40. Daisy
***Daisy***
The fourth of July in Sweetwater Cove could be described as manic patriotism at best. The village was decked out in red, white, and blue and there were star-shaped sunglasses for sale at every corner.
Wes told me that the holiday was the busiest day of the year at the marina and seeing it firsthand made me wonder how we’d ever get through the day.
I’d volunteered to help out before I knew just how chaotic it would be.
There was a definite chance that I would’ve kept my mouth shut if I’d seen things beforehand. Old Daisy struck one last time.
It turned out to be not so terrible, though.
Wes put me behind the bar selling beer and I’d always said that drunk adults are just like little kids so it felt like I was still nannying.
Only the bar kids were horny and less respectful of boundaries.
After the fourth man who whistled at me and leaned over the bar to look at my ass Wes showed up.
He stood next to me at the bar with his arms crossed over his wide chest, playing security guard.
When one especially drunk guy showed up expecting to be served, despite the fact that he could barely stand up straight, I had the joyous task of telling him we weren’t going to serve him. He got angry and tried to grab me, which was a huge mistake.
Wes stepped forward, grabbed his hand and twisted it backwards until the guy screamed. Then, loud enough for the entire bar to hear, he made it clear that I wasn’t to be messed with. “She’s off-limits. You touch her and I break the hand that did it.”
Some of the patrons booed but there was a group of locals who gave each other questioning looks before whispering to each other. They still knew me as Tyler’s girlfriend.
I turned to Wes and leaned in to whisper but he gripped my waist in both hands and tugged me even closer.
I gasped at the dominant move and had to struggle to remember what I needed to say.
It was nearly impossible to focus when he was staring down at me with a look in his eyes that threatened to melt my heart and my panties.
He smiled and the way it reached his eyes made the rest of the room not matter. “Cat got your tongue, baby?”
The threat was no longer a threat. My brain? My panties? Melted. I opened and closed my mouth a few times and rested my hands on his chest. “You probably have more important things to do than babysit me.”
“The kids are with Charlie’s mom. The business can wait a few minutes.
So, no, I don’t have anything more important than watching you.
” He lowered his mouth to my ear and lowered his voice so it was even huskier than normal.
“I never should’ve let Tyler leave with you after that first visit.
You could’ve been mine without anyone looking at you and even thinking his name. ”
His? I could’ve been his? I felt like I was in a dream. It was probably one of the smutty dreams that I sometimes had after reading romance too close to bedtime. There was no way that Wes Calloway was holding me in public, telling me that I could’ve been his.
“Yo! Can I get a beer?!”
I flinched at the shout and pushed away from Wes.
I looked at the person shouting and started passing out beers again.
I stole glances at Wes from time to time and he was always there, watching, guarding.
I was being publicly claimed by him. It was so unexpected that I didn’t know what to do with it.
I was recognized at one point of the day and while I tried to downplay it, the person wanted to take a photo with me and I didn’t want to be rude so I agreed to it. A drunk guy standing close by loudly demanded to know why they were taking pictures with me.
I waved him off and laughed. “Old friends.”
“They want to take pictures with her because she’s an amazing baker and has a business that people would kill to buy into.” Wes wrapped a protective arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him and farther from the drunk man. “She’s baked cake for two of the last three presidents.”
I turned to face Wes with clear shock on my face. “What? How did you know that?”
He shrugged and smiled again. So many smiles in one day, I felt smile drunk. “I pay attention. I also tried to invest three years ago after meeting you and tasting your food but you told my representative to take a flying leap.”
I gasped. “No!”
He laughed and it startled the half of the bar closest to us. It wasn’t normal for Wes to laugh, especially not loudly with his arm around a woman. “I’ve tried every year for three years. You’re a hard woman to get through to.”
I had tears in my eyes that I had no hope of keeping at bay. “Why?”
“I believe in you.” He said it like it was the easiest thing in the world. He said it like he was stating the sky is blue, like his belief in me was as sure as that.
I threw my arms around him and hugged him tight. “I’m glad I never took your money but you have no idea what that means to me, Wes.”
“You’re seriously still going to turn my investment down?”
I tangled my fingers in the back of his hair before remembering where we were. Wes grabbed my arms and put them back around his neck when I tried to pull away. I had to bury my face in his chest to hide the goofy grin on my face.
“I’m not ashamed of you, Daisy.”
If he didn’t shut up I was going to take his money and drop to my knees right then and there. He was saying everything I needed to hear. It was more intoxicating than he could’ve known and it should’ve scared the hell out of me. Instead, it let hope bloom in my chest.
A new voice broke into our moment. Max. He sounded pissed until he saw that Wes was holding me. His face softened and something passed between us that I didn’t understand. There was no cold aloofness. In its place was a shocking amount of heat and…happiness. Max was happy to see me.
He smacked Wes on the arm and pulled me away. “I came to demand you help me out on the dock but I’ve found better company.”
I laughed as Max stole me away. One look back at Wes showed him shaking his head but grinning. Something had changed. Not just with each of them but with them as a whole.
“You know I’m probably not going to be any help to you out here, don’t you?”
Max pulled me into the boat shop and into a dark corner mostly hidden from the crowd just outside. I didn’t get to ask what was happening before he captured my face in his hands and kissed me.
Lightening bolts shot through my stomach at the feeling of his lips on mine. He tilted my head the way he wanted it and deepened the kiss until I was breathless but careless about it. He kissed me like a promise, like it meant something.
I was gasping for breath when he pulled back and pressed his forehead to mine. Clutching his shirt in my fists, I realized I was holding him like I was afraid he’d run. He didn’t run.
He slid his hands into my hair and just held me there while looking into my eyes without hiding what was in his own. “I was wrong. I’m not the same man I was before Poppy was born and losing control won’t mean the same thing now as it did then. No more hiding from you, Daisy. Got it?”
My knees were a little weak as I nodded. “Uh-huh. I got it.”
He kissed me again and then pulled me out of the shop with my hand in his. “Good. Now let’s get to work.”