25. Daisy
twenty-five
Daisy
Poppy lets herself into my house at about midday the next day. She slips in through the rear door while I’m unloading groceries. Izzy and Ollie scamper in behind her.
“Hey!” she calls out as they help themselves to cherry popsicles. “We’re going out for milkshakes. We don’t want the sugar high to hit too early.”
Ollie hesitates, but Izzy grabs his hand before he has a chance to return his treat to the freezer and drags him out onto the porch.
“Don’t worry,” my niece tells him. “Poppy says Lucky Charms are a food group. These popsicles are even sweeter, so they’re probably packed with vitamin C.”
I cover a laugh as Poppy grimaces. “Letting her eat cereal for lunch was a bad idea,” she says. “Dylan’s going to kill me.”
“I doubt it.” I grin, then put down the jar of peanut butter, set my palms on the counter, and pin my best friend with a stern look. “Tell me. How bad was the fallout last night?”
Poppy sits on one of my new counter stools and nabs a bottle of water before I can find a place for it in the fridge, but she toys with the lid instead of opening it. “Well, it was interesting.”
I snort. “My brothers having simultaneous tantrums is interesting? Don’t try to protect me. I need to know what I’m dealing with if there’s any hope of fixing it.”
“I’m not protecting you. I’m trying to find the right words to describe it.”
“Oh, God. It was bad.”
Poppy grimaces, and I sigh.
“Is Izzy okay?” I ask. “I didn’t mean to ruin her night.”
“She’s fine. She understands things don’t always work out the way we plan, and today’s playdate with Ollie helped smooth over any disappointment.”
“Who won the tournament?”
She lifts one eyebrow. “Who do you think?”
I roll my eyes and want to throw the loaf of bread I just picked up. “You know what? It would do Chord good to lose a trophy now and then.”
Poppy giggles. “He did seem disproportionately satisfied with it.”
“There’s a joke there,” I deadpan, and she laughs again.
“But seriously,” I push. “What happened after I left?”
“There was a vibe,” she admits. “Everyone did their best to keep the energy high for Izzy and not talk about the only thing we wanted to talk about. There’s something to the idea of fake it until you make it, because by the time Chord and Finn played the final game, our enthusiasm was genuine.
Izzy went to bed. Luke took Mona home.” She leans in and gives me her gossip eyes. “I think they’re dating, by the way.”
“No! Really? That’s sweet! Your mom. Violet’s dad. Who could have predicted that?”
“Not me, but if it’s true, I’m happy for them. My mom could use his good influence.”
“And Luke could use a little more fun,” I agree, then shake my head. “But can we talk about that later? I need to know how hard my brothers crashed out.”
“Do you know what Beau said to them?” she asks.
“No. He wouldn’t go into detail. All he said was he overstepped and made things worse.”
Poppy’s smile is tight. “They were livid. Beau told them they had no right to pass judgment when all three have also let you down in the past.”
I drop my bag of apples onto the counter. “He said what?”
My best friend nods. “Mm-hmm. It was ballsy, by the sounds of it. Chord, Finn, and Dylan were fit to be tied once they started going over the conversation again.”
“I, uh…” I transfer a packet of cheese slices to the fridge, processing my surprise. “I didn’t expect that.”
“Neither did your brothers,” Poppy says. “But later that night, after Dylan had time to cool down, we talked about it, and he admitted that he could have been a better brother to you. Checked in on you more. Stepped in as a father figure after your dad died. He didn’t sleep very well.”
“That’s ridiculous. I was already eighteen. Dylan was only twenty-one! It wasn’t his job to take care of me.”
Poppy’s eyes grow soft. “Then whose was it?”
Something catches in my throat, and she stretches out a hand for me to hold.
“You were all young enough to need more than what you got after your parents died,” she tells me. “Beau struck a nerve, but with time to reflect, I think they’ll be less angry about it.”
I can’t believe Beau said that. I wish he hadn’t, because it’s not exactly true… Is it? I wonder what Beau sees when he looks at me. Someone strong or someone broken? He would never say those things unless he believed them.
I swallow my mixed emotions as Poppy goes on.
“I’m sorry too,” she says. “I should’ve tried harder to be more present in your life.”
“You were eighteen, same as me, and dealing with your own parental dramas. If you could have done better, then so could I.”
“Maybe,” she says. “But I’m sorry just the same.”
I smile and squeeze her hand. “Me too.”
She grins and takes a drink from her bottle. “So, the upshot of Beau losing his shit last night is that maybe, in some backward way, he’s earned, if not affection, then a little respect.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah. The Davenport men aren’t short on ego. It takes a certain kind of strength to call them out on their behavior, especially when so much is at stake.”
