‘She talked about being cursed. She thought she was cursed to stay broken-hearted forever, but it was her own fault for not seeing what was right in front of her. I don’t want to be like that… I don’t want to do that.’
‘What do you want to do, Daisy?’ he asked, his voice as soft as his touch.
‘I meant what I said last night. I want to be with you. For real.’
He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers, his fingers threading through her hair, and she felt safe. She felt adored.
‘Daisy, I’m so in love with you.’
She wasn’t expecting the tears. She wasn’t expecting to crumple like she did, but Elliot scooped her up to his chest and held her close.
‘Shh…’ he crooned. ‘It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.’
‘I’m so in love with you, too,’ she sniffled. ‘And I didn’t mean to be, and I swore I wasn’t going to do this again but’—she breathed, looking up at him—‘I’m so in love with you. You made it impossible not to be.’
There was the lopsided smile she’d loved from the start.
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘But you didn’t make it easy on me, either, you know. I came here to live like a hermit, alone with my history books, and look at me now! Spotted around town canoodling with the florist!’
Daisy’s tears quickly turned to laughter.
‘Well, you had to be sweet and understanding all the time and then you threw in French toast and a giant…’
He kissed her.
‘Stop trying to make me blush,’ he said against her lips and she giggled.
‘It was just… after I read those last few entries, I knew I was making a mistake keeping you at arm’s length. I don’t want to be cursed anymore. I want to be with you.’
‘You’re not cursed, Daisy,’ he said, kissing her forehead. ‘But’—he picked her up off the stool, and Daisy let out a startled squeak—‘if we need to do this a few more times to convince you, then I’m game.’ He tossed her over his shoulder, gave her ass a smack and carried her off to the bedroom.
Surprising her once again.
ChapterThirty-Five
Daisy was feeling significantly less cursed in some ways, some very specific in-the-bedroom-type ways, but unfortunately that hadn’t transferred into business-type ways.
It was the beginning of July, and she still hadn’t booked a single wedding. She’d never been more in love or felt more secure with a man than she did with Elliot. They’d moved from fake to real without a hitch, but apparently, the town gossip chain hadn’t gotten the memo.
Or they didn’t believe that Daisy having a boyfriend for a few months was enough to trust her with their weddings.
She had been feeling so optimistic when she’d left his house that first morning she’d stayed over, so full of sweet breakfast treats and sporting a brand new orgasmic glow, but then she got to work and remembered her little curse wasn’t just about her own love life, it was about how she was going to keep this damn shop running if everyone still thought she was going to destroytheirlove lives.
What the hell was a cursed florist supposed to do?!
Having her mother here today, drifting around the shop, replacing crystals and blowing cinnamon through every damn doorway was not helping.
‘Mom, you’re getting cinnamon all over the floor.’
‘That’s kinda the point, Daisy.’ Her mother rolled her eyes like she was being ridiculous, closed the front door of the shop and wandered back in. It was hot outside, and the old shop didn’t have the best track record with air-conditioning. The current window unit was making an awful lot of noise but not making much cool air. The tropical flowers loved it, but Daisy was melting.
‘How’s Elliot?’ her mom asked, changing the subject entirely.
‘Elliot is fine.’
‘I heard you were in a hurry to get over there last week. I didn’t know if there was some kind of emergency.’
Daisy winced. Of course her late-night jog in the rain to Elliot’s house hadn’t gone unnoticed. This damn town. Her mom knew there was no emergency.
