“You didn’t even tell me he was coming. And it’s not like you wouldn’t kiss my best friend if you had the chance.” Daisy held her breath after throwing that verbal dart across the room. She shouldn’t have said anything at all, especially after what Vivian had told her about complications. Shoot!
The color drained out of Quinton’s face so fast it looked like someone pulled the plug in the bathtub. “Ho—how did you know … about that? Did she tell you I tried to kiss her?”
“You did?” Both Daisy and Beckett leaned forward as one.
“No!” He studied his shoes. “Maybe.”
Aw, crap.
“And she shot you down?” asked Beckett, quietly.
“After the fact.”
Daisy’s head spun. “You mean you kissed her and then she broke up with you?” She was going to shake Vivian!
Quinton looked up and ran his hands down his face. “She said it wouldn’t work out between us. There were too many hurdles.”
“There’s no such thing as hurdles in a relationship. There’s only situations you have to work around,” Beckett said.
Daisy turned in his arms to face him fully. “Really?”
“Yes, really.”
“So you don’t think the fact that you’re about to leave the country is a hurdle we’d have to get over or jump or whatever you do with hurdles?”
He shook his head. “You’re friends with 11 million people. I think you and I can figure out how to have a relationship even if I’m in South America and you’re here.”
“I hadn’t thought of it that way.” She pondered the possibilities. Her schedule was off, early mornings and evenings, but that wouldn’t matter as much if he was in a different time zone. And if his calls with Kelly were any indication, he was already in the habit of video calls. And she was used to talking to a camera lens. What seemed too tall to overcome suddenly seemed like a rock they had to step over.
“Great! You two live happily ever after worlds apart while I die alone with the woman I want to be with living less than five miles away.” Quinton scraped his keys off the counter and stormed out.
“That didn’t go well at all.” Daisy slumped against Beckett.
“On the contrary, I think it went just the way I’d hoped.”
“Excuse me?”
“I got you in my arms and the house to ourselves.” He ducked down and began kissing her neck again. His beard was soft and smelled like the barber’s shop—kind of spicy with wood undertones.
“But Quin …”
Beckett pulled back to look her in the eyes. He gently brushed an errant strand of hair off her cheek. “He needs some time to lick his wounds and cool down.”
“I want to fix this for them. They’d be good together. Vivian said one of the reasons she didn’t want to date him was because she and I are friends.”
“You know what would blow her argument right out of the water?”
“What?”
“If you and I made it all look easy.” He began rocking to that rhythm they shared.
“That would actually be a good idea. Maybe, if we all hang out and she sees that it’s not weird between you, me, and Quinton, then she’ll come around.”
“Sure. Invite the whole gang.”
“Even Trent?” she teased.
“Even Trent. I’m not a sore winner.”