“I want to believe you’re right, but Beau’s certain he screwed things up badly enough they’ll never be okay with us being together.”
Poppy frowns and takes a moment to choose her words. “We’re worried that you’ve forgiven him too easily,” she says.
“I’ve done things Beau needs to forgive, too,” I tell her. “I made it sound like this was all his fault because I was hurt. Angry. But… I love him.” I laugh with a helpless shrug. “I’ve tried so hard for so long to stop, and I can’t. Beau is my person. What am I supposed to do with that?”
“I don’t know,” she admits. “Be careful? Love isn’t always enough, and it has a funny way of clouding our judgment.”
“Or clearing it,” I say, and she finally nods.
“In any event, I thought you might like to know that Chord and Finn have decided to stay at Silver Leaf a little longer than anticipated.”
“Seriously?”
“Yep. They were going to leave and return for Chord’s party, but the plan now is to hang around until the big day, at least. Maybe even the whole summer.”
“But Chord’s party is nearly three weeks away.”
She shrugs like it’s a mystery to her too. “Coming off the back of what happened with Beau, I have to wonder if there was some truth to what he said. At least from your brothers’ perspectives. Maybe they want to make sure things are okay here before they take off again.”
“Yeah. Maybe.”
Poppy slides off her stool. “Well, I’ll get out of your hair so you and Beau can be alone. I’ll bring Ollie back in a few hours.”
“Thanks,” I say. “I appreciate this. Beau and I have a lot of catching up to do.”
“I bet you do,” she says with a wink, and butterflies burst in my stomach. “I want all the details later.”
“A lady doesn’t kiss and tell,” I say.
Poppy laughs. “Since when have you ever been a lady?”
I change three times before Beau arrives, then answer the door in an old sundress. The slightly nervous look on his face gives way to awe, eyes taking me in as they rake down my body, before he breaks into a grin.
“That’s my favorite,” he says.
“This old thing?” I smooth the floral-printed white cotton; it’s gathered at the bust to show off my boobs and stops well above the knee to show off my legs. “I’m surprised you remember it.”
“Liar.” He tweaks the tie at my neckline, but not so hard it releases the fabric altogether. The familiar gesture makes my stomach flip, and his smirk says he knows it.
“I was eager to get over here and make the most of our time together, but…” He glances down at his clothes, then hefts the bag slung over one shoulder. “I could use a shower.” His gaze travels the length of my body again, and he adds, “A cold one.”
I press a hand to my middle and step to the side. “That’ll give me time to prepare lunch.”
“What are we having?”
“I called up to The Hill and had them bring ’round Thai beef and noodle salad.”
Beau raises a brow as he shucks off his boots. “Does your brother know he’s feeding me for free?”
I grin impishly. “I left him a note.”
Beau snorts and leans in a little. I turn up my lips, inviting him closer, but he settles back on his heels with gritted teeth and hot eyes. “Shower,” he says. “Lunch. Talk.”
My breath trembles as I settle back too. “And then…?”
His eyes drop to my mouth, then lower, before rising again. “Then we’ll see.”
Beau follows me through the house, hovering so close I can feel the heat of his body and the stir of his breath.
I stop at the linen cupboard for fresh towels, then step into my bedroom and continue to the ensuite bath.
I’m wound tight as a drum as Beau takes the towels, hands brushing mine and making my skin tingle.
He looks around the tiled space, then stops and stares, like he’s waiting for something.
“You want to stay and watch, Darlin’?”
I hesitate, and he grins.
Rolling my eyes, I back away. “Just get clean. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”
At first, I’m grateful for the time alone to pull myself together, but the sound of the water running turns my thoughts to inconvenient things. Memories. Flashbacks of Beau showering with the bathroom door open. Inviting me in. Washing my hair. His hands slipping across my—
“Hey,” he says. “What are you thinking about?”
I startle and spin around. Beau’s three paces away, showered and amused, and I realize I’m staring into space in the middle of the kitchen, a bowl of noodles in each hand, consumed by the memory of this man moving above me, large and damp, hips rolling and abs straining.
I ignore my damp panties and aching thighs. “Oh. Nothing. Just… stuff.”
His mouth twitches because he knows I’m lying. If I can read his sex face from a mile off, it’s safe to assume he can do the same for me.
I shove the food at him. “Shut up and eat.”
He chuckles as we carry our salads to my new dining table. Beau takes a seat, then runs his hand over the smooth surface of the reclaimed timber top.
“This is nice.” He eyes the ten other seats lined up in neat rows down each side of the table. “And large.”