Chapter 16
Max
I’d almost kissed my temporary wife, and there was no worse mistake I could’ve made.
It wasn’t the shadow of that almost-kiss that followed me around, but its ghost. The look in her eyes, the feel of her hands drawing my face to hers, the plea from her lips to kiss her…I was haunted by that moment more than any other I’d collected in the last four years.
Being around Daisy all the time was like being an asteroid in her orbit, destined to hurtle myself toward her in spite of the gravity of my reservations and the destruction promised by the way it made me burn.
But there was nothing I could do. I was hers.
Pulled to her by something that was as out of my control as it was unlikely to have a good outcome.
My hand tightened on the steering wheel as Daisy came out of the store onto the sidewalk.
She had on a long dress and the new sneakers I’d bought her.
I didn’t miss how she’d worn sandals to my aunt’s for dinner, but when she wore them again the following Monday for our deliveries—when it was employee protocol to wear closed-toe shoes—I knew there was a problem.
The next morning, I left a solution—a new, larger pair of sneakers—on her steps.
Daisy waved over her shoulder to Erica, and the breeze caught her dress, flapping it around her ankles.
She’d only been wearing long, loose dresses for the last week and a half.
I didn’t miss how every inch of her was filling out.
Rounding. The dresses were a practical, comfortable choice, but the only thing on my mind was how easy they would be to lift. To remove.
Like she heard my thought, Daisy turned to me, her cheeks instantly staining a perfect shade of pink.
They’d done that every time she looked at me—caught me looking at her—over the last several days.
Then her nipples peaked like they did now, begging to be touched, and next her eyes strayed to my mouth just before—gone.
Her gaze turned elsewhere, and the moment vanished like a fever dream, leaving me in a sweat.
I noticed every slight change because I had a problem. I’d always had a problem keeping my eyes off my best friend’s girl, but now that she was my wife, my obsession revolted for its right to survive.
“Sorry, I had to pee again,” she said, reluctantly taking my hand and climbing into the truck.
“It’s fine. We’ve got plenty of time.” I closed the door behind her and went to the driver’s side.
Daisy was quieter since that night, and when we did talk, it was all about work or the logistics for her doctor’s appointment this afternoon, and never about what happened on the side of the road. Never about our almost-kiss.
Daisy buckled and bundled her arms over her middle.
Instantly, the memory of her holding her stomach, her face blanched white, and her stare a fugue of static as she looked at the doe and her fawn.
I’d never felt so worried. Never felt my stomach drop like it did in those moments.
And the only thing that unfroze me was needing to know Daisy was okay.
“Max?”
“Yeah.” I sucked in a breath, pulling away from the curb when her scent hit me. “Wow, you smell good.” I couldn’t stop the words from coming out, even if I wanted to.
Hello, blush.
“It’s peony and lavender.” Her eyes darted to mine. “From the bouquet you made me.”
For our wedding.
“It’s…good.” More than good. She smelled fucking edible, but good would have to suffice.
“Thanks,” she murmured, reaching up to tuck her hair behind her ear, my eyes snagging on her fingers. On her ring.
Every muscle in my body tightened.
As many times as I went back to that moment, to the soft-spoken plea for me to kiss her, I was equally ripped back to reality by the giant diamond glittering on her finger.
I’d told her I wouldn’t kiss a woman who wore another man’s ring, and even though she’d asked me to—even though she’d wanted me to—she still hadn’t taken Todd’s engagement ring off.
And that was why I’d had to accept that night as a fluke.
An unlikely combustion of anxiety, panic, and then the relief that everything was okay.
It had created a moment of ache and vulnerability that suspended all reality—all reservations for those few minutes—until I felt the ring she still wore on her left hand.
“How was the glucose drink?” I changed topics.
“Not blueberry flavored, but not bad at all compared to how I’ve heard the normal one tastes.” She smiled and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “You really didn’t have to get me a special one. I could’ve stomached through the yucky one.”
“I know you could’ve, but I didn’t want you to.”
Even I’d heard about the infamous glucose test and how bad the drink tasted from my cousins, and that was how I knew about the alternative: The Sweet Stuff.
Frankie found the powder for her second pregnancy and told me where to order it online.
I’d overnighted it on Tuesday so it would arrive in plenty of time for today.
