Chapter Twenty-Nine
DAISY’S HEAD THROBBED LIGHTLY WHEN she opened her eyes to the thin layer of morning sliding into the room. She rolled onto her back and stared at the painting that had started all of this. She couldn’t believe he’d gotten it back. She also couldn’t believe she was stark naked in Jameson’s bed.
Last night had been explosive and tender and everything in between.
Jameson poured careful passion into her—gentle, then rough, then gentle again.
It felt, dare she say, like home. She’d crashed after they both fell apart, only to wake again beneath his skilled hands, his mouth, until the world narrowed to breath and heat.
After, they had finally slept.
Now she lay awake while he breathed softly beside her. She didn’t want to look at him; she was afraid of regret. Not for the moment itself, but for the boundary she’d crossed. For Amelia. For the fragile ground they were trying to steady.
Finally, she let herself look. Jameson’s face was younger in sleep.
He was content… totally at peace. She’d given him that.
And she wasn’t na?ve enough to think he’d let this go because he’d gotten his fill.
The opposite. She knew him. This wasn’t a one-time invitation. This was everything. The whole party.
She leaned over to check the clock: 7:20 a.m. She groaned. There was so much to do before the party and she was already behind.
Quiet as a cat, she slipped from the bed, gathered her clothes, and padded to the kitchen. She drank a glass of water and grabbed her phone from the charger. The lock screen lit with a string of missed messages—from Matt.
Her stomach coiled. Oh, Matt.
If last night confirmed anything, it was that she couldn’t keep stringing him along. He didn’t deserve that. He deserved the full life he wanted and she couldn’t give it. Not honestly. Not now.
She unlocked her phone and started reading:
I thought I could wait, but it’s been killing me, Daisy. I want you.
All of you.
However I can have you.
I love you.
Daisy couldn’t deal with Matt. She also couldn’t deal with the fact that she’d slept with Jameson, either. There’d be time to unravel that later, just not today. Today was about Amelia. Today was about cake, laughter, and pretending her heart wasn’t tangled in two very different types of love.
Daisy rushed home to shower and get herself ready for the afternoon event, then waited until the bakery opened at 10 a.m. to pick up the Goonies-inspired cake, complete with gold pirate’s booty, skulls, and Mikey’s old map.
Next, she ran to the party store to pick up more pirate ship ribboning they’d run out of last night.
As she waited in line at the store, she scrolled through texts she couldn’t bring herself to answer.
What a mess.
By the time everything was crossed off her list, her pulse had steadied but only barely. She made her way to her parents’ house to pick up the birthday girl.
“Way to cut the clock,” her mother chimed as she entered the house.
“Sorry, I had a couple of errands I had to run beforehand. Is she ready, or do I need to do her hair?”
“She’s all ready and very excited. So am I, even though I still have no clue what a goonie is.”
“Well, you’ll soon find out. It actually looks really cool.”
“What’s cool?” Amelia interrupted, barreling down the stairs.
“There’s the birthday girl!” Daisy shrieked. “I was just telling Nani how cool your birthday party is going to be.”
She squealed, “I can’t wait to see it!”
“It’s awesome.”
Daisy looked at her daughter reverently and smoothed her long brown hair. “I cannot believe you are nine years old. Where the heck does the time go?”
“Tell me about it,” her mother grumbled from behind her.
“It felt like I was just rocking you to sleep yesterday, and now you’re almost as tall as your Nani.”
“Time,” her mother exclaimed, “a wicked thief.”
“Indeed,” her father said, coming into the room. “And before you know it, she’ll be twenty-seven with a kid of her own, then you’ll feel really old.”
“You’re not old, Grandpa. You’re just… more refined.”
“And that is why you’re my favorite grandchild.”
Amelia giggled and rolled her eyes. “I’m your only grandchild.”
He shrugged and grabbed his jacket. “So, are we ready to head out to this pirate party?”
Amelia spent the car ride to Jameson’s house walking her grandparents through a scene-by-scene overview of The Goonies.
Daisy wished she could’ve captured her father’s puzzled face in the rearview mirror or her mother anxiously biting her thumbnail as Amelia enthusiastically described Chunk riding in on Sloth’s back to save his friends.
Daisy, on the other hand, spent the ride trying desperately to be attentive for Amelia but failing miserably as they drew closer.
Her mind wrapped itself around last night, what they’d done…
and not just once. She had let him rule over her body with care and the type of authority that didn’t demand anything in return.
