‘Nothing like seeing all your past mistakes lined up in front of you to really solidify what a hot mess your love life is.’
‘Hey.’ The word was sharp and maybe a little too scolding, but Daisy’s gaze snapped to his, a pink flush working its way up her cheeks. ‘You arenota hot mess. There is nothing wrong with having a past, Daisy. So you made a few bad choices. So what? So does everybody. This town has you believing that there is something wrong with you but there isn’t. You are fucking amazing. And anyone that doesn’t see that can fuck right the hell off.’
Her eyes widened in shock.
Maybe he’d gone too far, but he couldn’t stand it, couldn’t stand the way she carried these mistakes with her, like it didn’t take two people to end a relationship. Like she needed to be punished for having her heart broken.
‘You just said fuck,’ she whispered. ‘Twice.’
He huffed a laugh. ‘It felt necessary.’
Daisy’s lips twitched. ‘Is that why you kissed me before? Because David was watching?’
‘I don’t care if David was watching. Look, I know what I said the other night, but I kissed you because I wanted to.’
‘Oh.’ The smile that broke across her face was enough to convince him that kissing her was the right decision. Even if he still didn’t know if he could trust his feelings for her, even if he still wondered if she was right about him replacing Leigh with the first woman who paid him any attention.
But that kiss didn’t feel like Daisy was just a placeholder.
It had been a very long time since Elliot had had a first kiss but nothing in his memories could compare to the feeling of Daisy’s lips on his.
‘Now, I’d like to buy two flower crowns, please,’ he said and Daisy raised a brow. ‘One of those purple and yellow ones, and that one with the daisies.’ He pointed to the ones he wanted, and Daisy handed them over, an amused expression on her face.
He placed the purple one on her head. ‘Goes with your dress,’ he said, letting his fingers brush her cheek after he put the crown in place. He put the other on his own head. ‘Daisies are my favorite flower,’ he said, defiantly, ready to fight anyone who dared argue with him about the superiority of the bloom.
Daisy reached up and adjusted the crown, her body grazing his. Elliot bit back a groan.
‘Since when?’
‘Since now.’
She held his gaze a breath longer and maybe if she hadn’t told him she only wanted him for sex, and if hehadn’t told her he couldn’t do this without feelings, and if there wasn’t a line of people waiting for their own crowns, maybe then he would have kissed her again.
But the moment passed.
And Daisy got back to work.
ChapterTwenty-Two
‘Ialways heard baking soda is best.’
Daisy smiled at his mom. The two had been swapping tips for the past half hour. His mother had already passed along her recipe for banana bread and her secret for getting grass stains out of denim. ‘Baking soda is fine but diluting vinegar in water with a tablespoon or two of sugar really works great for keeping cut flowers fresh longer.’
‘Well, that is good to know!’
‘Getting a lot of flowers from your boyfriends, Mom?’ Elliot had meant it as a joke, but the way his mother’s face turned pink, told him he might have hit on some truth.
‘That is none of your business,’ she said, smoothing down her long skirt. Funny howhislove life was everyone’s business, but his mother’s was a secret. Daisy tossed him an amused smile.
She had sold out of flower crowns in the first hour of the festival, and she hadn’t stopped beaming since. Everyone wanted one to wear for the rest of the festivities so now the sea of people around them were adorned by Daisy’s creations.
Then she joined him and his mother, and after their initial awkward meeting, the two had gotten along great. So well, actually, that Elliot had the pleasure of just quietly listening to them talk without having to contribute much, which was one of his favorite ways to spend an afternoon. And his mom provided the perfect buffer to any lingering sexual tension.
They had just finished watching a group of small children attempt to do the maypole dance. Despite Miss Janet’s assurances at the last town planning meeting, it didnotgo well. She ended up having to cut one of the little boys free from the ribbons twisted around him, while he giggled manically, and the crowd held its breath. It was very dramatic.
At the moment, Elliot and Daisy and his mom were eating funnel cake and waiting for the crowning of the May Queen. It seemed most of the town was crowded together in front of the makeshift stage in front of the town hall. The sun was setting, and strings of white lights around the stage had just flickered to life.
The finalists were a middle-aged man named Andy, Gladys, from the diner and Kira. Bennett cheered wildly from the front row as all three contestants smiled and waved to the crowd. Anyone in town was allowed to enter, and these three had made it to the final round.
