Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21
S he might have challenged him to keep his hands to himself, but the truth was she was the one struggling. From the minute she’d seen him that morning, all Daisy wanted to do was climb Rafferty. Given that she knew what it felt like to be in his arms, to have those hands on her ass and that mouth pressed against hers, she was constantly seconds away from saying ‘fuck it’.
Sure, they weren’t hiding their relationship from Callahan, but grabbing his father because she was horny was definitely not the right way to approach the situation. It also didn’t help that she liked the way it felt to be looked at by Rafferty. It was never just simple appreciation; longing, love, lust and desire were evident in those golden eyes. There was no doubt in her mind that her expression reflected the same thing. They didn’t need to say the words, because it was obvious .
Once Cal had picked up the poop in her garden, she showed them her greenhouse and Rafferty almost copped a feel. She loved that he was following instructions, because if he even gave an inch, she was most definitely going to take a mile. She knew they still had so much to figure out about their relationship—like where it was going, what this meant for the future and everything in between—but she was also looking forward to being with him.
With hands washed and house locked up, they were back in the car, heading to the flower shop. While she could take the day off and spend it with the Ames men, she didn’t want to take her staff for granted. Besides, she owed Cal a visit. Last night, while their colorful nails were drying, he’d thanked her for the flowers and then politely reminded her that he hadn’t seen her shop yet. Who was she to deny the kid a visit to her second home? He kept up a steady stream of conversation in the backseat, while Rafferty’s hand stayed on her thigh, squeezing every so often.
She’d always known that his primary love language was physical touch and she’d missed it in the years they’d been apart. As kids, he would always reach for a bit of her hair and twirl it when they were sitting together or squeeze her shoulder. There were times when he’d link their pinkies absentmindedly as they walked. The only time he kept the physical affection behind closed doors was when he was dating Vivian.
Vivian who hated her from the beginning, Vivian who believed that she deserved all of his time. It wasn’t like Daisy had put much effort into being friends with her either. After all, she’d been the leader of the mean girls group that made it their mission to ruin her entire school experience. If that wasn’t enough, when Rafferty chose SUNY? * , instead of joining her in Texas, she told everybody that Daisy was a home-wrecker.
At the time, she didn’t think she was the reason he stayed. Now she knew better.
They pulled up in front of the Patch and, as she helped Callahan out of the car, he gasped loudly, hands on his face.
“It’s so pretty!”
“You’d blend right in, too,” she told him, taking a minute to ruffle his rainbow tutu before holding her hand out for his.
“What are we doing with Boots?” Rafferty asked, clipping the leash onto the dog’s collar.
“I can keep him in my office.”
Even though Eden had texted letting her know everything was under control, she knew there were a few things she still had to cross off her list. She led the way inside, smiling at every surprised and excited sound that came out of Cal. With a nod at Ripley, she gestured to the high table.
“I call this the Flower Station.”
“Like a train station?”
She chuckled. “Not quite. But it’s where you can play with flowers and learn how to make bouquets. Would you like that?”
“Yes, please!”
Rafferty grumbled about Cal’s inability to channel his inside voice. She smiled and tousled his hair as her youngest staff member joined them. “This is Ripley. He’s going to help you with flowers.”
“Hi Ripley!”
“Hey kiddo, we gotta practice our inside voice. Okay?” she told him gently and he blushed. “All right, you two get acquainted. I’m going to get some work done.”
Cal followed Ripley to where he was given an apron and a tour of the shop. She turned to the man watching her with a wicked smile.
“Put that away,” she whispered, smacking Rafferty’s chest.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“That… face !”
He laughed and tugged her towards him by the waistband of her pants. “You win the challenge, darlin’,” he mumbled and kissed her. She wobbled slightly and returned the kiss before forcing herself away from him. He smirked and added, “You keep going above and beyond for me and my kid, Daze. I don’t know how I can ever thank you.”
Physical touch might be his, but acts of service were her primary love language. She shook her head, smoothing down her clothes as heat coursed through her veins. “You don’t have to, hotshot. I love spending time with the two of you and this… this is my life, you’re a part of it, right?”
“Fuck yes, we are.”
“Good. Now, sit your fine ass on one of those stools as I go get some work done.”
“Yes ma’am.”
She stole another kiss and he squeezed her ass hard enough that she yelped against his mouth. “You’re terrible,” she said and took Boots’s leash from him. He held his hands up in an I’ll behave gesture, but the devilish smirk said otherwise. Thankfully Callahan came back as she was leaving, so there was no room for any kind of further temptation. Walking into her office, she settled behind her desk with Boots at her feet and Eden came in so they could go through their spring-summer schedule.
