Chapter Twenty-Nine #3
“I’m sorry to show up unannounced,” Matt said. “I was going to call but thought better of it. Didn’t want to give you the chance to tell me not to come.”
“You’re always welcome, Matt. Amelia loves you.”
“And I love her. And her mother.”
Their eyes locked, both wounded, but not the same way. His, from the ache of being away; hers, from the truth she could no longer outrun.
“Matt—”
“Before you say anything, I just need to get this out. First—I’m sorry.
I know I screwed up by even suggesting we take that break, but the time apart gave me space to think clearly, to get my head out of my own ass and focus on what really matters.
You and Amelia. I was wrong. I don’t need the titles or a piece of paper telling me you’re mine and I’m yours—what we have is bigger than that.
And your rules…” He exhaled, eyes flicking away.
“While I still don’t love them, they’re no longer an issue. ”
Daisy tensed.
“I quit my job,” he said.
“Matt, no—”
“Yes. I took a position here in the Bay. No more flights, no more distance. Just us.”
Daisy squeezed her eyes shut. She was going to be sick.
He loved his job, his clients, and he was giving it all up for her.
She swallowed the bile rising in her throat.
A terrible knowing settled in her. She could feel the moment tipping toward something irreversible and couldn’t find the strength to stop it.
“And lastly, and don’t freak out.” He reached into his back pocket, pulling out a black velvet box.
“This may never rest on your hand, but I want you to know fully of my commitment to you, Daisy. And one day, I hope when your heart fully heals, you’ll wear this ring and know that no man has ever loved you as much as I love you. ”
He popped the box open, revealing a three-carat pear-shaped diamond, sparkling with all the hope in the world.
Daisy’s eyes began to well. It was beautiful. He was so hopeful. And she—she felt so unbearably dirty.
She opened her mouth to speak, but the words were stolen from her as Matt gently cupped her face and pressed his lips to hers.
And Daisy let him, knowing full well this would be the last time they’d ever embrace that way. For a second, silence swallowed everything. The garden, the party, her world—frozen. She stood suspended between guilt and emptiness until the sound came.
A shriek from Amelia split the moment. When Matt pulled back, Daisy caught a glimpse of movement, a white shadow retreating from the corner of her eye. Her stomach dropped. Who had seen them?
Amelia’s voice carried faintly across the yard. “Where are my parents? I want to open my gifts!”
Matt smiled softly. “Guess we should head back. We can talk more later?”
Daisy nodded, her throat tight. “Yes. Sure.”
But deep down, she knew “later” would only lead to heartbreak.
Daisy watched mindlessly as Amelia tore through one gift after another.
So much for being present.
The day had gone from nerve-racking to confusing, to utterly chaotic. Two men had professed their love for her, one of them even buying a ring.
It was a twisted little ride, and she desperately needed to get off.
She tried several times to catch Jameson’s eye, to get a sense of where his head was, but since Matt’s arrival, he’d kept his distance. He was doing what she should have been—focusing on Amelia, not the telenovela that had become her life.
When Daisy finally met his gaze, standing behind the crowd gathered around Amelia, there was no trace of the compassion he’d shown earlier. Instead, his expression had hardened into something colder. Dismissal. Disappointment.
Then he looked away.
A chilling turn.
What gives? she thought, her chest tightening.
When the presents were opened and guests began to disperse, Matt chatted with Anna and Jess while Daisy’s parents approached her, asking if they could start loading the gifts up.
“That would be great,” Daisy said. “Let me find Jameson and make sure he doesn’t need anything before we head out.”
She searched the house for several minutes. When she couldn’t find him inside, she looped around to the side yard and there he was. His back against the siding, eyes closed, a beer in hand, his jaw tense.
“Hey there,” she said carefully. “I’ve been searching everywhere for you.”
He didn’t move. “Well, that’s certainly a change.”
Daisy squinted. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” he muttered. “What’s up?”
He finally opened his eyes, pinning her where she stood.
“We’re loading up the gifts,” she said, her voice cautious. “I wanted to make sure everything was squared away before we head out.”
Jameson gave a small, humorless laugh. “Sure. All squared away.”
“Jameson, what’s going on?”
He took a long swig of his beer, shook his head once, and then said quietly, “I really thought this was it. I truly believed…”
He stopped himself, exhaled, and gave a shrug that sliced through her. “You know what? I’m good. Nothing more to do here. You can leave.”
