Matty laughed. ‘We weren’tinhigh school.’
‘Yeah, it was a full week after graduation,’ Daisy added dryly while Hailey looked on in amusement.
‘So, how’ve you been, Daze?’ Matthew asked, all smiles and good cheer. Elliot wondered how often they ran into each other. Daisy seemed surprised to see him but not like it was out of the realm of possibilities. ‘You still engaged to that banker guy?’
David cleared his throat. ‘I’m the banker guy, actually, and Daisy and I aren’t together anymore.’
‘Oh, shit! Sorry to hear that, man.’
Daisy, for her part, looked like she wanted to crawl under the table, so of course that was when Elliot’s mother appeared on the scene.
‘Elliot, there you are!’ his mom called, hustling over to the table. ‘It’s so crowded,’ she went on, completely disregarding the conversation that was already in progress. ‘Is this Daisy? It’s so nice to finally meet you!’ She reached out and grabbed Daisy’s hand as Daisy stood in shocked silence.
‘Wait,’ Matthew said, far too invested in everything going on at the booth. Couldn’t he just get his damn flower crown and leave? ‘Who’s this?’
‘That’s Elliot, Daisy’s new boyfriend,’ Hailey contributed helpfully as she switched crowns, taking selfies of herself with each one, apparently to help her make a final decision.
‘And who are you?’ Elliot’s mom asked.
‘I’m Matthew, Daisy’s ex-husband. And this is David, Daisy’s ex-fiancé.’
Sweet lord. What had Elliot done in his life to deserve this? Certainly, Daisy didn’t deserve it.
‘Really?’ His mother’s eyes had gone wide.
Daisy groaned quietly beside him.
And Elliot couldn’t stand for that.
‘Right. Hi, Mom. This is Daisy, she’s lovely and perfect. These two men are her past and have come to buy flowers, which I think they were just finishing up.’
He looked pointedly between Matthew and David. He’d had enough of this bizarre episode ofThis is Your Life. These two had to go.
‘Yeah, we were just leaving,’ Matthew said, giving Elliot a big smile. ‘I like him,’ he whispered to Daisy before taking his crown and his girl and leaving.
David didn’t bother addressing Elliot, but told Daisy he would see her around, which Elliot found somewhat ominous, before taking Hailey and her multiple crowns (she apparently planned on changing ‘vibes’ throughout the day) and leaving. Thank the pagan gods of exes for that.
‘Ugh, thank you,’ Daisy whispered hastily before turning back to his mom. ‘Hi, Mrs. Parker, it’s so nice to meet you.’
His mom smiled, some of her earlier hesitation slowly leaving, although Elliot could still see the worry around her eyes. He hadn’t exactly mentioned Daisy’s past relationships. It hadn’t seemed relevant at the time, but he knew how his mother’s mind worked. If Daisy had so many failed attempts, what were the odds this one wouldn’t end badly, too? As though Elliot didn’t have an entire failed marriage of his own. As though he wasn’t perfectly capable of ruining this relationship on his own.
Probably not something he’d be pointing out anytime soon, though.
‘It’s nice to meet you, too, Daisy.’ His mother glanced down at the flower crowns spread across the table. ‘These are just beautiful.’
Daisy beamed. ‘Thank you.’ The gratitude at the change in topics from her exes was clear in her voice.
‘Hey, Mom, why don’t you get us a table by the food trucks, and we can grab something to eat. I’ll be over in a second and then Daisy can join us when she’s done here.’
His mother’s knowing gaze flicked between the two of them; he was obviously trying to get rid of her. But she agreed and strode over to the cluster of picnic tables, her mission to secure one now clear.
Daisy turned to face him as soon as she was out of earshot. ‘I’m so sorry. That was horrible timing!’
‘It’s fine.’
‘It’s not fine!’ she groaned. ‘Fake-dating me was supposed to help get your mom off your back; now she’s just going to worry about what kind of woman you’re dating.’
‘Daisy, you’re the perfect woman.’ That was probably too much to confess, but Daisy was too busy spiraling to notice.
