Sheesh—he was going soft. He needed to get back to work—back to being useful in the world. His eyes hurt from staring at the screen for so long and his body felt like a puddle of sludge from sittingaround.
Kelly squinted at the screen and moved to the side, trying to see around him. “Looks like you’ve got itcushfornow.”
He lifted his eyebrows but refused to comment. Living with Quinton and Daisy wascush. They had more food in the fridge and pantry than the three of them could eat in a week. The fresh fruits and veggies were top-notch—nothing bruised or wilted. The house was spotless and welcoming. And, he was really starting to enjoy the mint shampoo—it tingled. If he didn’t get out of here soon, transitioning back to his real life was going tostink.
Kelly leaned back in her chair. “Look, we may only have a small window to get you in and out if the country remains unstable. I don’t want to risk having you get set up somewhere else only to have to pull you out again. Hangtight.”
“What if I came in and worked on grant proposals? We could always use the extrafunds.”
Kelly snorted. “Like I’m going to let you dothat.”
“Whynot?”
She paused. “You’re not trained forit.”
Though he’d happily run away from home after high school graduation, he hated that people didn’t see him as smart. Just because he didn’t have a college degree didn’t mean he was illiterate. “I canlearn.”
“Not in a coupledays.”
Daisy hit the chorus and sang with gusto. She had no idea he was on a video call with his boss or she probably wouldn’t use a wooden spoon as a microphone. Then again, this was Daisy, so maybe she would. A smile tugged at his lips. Her rendition was just as sweet as herbrownies.
“Whoisthat?” Kelly asked loud enough that Daisy’s singingstopped.
The next thing he knew, Daisy was hanging over the back of the couch and over his shoulder. Her long, luscious hair fell forward like a curtain of red silk. All shiny and straight, the strands tickled his arm. She smelled of vanilla and, oddly enough, beeswax and honey. He wondered what it would be like to have her lean over the top of him, her hair falling across hischest…
“Hi, I’m Daisy.” She smiled at the phone propped up on the coffee table. Before Kelly could respond, Daisy ooohed. “You have the most amazing eyelashes! They’re so thick anddark.”
Kelly blinked in surprise. “Thanks. I didn’t put on mascara today.” She said it like she was making an excuse for the way she looked. Almost like she felt subpar. Which was silly, because she was just talking to Beckett—she didn’t need to get fancied up for him. In fact, he preferred it if shedidn’t.
“You don’t need it—not with those butterfly wings. Try some Jamaican castor oil at night and you’ll never have to wear mascara again,” saidDaisy.
“I’ll do that.” Kelly laughed lightly and her fingers went to her lips. “Will it work on lipstoo?”
Beckett stared in wonder at the two of them. Seconds before, he’d been having a professional conversation about civil war, and now they were trading beauty tips. He’d never seen Kelly be anything but a hard-nosed boss. But now, she looked … fun and a littlevulnerable.
“Send me your address and I’ll send you some sweet almond oil lip balm. It has vitamin E to speed up the natural healing process—you’ll loveit.”
Kelly shook her head. “I don’t want to be abother.”
“I promise it’s not aproblem.”
“If you’resure.”
Beckett cleared his throat. “Can we get back to figuring out how to get me out of thecountry?”
Daisy turned her face towards him. He could feel her breath on his cheek and struggled to remain focused on the phone. “Geeze, Oscar. No need to grouch.” She turned back to the phone. “I’ll tell you who could use some calming essential oils …” Daisy hooked her thumb in hisdirection.
Kelly laughed. “He’s mad because he’s grounded to the States for awhile.”
“Uuuummm, are you staying here?” Daisy bit her full, pretty bottom lip and her eyes darted around theroom.
“I could get a hotel,” he offered. The ends of her hair brushed his arm as she tucked it behind her ear. He thought back to a couple days ago when he’d buried his fingers in her red tresses. It was silky then, and it didn’t look near as soft as it didtoday.
“Not necessary.” Her hand pressed down on his arm, doing some funny things to his pulse. “I mean, let’s talk about this situation for amoment.”
He twisted, pulling away from her so he could think clearly. “What’s there to talkabout?”
“Well, you are taking up primo real estate on mycouch.”