Her throat closed. “Wait, what did you mean by ‘I thought this was it’?”
He didn’t answer. Didn’t even look at her. He just tipped the bottle back, emptied it, and walked past her, brushing her shoulder as he went.
Odd. Disconcerting. But she understood. Matt’s arrival had hit him harder than he wanted to admit.
And she couldn’t blame him.
Daisy wanted—needed—to explain. But timing, as usual, was not their friend.
After packing up the gifts and settling Amelia into the car, they said their goodbyes and drove to her parents’ house to switch cars. Amelia chattered sleepily in the back, still riding her sugar high, and in disbelief that her wish had come true, all her favorite people, in one place.
Daisy nodded and smiled when she needed to, but her mind was spinning.
She’d texted Anna, asking her to be on standby, a soft landing for when everything inevitably fell apart. Instead, Daisy invited Matt over.
Too much had happened in one day. Too much left unsaid.
By the time she tucked Amelia into bed, the house felt heavy with silence. Daisy sat at the kitchen table, fingers tangled in her hair, rehearsing what she needed to say and knowing there was no version of it that wouldn’t hurt.
When the knock came, she took a slow breath and opened the door.
“Hey, babe,” Matt said, smiling. He slipped off his shoes, leaned in, and pressed a kiss to her cheek. It was so familiar, so normal it almost broke her.
“She asleep?” he asked, nodding toward Amelia’s room.
“Yeah,” Daisy said softly, closing the door behind him. “It was a long day.”
“I bet. She was nonstop.” He smiled again, easy and open. “I’m happy to have some alone time with you, though.”
He took a few steps closer, his hands finding her shoulders, sliding gently down her arms. “I’ve missed you so much…”
Daisy stepped back, her voice trembling. “I can’t.”
Matt froze. “Can’t what?”
She squeezed her eyes shut, searching for courage. “I can’t be with you, Matt.”
The words hung between them, shaking in the air. Relief and regret collided so hard in her she almost passed out.
His jaw flexed, lips forming a thin, resigned line. “Because of him.”
It wasn’t a question.
Daisy nodded. “And because of me. You deserve so much more than what I can give you… than what I have given you.”
“But, Daisy,” he said, his voice cracking, “I want that. I’m fine with it, as long as I have you and Amelia.”
Her eyes filled. God, he loved them. That’s what made this so excruciating.
Then his expression shifted, realization dawning like a bruise purpling on his face. “Did you sleep with him?”
She blew out a breath, barely able to meet his eyes. “Yes.”
Matt’s head tilted back toward the ceiling. For a long, painful moment, he said nothing. The silence was so heavy Daisy could hear the clock ticking in the kitchen. Her throat burned from holding back another apology he surely didn’t want to hear.
Resignation, not anger, settled in his features. He knew. He’d always known.
“Do you really think being with him will work?” he asked finally.
“Honestly,” Daisy whispered, “I have no idea. All I know is that I can’t be with you, Matt. And it’s not because I don’t love you. It’s because I do. You deserve someone who can give you everything, not someone who’s still…”
“Still what?”
She swallowed hard. “Still in love with another man.”
Matt flinched. His eyes flicked past her to Amelia’s closed door. His voice softened. “Tell her I love her. And that if she ever needs me, I’ll be there.”
Tears burned down Daisy’s cheeks. “I will. But she already knows.”
She hesitated, voice cracking. “Thank you, Matt. For loving her—and me—the way you did.”
He pressed his lips together, nodded once, and stood in silence for a moment. Then he pulled his shoes back on, grabbed his coat, and opened the door.
Just before stepping out, he turned. One final act of tenderness. He stepped forward, placed a lingering kiss on her forehead, and whispered, “Goodbye, Daisy.”
The door clicked shut behind him, the sound sharp and final.
“Holy hell, Double D!”
Anna sat, shocked, on the edge of Daisy’s couch.
Daisy slumped in the chair across from her, hands rounding the base of her head as she recounted the last few weeks—the LA kiss, Margot’s warning, last night, Jameson’s confession… and then Matt’s ring and the breakup.
All of it.
“Are you, like… okay?”
Daisy peered up at Anna, who wore a somber expression, genuine concern softening her eyes.
“I think so.”
“I mean, this is wild shit, Daisy. Heavy shit. How are you managing it all?”
Until this moment, Daisy had kept it all in, not telling a soul about the war inside her heart.
“I feel… liberated, I think.”
Anna didn’t look convinced.