Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Elliot’s flower crown was askew. It sat crooked on his head as he stared into the Beltane bonfire.
His dark hair contrasted sharply with the white petals of the daisies, and his cheeks were pink from the warmth of the fire.
When he turned to look at her, his eyes were bright with excitement behind his glasses, their lenses reflecting the flames.
Daisy was going to reach up and fix the crown, but she liked it this way, a little crooked, a little messy. Elliot looked playful and undone. He looked like maybe she’d found him dancing in the forest, celebrating the coming of summer, lush and full of life.
‘This is fun,’ he said, gesturing to where townsfolk were walking and skipping and dancing between the two fires, some with their pets in tow, to protect them in the coming year.
‘I mean, historically speaking it’s not exactly accurate.
I don’t think the ancient Celts cared much about blessing their pet iguanas, and I’m pretty sure this “May wine” is just sangria…
’ He lifted his plastic cup and some of the wine sloshed over the rim.
Daisy wondered just how many refills he’d had. ‘But it’s really fun.’
Daisy smiled at him in agreement. They were set up on an old blanket she’d thrown in her bag this afternoon.
Plenty of other groups and couples were seated on the grass as well, with the two fires in the center.
It was fully dark now, the sky above them dotted with stars, and the fingernail crescent moon hung just above the treetops.
She leaned against Elliot’s side, and he put his arm around her, surrounding her with his warmth and she didn’t know anymore what she was doing but she knew she liked Elliot’s arm around her. She liked how he looked at her and how he kissed her. She liked how he made her feel safe and wanted.
Daisy liked a lot of things about Elliot, but she didn’t want to add him to her list of mistakes.
She didn’t want to run into him a year from now and have to call him an ex (would she call him that if this whole thing stayed fake?).
Running into David and Matthew simultaneously had been a timely reminder of how much she’d screwed up her love life in the past.
And she’d meant what she told Elliot when she’d proposed a friends-with-benefits situation. She was too tired to try again. She was just coming back to life after a year of mourning her last failed relationship.
Falling into another one was a mistake.
Right?
She sighed and Elliot held her closer.
She leaned against him and tried not to think about the future. Things never seemed to work out for her there.
Maybe she wouldn’t think about how this thing ended.
Because all things did end. Daisy had been sure she’d found this before, this feeling, this connection with another person, and she’d been wrong every time.
That was what she’d tried to tell Elliot the night he made her come harder than either of her exes ever had.
But orgasms alone didn’t make for lasting relationships.
She couldn’t put her heart on the line again.
But as she sat snuggled close to Elliot, she couldn’t help but wonder: had being with David ever felt like this? Had Matthew ever made her feel safe? She didn’t know anymore.
Beyond the fires, on the stage, Cliff’s Midnight Dreamers started up, playing Celtic music on fiddles and drums, and was that Norm on the accordion?
‘They’re pretty good,’ Elliot said, his mouth close to her ear, his breath warm on her skin.
‘They really are!’
Alex from the bookstore was wailing on the fiddle and soon Cliff joined in with a surprisingly deep and soothing singing voice.
The crowd was up and dancing, abandoning their blankets and gleefully grabbing partners to swing wildly around in a dance that no one really knew, but everyone pretended to.
‘Should we dance?’ Elliot whispered against her ear.
‘Only if you want to.’
‘Do you want to dance, Daisy?’ he asked and he sounded looser than usual, sillier. She could hear the laughter in his voice. Maybe that May wine was working its magic.
Maybe she should give in. Just for the night.
After all, Elliot wasn’t asking for marriage. He was just asking for a dance.
‘Yes,’ she said, and Elliot stood and reached down for her hand.
She took it and he pulled her up, laughing when she ended up crushed tight to his chest. They stood like that for a moment, with her pressed against him and his grin lighting up the night, and then he grabbed her hand and twirled her round.
Her giggles joined the rising tide of laughter and cheering around them.
She spotted Noah nearby, spinning a niece with each hand.
The girls giggled as they spun. Hazel and Jeanie skipped together between the fire with a disgruntled Casper between them.
As soon as they were through, the cat jumped down from Jeanie’s arms and sprinted into the darkness.
‘At least you’re protected from evil spirits now!’ Jeanie called after him.
‘He is the evil spirit,’ Hazel said with a laugh, circling back to Noah’s side.
