“Thanks, Kelly.” Daisy blew her a kiss. “You’re the best.”
Kelly blew a kiss back—a fact that blew Beckett’s mind. “Thank you!”
“I’ll expect an email from your legal department and I’ll need graphics.”
Kelly scribbled notes while Daisy flung herself back up to standing. “Woot!” She scrubbed her fingers on the top of Beckett’s scalp and giggled. “Thank you too, Beck. I’m so excited.” She took off. “I’ll be in my room if Quinton needs me.”
Beckett stared after her. No one called him Beck anymore. He liked the way she pressed her lips together to make the “B” sound. He liked her lips in general and specifically.
A few moments passed in silence. “You have the most amazing luck.” Kelly brought him out of his meditation on Daisy’s lips. “The more I watch her, the more I want to be her best friend. She’s perfect for FreeWater. If she wasn’t already a mega star, I’d ask her to be our spokesperson.”
Beckett just stared. Kelly must have watched an episode while he was too stunned to put two thoughts together.
Kelly laughed again. She’d laughed more in this one phone call than she had in the six years previously. “You had no idea, did you?”
Beckett scowled. “Do I look like I need tips on mascara?”
Kelly ignored his sarcasm. “Okay, so your job is to make this makeover awesome.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“Do everything Daisy tells you.”
Beckett tugged on his beard. “I’m having flashbacks to dolls with blue eye shadow and circles of blush.”
“If her last episode is any indication, she’s come a long way from that.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” he muttered. They said goodbye and hung up. Beckett opened a web browser, but he couldn’t bring himself to connect to Daisy’s channel. He didn’t want to lose the girl-next-door image of Daisy that he’d carried in his heart all these years. He didn’t want her to be a mega star. He wanted the sweetheart who’d captured the best parts of his childhood memories years ago. With a swipe, the screen went dark.
Chapter Six
EveryDayGlam!Beauty Tip
Blush should look natural and enhance your inner radiance.
If you have oily skin, try using a powder. The fine particles will absorb oil and help keep your face from shining.
For those with dry skin and those over fifty, use a tinted cream. Apply with a blush brush or cotton ball, and remember to blend, blend, blend for a glowing finish.
Daisy took her phone and left Vivian in her room to finish up the edits on her latest blush segment. Having Vivian there during filming was essential when she had products to juggle.
She’d done an overview including some of the newest products on the market. Instead of bashing the blush that crumbled to pieces, she ranked them in order of favorite and gave the reasons why. That trick had saved her from alienating sponsors in the past while still giving her viewers the truth.
Under her foundation, her cheeks tingled from applying color and washing it off only to start the process all over again with a new product.
Jason was asleep on her bed, Quinton was asleep in his room, and Beckett was asleep on the couch, which left her no place to go to make a phone call. Since when did the guys take over her house? She huffed and headed out the front door to sit on the porch.
The sun hadn’t come up yet, so she grabbed a sweatshirt off the barstool as she walked by. She slipped her arms inside and pulled the massive amounts of material over her head. Too late, she realized that the hoodie belonged to Beckett and not Quin. Quinton wore a men’s medium, which was baggy on her but didn’t wear like a dress. She unlocked the door, cringing at the creaky hinge, and slipped outside.
Her neighborhood was quiet, the houses dark. Street lamps cast soft yellow light at even intervals down the sidewalk. She hoped Daniel, her neighbor to the north, was fully alert when he went to his car parked in the driveway. He’d need to be to navigate the minefield of toys and trikes. As a single dad, he was always running from place to place. She made a mental note to talk to Vivian about going out with him—it was about time Vivian had some romance in her life. A woman that wonderful deserved to be treated as such.
Daisy took in a deep breath of cool morning air, catching the scent of freshly mowed grass and roses. The rosebushes grew well next to the house, where they baked throughout the day. Her favorite were the fire and ice blooms with white petals that looked like the edges had been dipped in red. Daisy twirled her red hair around her finger, noting her preference to the deep color with a chuckle.
She checked the time and knew her parents would be up and going two time zones away. They had a house in Florida and enjoyed early morning Tai Chi on the beach every Tuesday. She dialed her mom and tucked the phone next to her ear.
“Hello, darling.”
Daisy’s mood lifted at the chirp in her mom’s voice. There would never be a time in her life when she didn’t need her mom in one way or another. That’s just how it worked when your mom was amazing. “Hi, Mom.”