An hour later, she walked out with Boots trotting ahead. He’d slept the whole time she was working, not even disturbed by the constant chatter and movements. When they reached the Flower Station, she found Rafferty with wildflowers in his hair and Callahan fiddling with a very messy bouquet. Ripley was nowhere in sight, so she figured that the Ames men had gone rogue. Boots barked and both of them turned to face her, Cal had the widest grin as his father helped him off the stool.
“This is for you,” he said from behind the flowers in his hands.
“You made it for me?” She knelt down in front of him and took the bouquet, loving the absolute chaos of it. “Thank you. This is gorgeous.”
“I wanted to make one of daisies, but Dad and Ripley said it’s too obvious .” He rolled his eyes dramatically, which meant even his head did a silly roll.
“So what flowers did you pick?”
He puffed out his chest and rattled off their names, mispronouncing most of them. She looked up at Rafferty and he grinned when their eyes met. Her heart was right on the edge of that cliff and with these few hours, it was so close to falling over.
“Good choices,” she said, even though she hadn’t really been listening. “Did you find any favorites?”
He nodded. “I did! Ripley showed me lots of flowers and I think I love them all.”
“How about you pick three that you really like?”
“Why?”
“So I know what to get you for your birthday.”
His eyes widened. “You’ll get me flowers for my birthday?”
“If you don’t want that, we can get you something else.”
“I want flowers,” he said quickly, nodding with a broad smile. Then he held his hand out to her and she took it as she pushed to her feet. “I’ll show you my favorites.”
As she followed him around the shop, she glanced back at Rafferty and he was still watching them. Now he looked as in love as she felt.
“All these flowers have the best colors,” Cal said and she glanced at the buckets in front of them.
“Do you know what they’re called?”
“Yes. But my pronunciation isn’t very good.”
She smiled and said the names as she pointed at them. “Remember the peonies we talked about? That’s this one. These are carnations and the ones on that side are dahlias.”
“They’re so pretty.” He looked lovestruck, much like she did when she first stepped into Nonna’s old flower shop. “I think these are my favorites.”
“Great, I’ll keep that in mind.”
He grinned and yelled across the shop, “Dad, what are your favorite flowers?”
“Cal,” Rafferty sighed as he shook his head, the flowers falling out of his hair. “Inside voice, please.”
“Sorry.” He blushed and offered her a sheepish smile.
With a laugh, she tugged him to the other side. “Your dad likes tulips, hydrangeas and mums.”
“And daisies,” he added with a serious nod.
Can’t forget the daisies .
“Come on, let’s go make sure your dad and Boots aren’t bored.”
He hopped ahead of her and she smiled as she looked at the bouquet again. She could see the parts where Ripley had helped, because it started out strong and sturdy. It was clear that once Callahan got comfortable, he did whatever he wanted. It was still pretty in its chaos and she was so touched that he’d made something for her. She was looking forward to teaching him about flowers and plants in broader terms one day.
“You look beautiful, hotshot,” she said as they returned to the high table. He still had a few flowers in his hair as he smiled.
“Apparently my hair wasn’t pretty enough.”
“Well, it’s absolutely stunning now.”
He bowed. “Thank you, sweetheart.”
She blew him a kiss and turned to the kid who was putting flowers in Boots’s fur. “You ready for our next stop?”
“Yes!”
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise, Dad.”
Rafferty snorted and bowed his head. “My apologies. Lead the way.”
Cal grabbed the leash and started for the door, then stopped and looked around with a frown. Before she could ask what was wrong, he was running through the store until he was crashing into Ripley. Her employee was shocked for a second, but hugged the kid back. They shared a quick conversation which left Callahan grinning so big as he returned to pick up the leash and step outside.
“You raised an incredible kid, Raff.”
“I don’t think that had anything to do with me.”
She patted his arm and smiled. “All that empathy and decency? That’s entirely you.” She told her staff to call if there were any issues and walked out to the car.
With a bag full of food—she’d bought sandwiches for lunch and pretty much all of Clementine’s offerings—she pointed him in the direction of Wildes Fields. At the park, Callahan took Boots’s leash as they grabbed blankets and food from the back. Once they had everything, they set out for a shady spot to sit down and enjoy their lunch.
