Chapter 10
Daisy
“You have to try my blueberry honey.” A mini scone slathered in dark blue goo appeared in front of me, Harper’s smiling eyes begging me to take it.
“I shouldn’t…” I groaned, feeling my mouth water from the scent. I’d already tried two other toasts layered with some of Stonebar Farms’ famous jams, and I’d only been in their flagship Friendship store for ten minutes.
“You definitely should,” Harper insisted, winking when I took the treat. “It was Max’s idea.”
I didn’t think I had pregnancy cravings. With the morning sickness that no one mentioned could extend beyond the first trimester, it was sometimes hard to believe I could even crave food at all. But lately, all I wanted was berries. Blueberries in particular.
“Oh my god, Harper,” I moaned, licking every last sticky drop from my lips as she took my now-empty hand and placed a plain glass jar of dark honey into it.
“From the first batch.”
“It’s delicious. So delicious.” And all I could think about was mixing this into a nice big bowl of yogurt with some fresh blueberries later.
At least half of the nights over the last two weeks, my dinner consisted of a bowl of yogurt with fresh berries and granola.
The other half of the nights, Max managed some excuse to be responsible for feeding me, whether it was the deliveries ran late, or “there’s this great Italian place,” or he was feeling really hungry and asked if I would mind just getting dinner on our way back to the warehouse…
They were obvious excuses to buy me dinner, but not obvious enough where I couldn’t pretend to go along with them.
It was just easier. Max just made things easier.
And as much as I didn’t want to take advantage of it or rely on him, the reprieve was too tempting—and temporary—I reminded myself every time I gave in.
“Well, I’m glad you like it because I made it just for you.”
“What? Me?” If I hadn’t already completely devoured the scone, I would’ve choked. “Why?” I gave a small laugh.
“Because you made me peony perfume that I’m obsessed with,” she said, having spent the first five minutes gushing about how much she loved the scent that had finally matured from those first few mason jars I’d steeped my wedding bouquet in.
The bell chimed, and warmth fizzled along my spine. Speak of the devil.
“Why am I not surprised?” Max drawled, and I only partly angled my head so he fit into my periphery.
“What did you expect us to do, Max? Not feed her?” Ailene charged, coming out from the stockroom with a smile on her face. “And what about you? You look like you could use a snack.”
She rounded the counter with the same tray of toasts she’d offered to me, pointing to the three different ones she wanted him to eat.
“After this, I’m going to have to walk back to Stonebar, Aunt Ailene,” he teased, but didn’t turn her down. It was pretty impossible to turn down Ailene Kinkade.
From the moment you met her, Ailene made you feel like she’d take on the world to take care of you.
Maybe it was only striking to me because it was so different from when I’d met Mrs. McCormick.
Never call her Mary, Todd instructed me.
Maybe he was thinking, hoping she’d tell me to call her Mom now that we were going to be married.
She never did. The only thing Mrs. McCormick made me feel was that no matter how hard I tried, I’d never fit into her world.
“What’s that?” Max nodded to the jar in my hand.
“Harper’s new honey.” I handed him the jar, our fingers brushing like sparks on kindling.
Two weeks I’d spent almost every day by Max’s side while we did the MaineStems deliveries. It reminded me of the early days of his business and our relationship—our friendship. Except there wasn’t Todd between us now. Not like he was then.
“Here, give me your hand,” Harp demanded, sinking her knife back into the open jar and pulling out a dab.
Max only pretended to look wary as he extended a single finger. The reality was that there was nothing Max wouldn’t do for his family, but especially for his younger sister.
“What is it?” he asked as she smeared the honey on his index finger.
“Blueberry honey,” I answered, catching the way his eyes darted to his sister. And was that a blush?
“It took a few tries to get the blend perfect, but I’d like to see Eastwood try to claim I copied this,” Harper said it with bravado, but I heard the pain buried in her chest.
Yesterday, after our normal deliveries, Max said he needed to drop off some pallets to Harper and asked if I minded coming along.
On the way, he revealed Harper was embroiled in a legal battle with another local beekeeper, Adam Eastwood, who claimed she was infringing on his branding because she had a bee in her logo, and so did he.
It didn’t matter that hundreds of honey brands used bee icons in their logos.
He was jealous of her product and decided villainizing her was the best way to bully her out of the market.
