made up drama. Beckett must have said something to tip heroff.
Daisy took a leash off the hook and chose the most energetic puppy to go for a walk. She needed to get outside and get out of herhead.
The temperatures were pleasant, the few cars on the road weren’t in a hurry, and the puppy was thrilled to be outside running from a rock to the edge of the sidewalk and then to a tree where he sniffed appreciatively. Daisy took a deep breath and closed her eyes, letting the sun warm her cheeks. Quiet moments were few and far between and she needed this. Her thoughts circled like a puppy chasing his tail. In the middle of them all wasBeckett.
Quinton’s suggestion that Beckett was into her didn’t jive with Vivian’s recount of their conversation. The problem was that she had no idea which Beckett was sleeping on her couch. Was he the self-righteous jerk who looked down his nose at her channel, or was he the sweet guy from herpast?
Determined to be honest with herself, she pondered which Beckett she wanted him tobe.
That question wasn’t any easier to answer. If Beckett was the jerk, then saying goodbye in a couple weeks would be easy. If he was the sweetheart, then she didn’t want him to leave, because shewaslooking for a serious relationship and he was serious boyfriend material as far as his personal values. A relationship with someone who lived out of the country wasn’t going to be easy, and she wondered if it would even be worth it to try. She didn’t want to spend her life waiting around for him to comehome.
That is … if he was interested in her, or dating, or a family or any of that stuff. She massaged her forehead. All this stress from Quinton’s onecomment.
Without any answers, and feeling all that much more frustrated, Daisy finished a loop around the park and returned the pup to his family. He fell asleep in the corner, his muzzle resting on his front paws. She doubted she would sleep as well tonight knowing Beckett was in the otherroom.
Chapter Twelve
“Beckett?!”
Beckett rolled off the couch and was on his feet before he was fully awake. Daisy’s frantic cry had reached into his dreams and triggered his protective instincts. He snagged the closest weapon he could find—his phone—before the adrenaline coursing through his body propelled him down thehallway.
He fell through her door, barely catching himself on the doorframe. “What?” He scanned the room for danger. The bed was perfectly made, the seafoam-green vase was in place, and the door to the walk-in closet was shut. The only thing out of order was Daisy. She bounced up and down, her hair floating off her back in stunning redwaves.
“We raised all $5000!” She punched his shoulder. “Take that, doubting Thomas. Ha!” She threw her hands over her head and sang “We Are theChampions.”
She had on a pair of raspberry-colored yoga pants and a tight white T-shirt. He ran his hand down his face to stop himself from staring at the way her body moved with happiness. “All ofit?”
“And then some!” She put her arms out to the side and shook her booty. “I posted the episode less than an hour ago and the donations poured in—they’re still coming, too. We might double or even triple what we askedfor.”
He grabbed her arms and made her hold still. Her dancing was putting all sorts of ideas in his head and he wanted to focus on what she was saying. She stopped suddenly, swiping an errant strand of hair away from her lips. Her chest heaved up and down, and he wasn’t sure if it was the dancing or him that stole her breath away. He hoped it washim.
“That’s amazing.” Hegrinned.
She pressed her lips together and brushed his hands away. “Not bad for a channel that talks about lipstick and hair tips,eh?”
Though it sounded like she was joking with him, there was a sharpness in her eyes, a challenge. And her brush-off was borderline angry. All at once, his conversation with Vivian came to mind. Although Daisy was nowhere around when he’d made that offhanded comment, Vivian could have told Daisy what he’d said. That was … bad. “I—” His phone blew up with “Hail to the Chief.” Knowing it was his boss, he yanked the phone to his ear. “Hey.”
Daisy blew her hair off her forehead as if she were upset at him for taking the call. Hopefully that was all it was. He wasn’t sure how to explain his attitude yesterday. He was still kind of bugged that something like buying the right T-shirt got more attention than starving children, so it wasn’t like he could claim he didn’t meanit.
Daisy leaned over the chair at her desk and scrolled through the comments section on her channel—ignoring him so he could continue thecall.
“I just saw the post—the comments are amazing. Our website is going nuts. People want to volunteer and they want to donate big money—bigger than Daisy’sfund.”
“How did you see it so fast? It only went up forty minutes ago.” He’d stolen Daisy’s info on the timeline, which made him sound smarter than he actuallywas.
“I subscribed to her channel. She’s amazing—so positive and fun. I could totally be her bestfriend.”
Daisy pushed off from the desk and whispered, “Is thatKelly?”
Beckettnodded.
