‘Oh, good,’ she said with a laugh. ‘I was afraid that after we’d done it, I wouldn’t be able to make you blush anymore.’
He turned to face her, so their legs intertwined in the space between them. ‘I don’t think it’s possible for me to stop having a face that alerts the world every time I’m embarrassed…’
‘Or turned on.’
Elliot dropped his head with a laugh. ‘Right. Or turned on. It’s very inconvenient.’
‘I still think it’s cute.’
She’d slept in a pair of his boxers and one of his T-shirts, and Elliot’s fingers were currently making circles on her bare knee. Sun slanted in through the windows over the sink and the air coming in was already warm. Goldie was sprawled out on her belly at their feet. It was going to be another summery day, but Daisy was sure that wasn’t why her skin was heating.
‘So, what’s the plan for the renovation?’
‘It’s an old house, which was the main part of its appeal, of course.’
Daisy laughed. ‘Of course.’
‘I had originally planned to restore it and sell it, but now…’
‘But now?’
Elliot’s smile grew. ‘Now I want to stay.’
Daisy leaned forward and kissed him. He tasted like cinnamon and maple syrup.
He ran his hands through her hair, gathering the strands at the nape of her neck. He twisted the elastic off his wrist and tied her hair back, giving that little piece back now that he had all of her. She kissed him again.
‘Do you want to tell me what was in the diary that had you running over here practically naked in the middle of the night?’ he asked, nipping at her lips as he said it, his hands wandering up her thighs.
‘You live like two blocks away. I didn’t run. I walked. Quickly.’
His delighted laugh made her smile.
‘And I wasn’t naked. I was wearing my PJs.’
‘PJs that were completely translucent by the time you got here.’
Judging by the way Elliot’s ears and cheeks were glowing, he was clearly picturing the whole scene. She squirmed a little on her stool, remembering how his hungry gaze had felt on her, and then his hands, his lips…
She shook her head, trying to stay on topic.
‘That’s all beside the point.’
‘Okay,’ Elliot straightened. ‘Tell me. What was in there that was so urgent?’
Daisy frowned, remembering how frustrated and sad she’d felt reading her great-aunt’s latest entries.
‘I just got so mad at her. And then mad at myself for being just like her.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘She couldn’t let the past go. She’d been hurt before, and it was clouding her judgment. It was making her push away a sweet, loving man because she was assuming it would end the same way.’
Elliot was very still, watching her. Waiting for her conclusion.
‘And it made me wish I could go back in time and shake the damn woman!’
He cupped her face in his hands and traced the curve of her cheek with his thumb. She leaned into the touch.
