Chapter 65
65
Silence threatened to suffocate Daisy, and she knew she had to say something, yet her mind was completely blank. Had she said anything incriminating? She had said that Ezra was good-looking, sure, but she’d also mentioned the dog, right? Surely they knew the only reason she’d gone to Ezra’s flat was because of the dogs.
‘Well, it’s time I left for work,’ Bex said. ‘You guys stay as long as you like. Just close the door when you leave.’ She slipped past Daisy, squeezing her hand briefly as she went.
A large weight filled Daisy’s stomach as she and Theo were left alone. Almost alone. Johnny wasted no time as he raced over to Theo. However, instead of giving Johnny his usual fuss and affection, Theo remained entirely still, continuing to stare at Daisy.
‘I tried ringing you,’ he said.
‘I know. I turned my phone off.’
‘Because you were with this guy, Ezra?’
Daisy raised her eyebrows. ‘No, I turned my phone off last night because I needed some space. That’s why I’m here, because I needed some space.’
‘I get that,’ Theo said, nodding his head. ‘But I thought that meant going to the September Rose . Then I went there this morning to apologise and found out you hadn’t even spent the night there. And then I tried ringing you and it kept going straight to answerphone. I had to call in sick to work to find you.’
A flicker of guilt sparked in Daisy, but it extinguished itself almost immediately.
‘You didn’t have to come looking for me at all, Theo. I’m an adult. I’m fine.’
‘With this Ezra guy?’
Daisy bit her lower lip. She could sense the argument brewing, though she wasn’t sure what its focus would be or how to stop it – or if she even wanted to.
‘I was walking the dog with him. He had a dog to walk as well.’
‘And that ended with you in his flat?’
‘Yes, because he had towels to dry the dogs. And food too. He’s a dog owner, unlike Bex, and I didn’t want to track mud through her flat and I didn’t want our dog to go hungry either.’
‘You could have just borrowed one of his dog towels and a bowl of food.’
‘Did you hear what I said?’ Daisy replied. ‘I didn’t want to bring a dripping wet dog into my friend’s apartment when she’s not meant to have pets in here. Why are we even talking about this?’
‘Well, you’re the one who brought him up.’ A muscle twitched along Theo’s jawline. ‘“Gorgeous,” that’s what you said, wasn’t it? No, sorry, I remember now. It was “hot.” “Definitely hot.” And how did he describe you?’
‘I’m sorry, Theo, but is this you being jealous? Am I supposed to feel guilty about this when you spent the night after our engagement chatting to your ex-girlfriend – or was it ex-fiancée? I can’t quite remember, because she didn’t take the ring you gave me, did she?’
Daisy knew her words were harsh, but she wasn’t going to let Theo accuse her of something she hadn’t done. She wasn’t accepting his passive-aggressive behaviour.
‘Your mum said you had a fight,’ Theo said abruptly, shifting the conversation in a way Daisy suspected was an attempt to prevent her from getting mad at him.
‘Yes, we did.’ She folded her arms across her chest.
‘Do you want to tell me what it was about?’
‘Well, not that you probably want to hear it, but she doesn’t think we should get married. She thinks I lack experience in relationships and that it’ll all end miserably.’
At this, Theo looked suitably stunned. His jaw dropped. ‘Wow. What did you tell her? You told her that’s nonsense, right?’
‘What do you think I told her? No, I said I thought she was completely right and that I’d call off the engagement right away.’
His eyes widened. ‘Seriously? You didn’t?’
‘No, of course I didn’t! For crying out loud, Theo, if you don’t trust that I’d stand up for us and our relationship, and if you don’t trust that I can’t go into an attractive man’s house without – what? Undressing him? – then maybe my mum is right. Maybe we seriously need to rethink this relationship.’
‘Do you mean the engagement?’ Theo asked, looking at her with a pained expression on his face.
Daisy shook her head.
‘No, Theo, I mean the relationship.’