Who was he kidding? He didn’t need a leather jacket—he was the bad boy, the love ’em and leave ’em type. He hadn’t had a serious relationship in years because no woman could compete with his job.
He studied the floor, ashamed that he even considered the possibility of a future that included him and Daisy together. Her life was here, and his life was … everywhere. She deserved better than a man who dropped in every couple months. He knew all that—knew it right down to his bones. What he didn’t know was why that guy sounded so darn smart and why he suddenly wanted to be that man for her.
Chapter Ten
EveryDayGlam!Beauty Tip
Rose Water Facial Cleanse
Combine five drops of extra virgin olive oil and five drops of rose water in the palm of your hand.
Apply to your face, gently moving in an upward motion. Allow the oil to set for one minute. Use another cotton ball to gently wipe away the excess. Rinse your face with warm, clean water and pat away the extra moisture and your frown.
Daisy and Vivian dropped Beckett off at the house. It was on the way to Vivian’s and she had the feeling he needed some alone time after being poked and prodded, dressed and re-dressed all day. He’d been a good sport about trying on a dozen shirts and letting Daisy explain to the camera why each one didn’t fit before they found one that did. He was as natural as he could be in front of the camera, but the tightness around his eyes betrayed his inner discomfort at being her personal Ken doll.
They had way more footage than they needed and Vivian wanted to upload it to her computer to edit. She had more storage space on her hard drive, but Daisy’s internet was faster, so they would upload to MyHeartChannel from Daisy’s first thing in the morning.
“How do you think it went today?” Daisy flipped on her turn signal and maneuvered into the left-hand lane. They had another day of shopping coming up and she wanted to streamline the process.
“Fine.” Vivian fiddled with the air conditioning vents.
“I’m thinking of going to the store on my own and setting things aside before we film. That should save us an hour, maybe two.”
“Beckett will like that.”
Something in Vivian’s voice, a hint of sarcasm or perhaps even venom, caught Daisy by surprise. “Why do you say that?”
“He was down on the whole thing and your channel.”
“He was?” Daisy wracked her brain to think of anything Beckett had said or done to get this kind of negative reaction out of Vivian.
“He thinks it’s all superficial and said something about you focusing on first-world problems.” Vivian recounted her conversation with Beckett at the store.
“I can’t believe he said that.” Daisy sat back in the driver’s seat, needing the support after hearing that Beckett thought her show was a joke. He hadn’t said as much, but Vivian painted a clear picture of his disdain for her “lipstick and hair tips.”
His barb hit a spot on her pride she didn’t know existed. Of course she was proud of what she did on her show. New, positive comments posted continually. And just yesterday she received an email from Syndey fromSydney Says It Allthanking her for her upside-down ponytail tutorial. She adored Sydney’s dating advice. Not that she’d used much of it lately. Men tended to think she was looking for an excuse to end the evening early when she said she had to go to bed by ten so she could be up at five-thirty to go to work. It didn’t help that she had a rule against dating fans. The few times she’d bent the rule, she’d come away feeling like a trophy selfie or something they’d conquered.
Much like she felt now after hearing Beckett’s comments. Like what she did was cheap and of little worth.
“He said he was surprised that you’ve succeeded with your channel.” Vivian checked and double-checked her camera bag. “I think he’s been out of the country for too long.”
Daisy’s heart pulled tight inside her chest. She didn’t expect Beckett to watch each episode, but his attack came from the clear blue sky. “I thought he respected what we do.”
Vivian zipped up her bag with ferocity. “EveryDayGlam!is one of the most respected channels on all of MyHeartChannel. You do so much for the MyHeartChannel community and your fellow vloggers. Not to mention all the effort you’re putting in to help FreeWater. The exposure they’ve gained so far is worth thousands of dollars, and we already have enough money raised to film the next episode.”
“It’s not all for FreeWater. Likes are up by four percent,” Daisy muttered. That didn’t sound like much, but four percent of her eleven million followers—not all of who commented or liked—meant over a hundred-thousand-like increase. The execs at KPaka were sure to take notice. Daisy pulled into Vivian’s driveway.
Vivian put her hand on the handle. “What are you doing for the rest of the day?”
“I—” Daisy had planned to go home and answer the emails from fans the management service forwarded to her account for personalized responses, but she didn’t think she could look Beckett in his handsome face right now. “I’m headed over to the vet clinic. They have new puppies.” Being surrounded by eight fuzzy balls of adorableness was exactly the pick-me-up she needed.
“Okay.” Vivian exited the vehicle. “Listen.” She hefted her camera bag over her shoulder. “Don’t let him get to you. He’s just a passing through—his opinion doesn’t matter.”
Daisy slapped on a smile. “Thanks! And thanks for having my back.”
“Always.” Vivian waved before heading up the front walkway.
Vivian said Beckett’s opinion didn’t matter, and in the grand scheme of things, it probably didn’t. He couldn’t make or break her channel. In fact, in a few short weeks he’d be out of the country, out of her house, and out of her life once again. What he said shouldn’t matter. Except that it had. His words had pierced not only her pride, but her heart.
