Chapter 36
Chapter Thirty-Six
‘You were right, this is the perfect spot.’
‘I thought you’d appreciate it.’ Daisy clinked her beer bottle gently against Elliot’s, and he kissed the top of her head.
They were propped up on pillows, lying on the air mattress she’d dragged up to the roof of the flower shop this afternoon.
The Fourth of July fireworks would be starting any minute, and they’d have the perfect view without dealing with the crowd.
In fact, if they stood up, they’d probably see Shawn and Greg sipping champagne on the roof of the pet shop, and Jeanie and Logan snuggled up together on the roof of The Pumpkin Spice Café.
Annie, Mac, Hazel, and Noah were watching from the harbor on his boat, Ginger.
And she was sure the rest of her friends were somewhere in the throngs of people headed to the beach to watch the display.
But Daisy was happy they were here, just the two of them.
Well, three of them if you counted Goldie who was asleep on a beach towel beside them. She was unfazed by thunder, so Daisy assumed fireworks wouldn’t scare her, either.
It had been another hot day, but the air had cooled off considerably once the sun finally set. The night around them buzzed with cicadas and crickets and the laughter of a few stragglers on the street below.
Earlier they’d grilled hot dogs on the little charcoal grill she kept up here and ate them with thick slices of watermelon on the side, listening to the Hamilton soundtrack on repeat, with Elliot chiming in with his own historical tidbits. The whole thing had Daisy feeling unexpectedly patriotic.
‘Oh, they’re starting!’ she said with a little gasp.
They put their drinks aside and snuggled down under the blankets she’d laid out, Elliot’s arm wrapped around her shoulder, as the sky over Dream Harbor lit up in red and blue and silver.
Goldie lifted her head, looked around, and decided nothing was amiss.
She yawned dramatically and then continued dozing.
Daisy reached over and scratched her head for being such a good girl.
‘I wonder how many of my relatives celebrated the Fourth of July up here,’ Daisy said.
‘Do you think Aunt D and Nate did?’ Elliot asked, turning to face her. He was lit up by the fireworks, the colors reflecting in his glasses. She slipped them from his face and laid them carefully aside.
‘I hope so. I hope they were happy at least for a while.’
‘Me, too.’
‘I wish they’d been happy for longer.’
‘Me, too.’ He leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose. ‘It wasn’t all on your aunt. Dear old cousin Nate could have given her more time, been more patient with her.’
‘It was the era, I guess? They couldn’t keep being the town scandal. They had to be respectable.’
‘He didn’t have to push her.’ Elliot shrugged. ‘But they made their choices, and we can make ours.’
‘Yeah,’ Daisy said, running her fingers through his thick hair and capturing his mouth with hers.
‘You’re going to miss the fireworks,’ he said, smiling against her lips.
‘We could make our own.’
‘You did not just say that.’
Daisy laughed. ‘I regretted it immediately.’
Elliot rolled them so she was on her back, bracing himself over her. ‘It’s a great idea, though.’ He nuzzled against her neck, kissing and nipping.
‘So, you weren’t always like this?’ she asked, breathless.
‘Like what?’ He tugged her tank top over her head. ‘Pretty color, by the way,’ he said, tossing the red shirt aside.
‘Thank you. And like … this…’
‘Hornier than a teenage boy?’
‘Yeah!’
He grinned. ‘No, this is all for you, Daisy. Only you make me like this.’
She sighed as he worked his way down her neck, kissing her collarbone, her chest, licking the tops of her breasts, his tongue dipping into her bra until she gasped.
Her shorts were off before she knew what was happening, her underwear tossed lord only knew where.
And Elliot was everywhere. His mouth on her breast, his fingers working over her clit, sliding through her wetness.
He groaned. ‘And what about you?’ he said, his mouth back on her throat, teeth scraping sensitive skin. ‘Were you like this before? Was anything ever like this before?’
His fingers were inside her now, thrusting, his thumb still working her clit so perfectly, getting her so close so quickly she would have been embarrassed if she didn’t know that Elliot was right there with her, his rigid cock straining against her thigh.
‘No,’ she gasped. ‘Everything with you is different. Better. More.’
She could feel his smile imprinted on her skin as he rubbed her just right, holding her as the pleasure built.
‘Can you be quiet?’ he whispered, even as his fingers did wicked and wonderful things to her.
Daisy whimpered and shook her head. Of course she couldn’t be quiet. Even if they were outside. Even if their neighbors were inconveniently close by.
Elliot put his hand over her mouth, and she gasped at the feel of his strong fingers on her lips. ‘Come apart for me, sweet Daisy.’
She did. Writhing and whimpering and groaning against his hand. She gripped his forearm, keeping him there, holding her.
‘You look so perfect when you come,’ he whispered.
Dazed but not finished, she climbed on top of him. ‘So do you,’ she said, kissing his neck, tugging his T-shirt off and kissing down his chest.
‘Did you bring any condoms to this little set-up?’ he asked, his voice hitching when Daisy undid the button on his jeans. ‘I would have, if I thought come watch the fireworks meant come fuck me on the roof.’
