Chapter 29
twenty-nine
I’m giggling like a madwoman as I burst out the front door.
I’m down the porch steps in a flash and instantly assaulted by the bright midday sun. I squint and raise my hand while my eyes adjust.
I can’t believe I’ve never thought to run out this way before. Although if I’m being honest, I’m never really trying that hard to run away from Luke, because once I’m caught, it’s always well worth my while.
But I love the chase, and I love seeing the determined look on Luke’s face to get me back in his arms.
Oddly enough, I don’t hear his footsteps pounding behind me, but that doesn’t mean he’s not on the prowl. Made that mistake once and almost ended up digging sap out of my nails.
“Daisy girl.” Luke’s voice halts my escape plans.
His tone is soft but unsure.
My head snaps up to see him leaning against the front porch beam, hands wringing the dish towel I held only moments ago.
The wind picks up, lifting my curls around my face.
A tiny speck of pink flies within my line of vision before it’s gone.
It happens again, only this time it’s yellow.
Then purple.
I tuck my hair behind my ears so I can see properly and take in the sight of Luke’s meticulously landscaped circular driveway.
My body moves in slow motion as my mind registers what it’s actually seeing.
Daisies. As far as the eye can see.
Beautiful little white daisies everywhere, perfectly intertwined with colorful, unruly wildflowers.
I forget to breathe as the wind tips them from side to side as though they’re dancing just for me.
I walk over to the nearest bunch and run my hands over the delicate flowers.
Luke’s shadow stands over me, and I look up in time to see him gently pluck a daisy out from in front of me and hold it between us.
I turn to him. “Luke, are these—”
“Daisies? Yeah. I planted them myself. One for every time you’ve crossed my mind.”
My eyes widen. “B-but there’s, like, hundreds—”
“Thousands,” he corrects. My jaw drops slightly as he simply shrugs. “If I didn’t have a day job keeping me away most of the year, there’d be more.”
He’s watching me intently now, trying his hardest to read the thoughts flying through my mind a mile a minute.
He reaches up and tucks the daisy in his hand behind my ear, tangling it within my curls.
“Can’t you see? It’s always been you for me, Daisy.
” His hands cradle my face. “Every time I fell a little harder for you, this is where I would run to. And each time I left, my driveway held evidence of your existence in the world. In the only way I could have you.”
He nods toward the blooms as he keeps his gaze on me.
“Those daisies represent you. Innocence and joy. Elegance and beauty. But those wildflowers? Those are the parts of you that I was lucky enough to get a peek of when we were just friends. And I knew for a fact that you were a true wildflower. Not someone who was meant to be tamed and kept in a gilded cage, but rather free to run in any direction your heart desired. And on the days when I was barely holding on to any thread of decency, I would daydream that maybe this place might someday be the one spot in the world where you would want to run home to.”
A tear runs down my cheek, but neither of us so much as breathes as the next words tumble out of his mouth. “I love you, Daisy. Long before I had any right to, more now that I have you in my arms, and for many lifetimes after we’re long gone from this earth where these flowers are planted.”
His lips capture my surprised gasp.
Did he say—
Yes. Yes, he did. Luke loves me.
And an overwhelming feeling of peace settles over me, knowing that come what may, I have this man’s love to help guide me through the mess that awaits us.
I return his kiss with equal measure as his hands cradle my face with a level of gentleness that seems impossible for a man of his size.
“My Daisy girl,” he says between kisses, and I feel the steady flow of happy tears run down my face as he slowly starts to wipe them away.
He eventually pulls back, placing his forehead against mine as we both take much needed deep breaths.
“You don’t have to say it back. I’ve had one hell of a head start.” He chuckles as he straightens and shakes his head.
But I’m not having any of that. I wrap my arms around his neck as I look up at the beautiful blue sky. I only allow myself one tiny second to curse the day I accepted Damien’s proposal. I want to kick myself for not noticing Luke’s feelings and ditching my old, empty life sooner.
But I can’t find it in me to be upset, because now I know exactly what love is supposed to feel like. And lucky for me, it’s with the man whose heart I want to love and protect more than anything on this planet.
I raise up on my tiptoes and pull him down so we’re eye level as I speak, his hands coming to rest on my hips.
“You may have had a head start, but my heart has always known it’s been safe with yours.
It’s how, during this insane time in my life, I’ve been able to trust my instincts and feelings when it comes to you.
And we may have only been just friends until a few days ago, but you’ve always been able to read me well.
So go ahead, look me in the eye and tell me, Luke. How do I feel about you?”
His eyes fan over my face quickly, his gaze turning serious as his hands tighten around me when he finds what I have no desire to hide. “Say it.”
A slow grin spreads across my face. “I love you, Luke.”
My sentence ends in a squeal as he lifts me up and spins me around. I laugh as he stops and rains kisses down my face and neck. “I love you so much, Daisy. I swear on my life, I’ll be good to you.”
“You already are. And it may take me a minute to get my footing, but for the first time in my life, I feel like I’m at the helm of my future, and I can’t wait to live it with you by my side.”
It’s then that I’m lifted bridal style, like the first night he walked me into his cabin.
He strides through the wall of daisies until we reach an empty patch of soft grass under a large oak tree.
He sets me on my feet and wordlessly removes his henley with one effortless pull over his head.
I don’t need instructions to start doing the same, and in a matter of seconds, we’re both naked in the warm sunlight.
He pulls me into his arms as he goes to lie down, but I stop him. “Wait, we should get a blanket or something. Your back might get hurt on the ground.”
He simply smiles as he sits on the cool grass and guides me to straddle him.
“I’ve been in a daze since the moment I first laid eyes on you.
” My eyes widen as he chuckles. “Yes, that’s why I love to call you, Daze.
And now? All I feel is your love all around me.
I could be lying on a bed of fiery coals and I wouldn’t feel a single thing besides your lips on mine.
So stop stalling and let me make love to you,” he pleads, and it’s my undoing.
I bear down on him, and his hardness bumps against my wet center.
I wrap my arms around him as his kiss threatens to consume me whole.
I feel the breeze in my hair and the smile on his lips as I lift slightly, lining him up with my entrance, then slowly sink onto him.
We don’t stop kissing as I slowly start to ride him, my clit grinding against him as I rise and fall at a languid pace.
His hands run down my side before rising up again and cupping my breasts.
Pinching my nipples into little peaks as I moan into his mouth.
My speed increases as he continues to play with me, and soon enough he’s managed to take over, even though I’m the one on top.
Placing his hands on my hips, he keeps me in place as he pistons up into me at a brutal pace, hitting the sweet spot inside me that he knows will make me shatter.
And I do. We come together. Me screaming his name, him shouting “I love you” as he kisses my neck and breasts.
We lie on that patch of grass afterward, watching the clouds above us move and shift into shapes we can’t decipher.
But we don’t try too hard to guess what they look like.
Because we can’t keep the silly smiles off our faces, and honestly, we don’t even try.