All Daisy had to do was mix the powder with some cold water and drink it an hour before her appointment.
“Well, thank you,” she said, adjusting her dress over her legs. “How’d everything go in Boston this morning?”
“Good.” My chin dipped, and I turned onto the local highway that led to the hospital. “Really good. It’s been a few months since I’ve been to the hotel to see all of our displays. It’s always a little surreal to walk in and see my flower arrangements everywhere.”
The Copley Place Hotel was an icon in the city, and a huge win for MaineStems when I’d secured a three-year contract last year to provide the hotel with fresh flowers every week.
When they asked me to curate the floral arrangements for the annual pancreatic cancer foundation fundraiser, I knew they were happy with my product, and I was happy to offer my services at a nominal fee for such a good cause.
Not to mention, it was a huge visibility opportunity for my business.
I’d already divvied up the deliveries to other drivers for today because of Daisy’s doctor appointment, so I figured it would be a good morning to head into the city and review the final arrangements with the hotel manager.
“Maybe it wouldn’t hurt you to slow down and savor everything you’ve already accomplished.”
“One dinner and you’re already starting to sound like the rest of my family,” I said before I could stop myself. At the brief mention of that night, the way Daisy tensed sent a shockwave through the confined space. Quickly, I admitted another half-truth. “I’m not sure I know how to slow down.”
The other half of the truth I kept close to my chest: if I stopped and slowed down, all I would see was how everything I’d accomplished wasn’t enough to make her mine.
The irony was, right now, Daisy was both more mine and the least mine than she’d ever been. She was my wife, but not mine to love.
“Sure you do.” Daisy’s head tipped, and a small smile toyed with her lips. “Of all people, you should know how to stop and smell the roses, right?”
I chuckled and painfully admitted, “Honestly, I can’t remember the last time I walked through the flower fields on the farm and actually smelled the roses.”
“Well, soon you won’t have to go very far. I gave Erica the first batch of the fall perfume this morning. She was just dousing the whole shop with it when I walked out.”
“Perfect.”
“She…also gave me samples last week of the flowers you’re using for the fundraiser.
I thought you could spray it at the event, but then your sister suggested putting the perfume in those little sample vials they give out at beauty stores and using them as favors.
I know they usually give out little thank-you bags at these things… ”
I gritted my teeth. “Daze, you really don’t have to—”
“I want to help,” she insisted and then admitted, “It’s not just a distraction anymore. I’m really enjoying making the scents. Matching them to your arrangements. It makes it feel special.”
And how was it going to feel when she was gone?
“If you’re sure,” I grunted, ever a glutton for punishment when it came to the woman beside me. “When did you see Harper?”
“Yesterday. She dropped off the last jar of blueberry honey,” Daisy replied.
So that was why my sister had popped in…or at least the excuse she gave. I was sure part of the reason was to poke around my relationship with my new wife, and I was sure our brother put her up to it.
“She’s excited to go to the gala with you,” Daisy added.
“Oh, yeah?” Harper had asked to be my date months ago, almost right after I told her about the contract. “I’m glad she’s excited, but I’m not convinced it’s the fundraiser she’s excited for.”
Daisy’s brow creased, the effort wrinkling her nose. “What do you mean?”
“Wade’s brother is going to be one of the speakers at the event.” It had been hard to miss when Blaze’s face was on almost every marketing poster they had ready to display.
“His brother?”
“Blaze Stevens,” I filled in the blanks. “Movie star. Former Hollywood Casanova. Harper’s high school crush.”
Daisy mouthed an O that made my dick tighten. I quickly cleared my throat and continued to speak so she wouldn’t notice how I adjusted my seat. “Pretty sure I’m low man on the totem pole compared to Blaze.”
I pulled into the lot for the Stonebar Ridge hospital and followed the signs to the other side of the building for the OB wing. For the middle of the afternoon, the parking lot seemed relatively quiet.
“I don’t think you could be the low man on anyone’s totem pole,” Daisy said, her light laugh stifled when she realized how it sounded. “I had no idea she had a crush on Blaze. She never said anything…”
“She’s tried to bury it real deep now that Lou is married to Wade,” I said and pulled into a spot close to the entrance.
“Yeah, I guess that could be awkward.”