While the park was often crowded with families and dogs on weekends, it was pretty quiet at that point. She knew it was because of the time they’d shown up—it was the middle of the day and everybody was cozy in their own homes. As much as she liked the idea of them going to a restaurant, she didn’t want to deal with folks who wouldn’t let dogs in. This way Callahan and Boots could run around while also enjoying lunch. And it gave all of them the freedom to relax.
Trailing behind them, she scrolled through her phone. There were a bunch of texts in the Snap, Crackle & Pop group chat, a few from Roe about drinks that week and a reminder for an upcoming therapy session. Her father and Pia had also sent tons of photographs from the next destination of their European holiday and they looked so happy in every single one.
She was in the middle of replying to her father when Rafferty stretched his hand back. She frowned in confusion and continued typing out her message when he wiggled his fingers. A snort escaped her and she hit send before putting her phone away. Then slipped her hand into his, their fingers linking and he tugged her forward.
Leaning against his arm, her other hand wrapped around his bicep, she watched as Cal ran ahead looking for the perfect spot. This could be my life, if I just let it . The act of holding hands was so liberating and comforting, almost like she could feel his heartbeat through his palm. Or maybe that was the way she felt because it was Rafferty .
“Is this a good spot?” Cal asked, pointing to a patch of grass beneath a large tree.
“That’s perfect, son.”
Rafferty released her hand to spread out the blankets. She sat down and unloaded the food, including bowls for the dog. Filling one with water, she set it at the edge of the blanket and scrubbed Boots’s head as he dropped his entire face into the bowl.
“We’ve got ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch and cupcakes for dessert,” she announced, waving the food at the Ames men who wore matching expressions she couldn’t decipher. Looking between them, she arched an eyebrow. “What?”
“You’re perfect, that’s all,” Rafferty said softly.
“We’ve never had a picnic before,” Cal added with a dopey smile before taking one of the sandwiches from her. He scooted to the edge to sit with Boots as he unwrapped his food and took small bites.
“You never took your son on a picnic?”
Rafferty blushed and stretched out his legs as he leaned against the tree. “I was working a lot and on weekends, we’d do other fun stuff.”
“Like what?”
“He went through a Coney Island phase. I think the staff knew him by preference by the time he outgrew the place.”
She laughed and settled with her legs crossed as she took a bite of her food. “I mean, I get that. But all the parks! I remember our weekend park excursions with your family.”
“Me too. By the time he was old enough, Nonna and Poppy were getting on in age, it didn’t make sense to drag them out for a few hours to sit around in public.”
She knew how vital they had been to her childhood and if it weren’t for them, she would have had such a different life. Her fondest memories included them and their visits to the park.
“I guess it’s on me now, to make this a regular thing for us.”
He smiled and nodded. “I love that there’s an us .”
“Stuck with me now, hotshot.”
“That sounds even better.”
Callahan huffed, breadcrumbs all over his face. “What are you whispering about?”
“Come here,” she said, trying not to laugh as he wobbled over on his knees. She cleaned his mouth with a wet wipe and handed him a bottle of water. “We’re planning more picnics. Would you like that?”
“Really? Are there more parks in Wildes?”
“I’m sure, but we can find out.”
“Yes!” He was on his feet, sloshing water everywhere. She heard Rafferty sigh, but neither of them said anything. His joy was infectious and to be part of the reason why he was happy was an added bonus. “Can I take Boots for a walk?”
“Don’t forget the poop bags and keep him on his leash.”
Even though he looked exhausted, the senior dog was on his feet and the two of them rushed off, filled with laughter and happy woofs. Rafferty’s hand landed on her side and she was dragged back against his chest. Smiling, she inhaled the fresh scent of him mingled with dirt, leaves and everything else nature.
She felt his warm breath against the side of her head before he said, “I’d like to take you to dinner.”
“If I recall, I asked you first.”
“And I hate what happened after that, so now I’m asking.”
She smiled and nodded. “I’d love that. I’m free this week.”
“Great. Do you have any preferences on where we go or what we do?”
She shook her head, tilting it back slightly to look at him. “I’m not picky, as long as I get to be with you.”
“I think I can make that happen,” he said softly and kissed the bridge of her nose.
“I’m glad we got to spend the day together.”
“Me too.”
Snuggling back against him, she watched Callahan and Boots for a moment before adding, “I know I joked about not believing in fate, but I think that’s what this is.”
Most of her life, she thought that was a whole lot of baloney. Was it her fate to grow up with a terrible mother or be separated from the first boy she loved or to lose the people dearest to her? It made no sense. Fate did play a part in bringing them back together and for that, she was grateful.
“Well, she finally got something right,” he whispered.
* ? The State University of New York