Chapter 8 #3
Maddie’s sister Tiffany waved to her, but she was on the phone, so Daisy decided to look around on her own. In the small store, she couldn’t help but overhear Tiffany’s call, especially when her voice was raised.
“He cannot do this, Dan. We have to stop him. I won’t be forced into getting married sooner than I want to because Jim is being a bully.
” She paused, listened. “I don’t care. He can take me to court.
Blaine is moving in whether Jim likes it or not.
I have a hundred people on this island who will testify to the fact that I put him through law school and then got dumped when he started making money and lost interest in me.
” After another pause, she said, “That’s fine.
If he wants a fight, he’s got one. Thanks, Dan. I appreciate it.”
Tiffany ended the call and came over to greet Daisy with a hug. “I’m so sorry about that. My damned ex-husband is acting up again.”
“Because Blaine is moving in?”
“Yes! Can you believe his gall? He dumps me and then has the nerve to protest when I fall in love with someone else and want to live with him?”
“That certainly does take nerve.”
“One thing Jim has an overabundance of. Anyway, you’re not here to talk about my troubles, and I’m sorry again you overheard that. Very unprofessional of me to be venting at work.”
“It’s just me. Don’t worry, and besides, I’m no fan of his after he took Truck’s case.”
“I’m glad it was a friend who overheard that call.” Tiffany stood back and took a closer look at Daisy.
“What?” Daisy asked, feeling self-conscious as she often did around Maddie’s stunning younger sister. With her silky dark hair and drop-dead-gorgeous body, Tiffany was the kind of woman Daisy wanted to be—fun, fearless, sexy, confident.
“You look…different. Your cheeks are rosy and your lips are sort of swollen.” She zeroed in for a closer look. “And is that whisker burn on your neck? Girl! Are you keeping secrets?”
Daisy raised her hand to her neck, wondering how she’d failed to notice razor burn on her own neck. “It’s not really a secret.”
“Who is he?”
“David Lawrence.”
Tiffany’s eyes got very big, and her lips pursed with what might’ve been concern.
“Don’t worry. I already know about his litany of sins.”
“How did you find out?”
“He told me.”
“Did he now? Well, props to him for coming clean.”
“He deeply regrets the way he hurt Janey.”
“That matters.”
“Yes, it does.”
“So what can I help you with?”
“Well, ever since the incident with Truck, David has been very kind and very sweet to me. We started out as friends, but now we’ve sort of started kind of dating and making out and stuff like that.”
“Mmm,” Tiffany said with a knowing smile. “I love stuff like that.”
Daisy couldn’t contain the laugh that escaped her lips.
Tiffany was always incorrigible. “Anyway,” Daisy said, forcing herself to continue despite feeling somewhat embarrassed that she needed this kind of help.
“He’s been very gentle with me and is moving very, very slowly. Too slowly, if you know what I mean.”
“Ah.” A light of understanding bloomed in Tiffany’s eyes. “You need a little help…moving things along. Am I right?”
“Yes,” Daisy said, relieved that Tiffany understood the problem. “I want him to know I’m not as fragile as he thinks I am.”
Tiffany bounced a fingertip on her lips. “Let me think.” She eyed Daisy shrewdly. “We need to get him so hot he can’t think. He can only act.”
“I’m a tiny bit afraid of you right now.”
Tiffany laughed and took Daisy by the hand. “Stick with me, kid. We’ll have that man on his knees begging you.”
While Daisy wasn’t at all sure she wanted him to beg, she put her trust in Tiffany and let her lead her into a changing room.
She left the store thirty minutes later wearing a sexy new dress over positively scandalous underwear. As she walked home, the thong Tiffany had talked her into abraded her most sensitive region, forcing her to walk slowly or risk making a scene on the sidewalk.
The trip to the store had taken longer than planned, and David was due anytime. Her shopping outing had also cost more than she could comfortably afford to spend, but she’d yet to do anything to celebrate her new job, and the new clothes were a worthwhile investment toward a good cause.
She wanted so badly for David to think of her as healthy and whole rather than fragile and timid.
She wanted him to see strength when he looked at her and not fear.
Those days were over. The time she’d spent with him had shown her what a healthy relationship should be like, and now that she’d found him, she wanted to move forward the way any other woman would when she met a man she couldn’t resist.
Thus the underwear that had her on the verge of orgasmic meltdown just from thinking about him as she walked.
If they had that effect on her, she couldn’t wait to find out what they did for him.
She turned the corner to her street and stopped short when she saw Blaine’s SUV parked at the curb.
He leaned against it and talked to David, who was sitting on her top step.
Since David wasn’t due for another twenty minutes, she concluded that something had happened.
Daisy wanted to turn and run from whatever they’d come to tell her.
But because she’d left fear behind, she forced herself to walk slowly down the sidewalk so they wouldn’t know how fast her heart was beating or how tightly the anxiety gripped her.
David saw her coming and jumped up, his eyes traveling over her body in a hungry stare that indicated his approval of the new dress. He held out a hand to her, and Daisy stepped forward to take it. “What’s wrong? Why are you both here?”
“Let’s go inside, honey,” David said. “Blaine wants to talk to you.”