How was she supposed to face him when, just a few hours ago, she had experienced one of the most intimate nights of her life?
She picked at a loose thread on her skirt until it unraveled into a small, frayed knot. Her stomach twisted tighter with every turn toward his street. Every memory of last night pressed against her ribs, demanding to be felt.
The moment they entered his driveway, any guest would be immersed in a different world.
The very one her daughter had dreamed up.
Costumes were optional, but Amelia had insisted that her family look the part.
So, yes, they were all dressed as pirates, including her father, which was both a sight and a welcome distraction.
“You okay, honey?” her mother asked, turning from the passenger seat. “You’ve sure been quiet back there.”
Daisy looked up from the thread she’d been fixated on. “I’m fine. Hard to get a word in with this one.” She poked at Amelia, who didn’t even notice. Her daughter was mesmerized by the entrance of the house. It was like walking into a cave where adventure and mystery awaited.
As the car came to a stop, Amelia opened the door and ran toward the house. Her mother inquired again, “You sure you’re good, Daisy?”
“Yes, Mom,” she said, too sternly. “Are you?”
Her mother squinted and smiled. “Just peachy.”
That single word called her back to several hours prior, before she and Jameson had—
“Shall we?” Daisy cut in quickly, forcing her mind to quiet.
After retrieving the cake from the trunk, the four of them entered Jameson’s home. While Daisy wasn’t at all surprised by the extravagance of the party since she had been the one to plan it, seeing Amelia’s face go from shocked to awestruck made every late-night bow and balloon worth it.
“Pretty great, huh?”
“It’s everything I wanted! Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome, honey. It’s going to be a fun day.”
Her daughter nodded eagerly.
“Daddy!” Amelia spotted Jameson emerging from the kitchen, talking to Margot. He smiled wide and bent to her level as she barreled into him.
“Happy Birthday, Amelia!”
“This is literally better than what I showed you guys!”
His eyes lifted to Daisy’s, a thousand questions swimming in that one look.
“It’s a great theme,” he said. “And if you think the inside is cool, go check out the backyard.”
Amelia didn’t need to be told twice. She bolted toward the yard where the portable pirate ship stood. From a distance, they could hear her squeal—“Oh my gosh! This is the best party ever!”
Not a bad take for a party that is just starting, Daisy thought.
Jameson’s eyes caught Daisy’s again from across the room. He smirked casually but knowingly, like he remembered exactly what she looked like without her clothes on. Daisy’s grin back was tight, her blush creeping up her neck. It didn’t help that he looked devastatingly handsome in his costume.
He looked the part. A white linen shirt open at the collar, black trousers, boots, and a brown sash around his waist. Even the faint smudge of eyeliner only made him more unfairly magnetic. Captain Jack—but hotter.
When he walked toward her, greeting her mother with a kiss on the cheek and her father with a handshake, Daisy’s pulse quickened. When he leaned in for a hug, she shifted sideways instead.
The movement was instinct, not thought. If he touched her, she wasn’t sure she’d remember her own name.
“Where should we put the cake?” she asked quickly.
Jameson rolled his neck and squinted, as if to say, Ah, I see what we’re doing here.
But today wasn’t about them, she told herself again. Today, she was Amelia’s mom first. Tonight, she’d let herself think about what came next.
“The fridge in the mudroom has space,” he said.
“Great. Dad, do you mind helping me?” she asked before Jameson could offer.
“Of course, sweetie.”
She led her dad to the far side of the house where the secondary fridge was housed. After carefully placing the cake, she closed the fridge and turned to leave, but not before her father lightly pulled her shoulder, halting her in place.
“Daisy, wait.”
She turned.
“This party… everything you’ve done, the mother you’ve become…” he stuttered, eyes soft. “I just wanted to say that I’m proud of you.”
Daisy swallowed hard, emotion burning at the back of her throat. “Thanks, Dad. That means a lot.”
“I know I don’t say it often… or ever, but life’s thrown you more than one curveball, and you’ve handled it all with grace. You’ve always kept Amelia’s best interests first. I know this can’t be easy, sharing her with him, but even that you’ve handled well. I’m just really proud to be your dad.”
“Well, I’m proud to be your daughter. And thanks for having my back. I know it hasn’t been easy, and that it takes a lot to forgive Jameson and let him back in, but I know it’s the right thing to do. For Amelia. I appreciate you and Mom for giving him a chance.”
“It sure wasn’t, but it turns out he’s grown into a decent young man despite all the debauchery. And the kid’s done pretty well for himself.”