I had hoped the Jeep would be secure there overnight, but the bar owner didn’t recognize the car as any of the regulars’, so they called to have it hauled away. Frank delivered me home safe, but I’ve paid for my responsible decision with parents who think I’m trying to turn their place into a party house. No more car, no more roof over my head. I see their actions for what they’reworth—they want to saytold you so. But even if I changed my mind today and enrolled in law school, I’d never satisfy them.
“They’re yourparents.” Daisy sets her plate down with a clang. “Who cares about a tow?”
“I was suffocating over there, so I’m glad they told me to leave,” I say, stabbing a yolk. I’m glad, too, to have a place like Daisy’s where I can breathe again.
“I’m sorry, Max. They’re so hard on you. I don’t get it.”
“They live in milestones.” I shrug, my eyes catching on the jolt of blue from her bra strap. “Married by twenty-five. Partners at their respective law firms by thirty. Two kids, nice house. To them, I’m too old to be where I am in life right now.”
“Where’re you gonna go?”
I blow air out of my pursed lips. “I’ll check Craigslist. Ask around. I’ll find something.”
“Stay here.”
“I couldn’t.” While I appreciate the offer, I can’t take up one of The Mirage’s accommodations. “You need every room you’ve got for guests.”
“I don’t mean the hotel. I meanhere.” She points to the hall. “My old bedroom. No holes in that mattress.”
The suggestion makes me hesitate. Daisy’s always looked out for me, and the proximity to the work for the museum would make my life easier. I’d be around Daisy more, too—late nights and early mornings, and she’d be sleeping one room over. That’s not necessarily a good thing.
Daisy wriggles around, reaching into her pocket and removing a key from her key ring.
“No.”
“It’s the hotel owner in me. I would have offered sooner, but I didn’t realize how bad things were. The thought of someone I care about getting a terrible night’s sleep pulls at my heartstrings.”
“I…”She cares about me.I lean to one side so I’m facing her, propped up on my elbow while an alcohol-induced headache claws deeper into me. That spare roomwouldbe practical.
“You don’t need to do this,” I go on.
“I know.”
I lock eyes with her, the rich brown of her irises like an antidote to my headache and nausea. “Can I—last night, I had sort of a come-to-Jesus moment.”
“Six tiki drinks’ll do that to a man.”
“I really care about this project. You’ve got a lot riding on it—we both do—and I want to make it something incredible.” I scratch the back of my neck. “I never meant for you to think that I’m looking down on you, though.”
“Oh.” Daisy rolls her lower lip between her teeth. “Well, if we’re swapping confessions, I know I’ve been a pain in the ass about renovations.”
“You’re being smart. We’re just learning how to work together. Be a team.”
She nods. “A team.” Her eyes linger on me for a couple of seconds, and I get the tingling urge to reach out and tuck some stray strands of hair behind her ears. She holds up the keys again before I do something stupid. “So does that mean you’ll take me up on my offer?”
I smile. “I can look for something else.”
“Why do you want to play life on hard mode right now? Take the damn keys.”
She’s not doing anything other than giving me a safe, comfortable place to sleep—but I can’t pretend the last time we were together didn’t happen.
“Will it be weird for you having me here?”
“Why would it be?”
“Because.” I lift an eyebrow at her. She’s going to force me to say it. “Because we made out. Because I told you about my crush in high school.”
“I don’t think so.” A hint of a blush creeps up her cheekbones, like pigment added to water. “Do you?”
