“Like my seventeen-step program to woo a woman in fifteen years—give or take three years. Step one: Help her climb treehouses.”
Quinton laughed and his angry shell cracked. “Have you really liked my sister all theseyears?”
Looking back, there wasn’t at time Beckett could remember knowing Daisy and not liking her. Sure, there were moments when she played the annoying little sister card, but at the end of the day, there wasn’t a girl he’d rather have more than her on his Nerf gun team. That had to mean something. “I think a part of me has been in love with her since the day you all movedin.”
“You had to get all mushy on me.” Quinton smacked him on the back, telling Beckett he was over the whole argument. “You’re sowhipped.”
Beckett smiled so hard his cheeks hurt. “Don’t knock it till you try it.” He almost made a comment about the perks, but was able to bite it back at the last second. Quinton was still Daisy’sbrother.
And it looked like he was officially Daisy’s boyfriend. He walked taller as he left the office, his new title giving him an extra lift in his step. He hadn’t been this happy to be someone’s boyfriend since sixth grade when Tori Yates kissed him on the playground and told him not to tell anyone or she’d punch him in theface.
Ah,love.
Chapter Twenty-Three
EveryDayGlam!BeautyTip
Temporary lip tattoos will dissolve in oil. You can use olive or coconut oil to get them off without having to scrub. This makes using lip tattoos on a daily basis so much easier. Of course, it also means Mom can check to see if a tattoo is real or not. Don’t mess withMom!
* * *
Daisy grabbedher makeup day-bag and checked for brushes. Last year she forgot to pack them and ended up using her finger to apply eye shadow in the bathroom. Thank goodness it was during Madelyn Stewart’s class and the bathroom was a ghost town. Everyone wanted advice from the owner of theHart to Heartchannel
She couldn’t afford even a small mistake this year. “It’ll be fine. Everything is going to turn out just fine … as long as I find my raspberry lip gloss!” She tore apart her samples drawer, searching for the one shade of gloss that didn’t clash with hershirt.
“Aha!” Tossing the tube into her oversized purse, she double-checked for her laptop with the class slides and headed out thedoor.
Vivian stood in the kitchen, one arm crossed over her body. Jason ate a bowl of the sugary cereal Vivian wouldn’t buy him but Daisy kept in the pantry just for mornings like this. She took her keys out of the bowl by the door. “We have to pick up my mom on the way, so we need to hurry. Jason, how close areyou?”
“Fivebites.”
It was cereal, so bite equaled spoonful, but whatever. That was not enough time to make a smoothie. She glanced at Beckett’s lumpy form on the couch. He hadn’t moved, so she guessed he hadn’t made her breakfast. Oh well. She could get a cup of something to fill her tummy at theconference.
“You’ll have to go without me.” Vivian took up occupancy on the empty barstool. “My sitter fellthrough.”
Quinton stumbled into the room, rubbing his eyes. He had on a pair of plaid pajama bottoms and a tight T-shirt that accentuated his frame nicely. Vivian’s eyes about popped out. She quickly busied herself smoothing Jason’s hairdown.
Daisy clamped her teeth together to keep from yelling, “Caught ya!” She glanced at Jason and then back to Vivian. “You have to come. KPaka will be there and they’re taking your class. You representEveryDayGlam!” Besides that, MyHeartChannel was recording every class. They’d been promoting Daisy and Vivian’s segments for weeks now. If Vivian didn’t show up, the world would know aboutit.
“I know, but I don’t have another place for him to go.” She gave Daisy a please-don’t-talk-about-this-in-front-of-him look. The last thing either of them wanted was for Jason to feel like a burden. He wasn’t. He was a blessing and deserved to feel like one everyday.
Daisy gave her a please-come-please-please-please look right back. Normally she was the world’s most understanding boss when it came to putting Jason first, but this was huge and she needed Vivian to blow it out of the water today. A no-show was unprofessional and not at all the image she wanted to send toKPaka.
Quinton’s head bounced back and forth between them. He threw his hand up like he wanted the teacher to call on him. “I’ll takehim.”
Vivianblanched.
“Hey, Jason, wanna go to work with me?” he asked before Vivian could politely refusehim.
Jason dropped his spoon in the bowl. “With all the animals? Do you still havepuppies?”
“We have onepuppy.”
“Can I,Mom?”
“I don’t know …” Vivian rubbed her forehead. “It’s too much to ask Quinton. He’sworking.”
Quinton placed both hands on Jason’s shoulders. “And I could use a good assistant.” He waited a beat while Vivian debated. “I’m taking that as ayes.”