He targeted her online, got his customers to review-bomb her business, but Max worried it was more than that.
Harper refused to ask Wade for legal help.
She continued to weather the damage to Harper’s Honey’s reputation in silence.
“Harper, could you put those jars up front for me?” Ailene asked, drawing Harper away and leaving Max and me to ourselves for a second.
One second for time to taste the treat. And for me to lose my mind.
Max dragged his tongue up his finger, electrifying every nerve in my body.
And then when his lips closed around the tip, everything shorted.
My mouth dried. My heart stumbled. My core clenched.
All of me was an open fuse that wanted that mouth to ground me.
That wanted his tongue gliding over my skin.
Into my mouth. That wanted his lips sucking on my sensitive nipples and then lower, between my thighs—
“Daisy?”
I flinched, blinking rapidly back to the present. Harped looked at me with worry, completely ignorant of what her brother’s mouth was doing to my mind. Or maybe not.
“Are you okay?” Her head tipped. “You look a little flushed.”
They were wrong about the morning sickness, but they weren’t wrong about the hormones. They swept in like a hurricane. One minute, I was fine. The next, I was aching and horny and salivating…and only for Max.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Aunt Ailene, do you have some sparkling water in the fridge?” Max interrupted, now scrutinizing me as well.
“Of course.” His aunt disappeared to the back again.
I almost protested, but decided having them think I was overheated was better than revealing I was just horny.
“Thank you,” I said when she returned with a fresh bottle. I didn’t know what fizzy magic it was, but there was something so quenching about the tiny bubbles gliding back along my tongue.
“Better?” Max checked after I’d taken three large sips.
“Cooler. Thank you.” But not better. To be better, I’d need a different kind of tall drink of water.
Satisfied, Max’s shoulders relaxed a little, and he spoke to his sister, “That was really good, Harp.”
“Maybe I’ll call it the Daisy,” she said, and I watched the color drain into Max’s face.
“Harp—”
“Why wouldn’t I? She’s the reason I made it in the first place—” she went on blindly.
“Harper—”
“Well, technically, you’re the reason because you were the one who told me about her craving and asked—”
“Harper.”
Finally, she heard her brother’s tone and stopped. “What?” She cocked her head to one side.
Meanwhile, all of me felt off-kilter. My craving.
The familiar band around my chest tightened.
Of course he noticed, but it went beyond that.
He’d asked her to make this honey specifically for me.
One of these days, I’d figure out if the way his thoughtfulness stole my breath was comforting or threatening, or maybe I’d accept it was both.
“Never mind.” Max’s jaw flexed. “We should probably get going. We’ve still got one more stop to make.”
“Okay,” Harper said, letting the word drag as it came out, almost as slowly as her eyes moved between her brother and me.
“Thank you for the honey,” I said and reached out to hug her.
After a warm goodbye to his aunt, who repeated her invitation from last week to dinner on Sunday, we walked out of the Stonebar store and headed for the delivery van.
The silence between us lasted until we drove beyond the border of Friendship.
“I’m sorry about Harper. I didn’t think—”
“Don’t apologize,” I cut in. “I didn’t know…didn’t realize you knew—”
“That you’ve been getting a blueberry smoothie every morning we stop at the Maine Squeeze or two blueberry muffins if we go to The Pastry Queen instead?
” His gaze quickly flicked over to me and then back to the road, like he’d give away too much if he looked at me too long.
“Or that the only groceries in your fridge are yogurt and blueberries?”
I swallowed. “I guess it was pretty obvious.” And something Todd never would’ve noticed. “Max—”
He grimaced when he saw the screen, like he didn’t want to answer but had to. “Sorry, I have to take this.”
“It’s okay.”
He tucked his phone to his left ear. “Hey, Aria, what’s up?”
I glanced over. Who was Aria? I caught myself and pinned my attention to the window. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do not to listen.
“On Sunday? Yeah, that works for me,” Max said, and now, all I wanted to know was who Aria was and what was Sunday? “Can’t wait.” And then, “You too, bye.”
He dumped his cell back into the cupholder, giving no explanation of the conversation. But he didn’t need to because it wasn’t my business, I argued with myself. Max wasn’t my business. But he was a friend…and sometimes a fantasy.
“Is everything okay?” I heard myself ask, testing the waters.