Her laughter coasted over his skin and he shivered.
‘I didn’t bring any.’
‘That’s okay, we can just…’
‘I went back on the pill.’
‘Oh?’ He looked at her, his eyebrows raised, waiting to see what she said next.
‘So, we can go without. If you want.’
Elliot squeezed his eyes shut with a groan.
‘That’s a yes?’
He laughed. ‘Yeah. That’s a yes.’ He slid his pants and boxers down and kicked them off. Daisy gripped his length, and he thrust up into her hand like he couldn’t help himself, like he couldn’t wait any longer.
Lucky for him, neither could she.
She lowered onto him, slowly taking him all, taking him bare and it was all heat and pressure and fuck, was it good. She leaned forward, letting her mouth find his again, their kisses becoming a frenzied mess as she rocked.
Faster.
Faster.
Until her orgasm was building again with each thrust forward.
‘Don’t stop,’ Elliot gritted out as her pleasure broke around her, pulsing right along with Elliot’s. ‘Holy shit,’ he gasped, his hands gripping her face, their gazes holding as they both came.
She collapsed on top of him and may have briefly died.
But Elliot’s heartbeat was steady beneath her ear.
It wasn’t until she came to that she realized the fireworks were over. The air hung thick with the residual smoke. She could hear the cover band from the festivities playing ‘Take Me Home, Country Roads’.
‘I petition to make this the new national anthem,’ she said, her cheek still resting on his chest.
‘I’ll see what I can do.’ His voice rumbled through her.
She sighed. ‘I’ve never even been to West Virginia, and yet, this makes me feel like I miss it.’
‘You’re a complex woman,’ he teased and Daisy swatted at his arm, but she was so weak he probably didn’t even feel it.
She rolled off of him, and they lay on their backs, staring up at the night sky, while the sweat on their body dried and left goosebumps behind. Gradually, the smoke cleared and the stars came back out.
‘I’ve been thinking about the curse,’ Elliot said after a while, surprising her. He’d always insisted there was no such thing.
She rolled to face him.
‘Oh, really?’
‘Yeah, I think maybe you’ve been thinking about it the wrong way.’ He stroked her damp hair off her forehead.
‘How so?’
‘Maybe you just need to rebrand it. Maybe it’s actually your power.’
‘My power to break up marriages? You know I’m not actually a witch, right?’ she teased, but Elliot was serious.
‘Talk to the brides. Maybe they’re happy to be out of those marriages. Maybe you did them a favor. Aren’t you happy to be out of yours? Do you really want to be with Matthew? Or David? You don’t need them and you don’t need me.’
‘Hold on, wait, what are you saying?’ Daisy sat up, reaching for the blankets, her heart-rate ratcheting up to a million beats per minute. Where was Elliot going with this? ‘Of course I don’t want to be with Matthew or David, but I do want to be with you. I do need you.’
Elliot shook his head. ‘No, you don’t. Not to break the curse. Not to save the flower shop.’
‘But…’
‘I think we should fake break-up.’
‘Fake break-up?’ She was clinging to the word fake like it was a life raft in the ocean.
‘You’re not your aunt. This isn’t nineteen-twenty-five.
You don’t have to be married to be respectable.
You don’t have to listen to your family or this town or anyone.
It shouldn’t matter if you’re with me or not.
So, people don’t want to book you for weddings?
Sell them something else. You have the power here, Daisy. Use it.’
She blinked. ‘Damn,’ she whispered. ‘You really have thought about this.’
Elliot took her hands in his, kissing the backs of each one, flipping them and pressing his lips to her palms. ‘I love you. I will be here for you however you want. I just don’t want you thinking that your success has to hinge on our relationship. You can do this, Daisy. With or without me.’
‘So we fake break-up?’
‘To show the town your relationship status is irrelevant.’
‘And then I—’
‘Think outside of weddings. What other big events are out there? Graduations?’
Daisy thought about it, her heart ramping up for a different reason now. Excitement. Hope. She’d been so focused on weddings she’d lost sight of every other life event. People needed flowers for all sorts of things, didn’t they?
‘How about quinceaneras—baby showers?’ she ventured, tentatively.
Elliot lit up. ‘Perfect.’
‘Milestone birthdays.’
‘The big Five-O. Definitely.’
‘Anniversaries?’
‘Sure! You could do a million other things, and once people see how amazing your flowers are, they won’t remember anything about this absurd rumor.’
‘Maybe Kira could help me with the rebrand on social media. She’s good at that stuff.’
Elliot smiled at her and her heart broke a little bit. He was so beautiful.
‘So, we’re fake broken up, but we keep doing this, right?’ She gestured between them, Elliot’s bare chest and the tangle of blankets covering their legs.
He tackled her into the pillows, and her laughter rang out into the night sky. ‘Hell, yes,’ he said, his face buried in her neck.
‘Good,’ she said, her fingers raking down his back. ‘Because I love you, too.’