‘More wood, boys!’ Jeanie called, and Logan and Bennett brought over a few more armloads to add to the fires. As soon as Bennett was done, Kira tugged him away into the shadows, a cheeky grin on her face.
Iris waved to Daisy as she and Archer made their way through the dancers. Olive was perched on Archer’s shoulder with her flower crown still on her head, even if it was a little more squished than it had been when she picked it out. Daisy knew Owen was safe at home with a babysitter.
‘Bye, Daisy!’ Olive called. ‘Thank you for my flowers!’
‘You’re very welcome,’ Daisy said, waving to the little girl. Archer grinned, grabbing Iris’s hand as they wandered off into the darkness beyond the fire and toward home.
A home filled with love and babies…
Something Daisy always thought she’d have.
She shook her head, spinning and dancing with Elliot until his crown was even more crooked, and Daisy was out of breath. He pulled her close again.
‘Is that the mailman and the lady who sold me my house making out over there?’ he asked, nodding his chin in the direction of the couple in question.
‘It sure is.’
‘And is that Crystal who makes me my coffee every morning riding away on the back of a very large man?’
Daisy giggled. ‘That’s her fiancé. Football player.’
‘Wow.’
‘And, oh, my God,’ he whisper-shouted. ‘There goes Jack and Gabe, sneaking off together!’
‘We told you! It’s Beltane. It makes everyone … frisky.’ She tried to say it like she was joking but his gaze snagged on hers and she was sure if it was light enough, she would see the red creeping to the tips of his ears.
I want you, Daisy.
He’d said that, hadn’t he?
‘Right,’ he said, his voice hoarse from laughing and dancing. ‘You mentioned that.’
‘It doesn’t mean we have to … you’ve made your feelings about a casual hook-up very clear. You’ve done plenty just by coming with me. If dancing at Beltane doesn’t break the curse, then I don’t know what will.’
‘You’re not cursed, Daisy,’ he whispered, tucking her hair behind her ear. ‘You’re perfect. Just in case I haven’t been clear about that.’ He cupped her face in his hands so that when he leaned down to kiss her, she was held captive, trapped in his grasp, safe in his hands.
His lips were soft and sweet, and he tasted like wine and fruit. Daisy wrapped her arms around his neck and let her fingers toy with the longer hair at the nape of his neck. She let herself melt into him and sway to the music. She let herself surrender to the magic of the night.
Everything was warm and glowing. The music vibrated through her, keeping her blood humming and her body calling out for more.
Elliot groaned against her lips when she pressed her body to his, and she sighed in return when his arms wrapped around her, holding her tight.
‘Maybe I was wrong about what I said the other day,’ he said, his eyes dark when he pulled away to look at her. ‘Maybe we should…’
She was about to say they absolutely should, lust once again winning out over rationality, when they were interrupted by a teasing voice.
‘Don’t you two look cozy,’ Annie said, carrying a tray of drinks. ‘More May wine?’ Mac’s pub was providing the libations for the evening and, apparently, after selling out of her baked goods, Annie was helping as a server.
‘I’ll take another,’ Elliot said, grabbing a cup and pulling out his phone to Venmo the pub.
‘I’m good.’ Daisy figured one of them should keep their senses about them, or she really would end up knocked up by the end of the night.
Annie smiled at her, her blonde brows rising just slightly, just enough to make Daisy’s cheeks heat.
‘You guys having fun?’ she asked.
‘I’m having a great time,’ Elliot said, slinging an arm over Daisy’s shoulder and Annie’s smile grew.
‘Great. Glad to hear it.’
‘Hey, Annabelle, you selling drinks or chatting?’ Mac called from the drink tent.
‘Hey, Macaulay, call me that one more time and see what happens,’ Annie yelled back and Mac laughed.
‘Just get your cute butt back here,’ he called again, eliciting some hoots and hollers from the crowd.
Annie flipped him off and the crowd cheered.
‘So, it’s going well between you two?’ Daisy asked with a laugh.
‘Very well. I remind Mac every day how lucky he is to be with me,’ Annie grinned. ‘I should continue my rounds. Enjoy!’ She walked off, quickly selling off her wares and then heading back to Mac. He scooped her up and kissed her in front of the whole waiting line and Annie didn’t look mad at all.
Beltane magic.
Maybe it could work for Daisy, too.
* * *