She wasn’t surprised to find Amelia already snuggled between Lenny and Jameson on the couch, talking their ears off. Daisy offered a general hello to the room and introduced Matt. The group was warm and inviting, everyone except Kyler, who sat back with arms crossed, glowering. His disdain was obvious, his eyes flicking toward Jameson as if to say,you’re really okay with this?
Jameson ignored him. Instead, he wove through the crowded room and offered Matt a handshake.
“Hey, Matt.”
Then he turned to Daisy, greeted her with an English kiss to the cheek, and whispered so only she could hear, “You look beautiful.”
The unexpected affection startled her. Goose bumps rose across her skin, her cheeks warming with embarrassment.
Instead of reacting, she looked up at Matt. “Ready to go?”
“Sure.”
“Bye, Amelia,” Daisy called across the room.
She turned back to Jameson. “Please call if you need anything. We should be back around nine.”
Jameson walked them to the door. “Sounds good. You kids have fun.”
Their plans for the night were simple: dinner at Miguel’s, one of their favorite date spots, followed by a new movie at the theater. But Daisy had a sneaking suspicion the night wouldn’t go as planned.
The car ride was quiet, the silence heavy. She knew Matt too well not to recognize it. He was upset, and she didn’t need to guess why.
The sudden presence of Jameson Kingston in her life had shifted everything.
This should be a fun night,she thought sarcastically as they pulled into the restaurant.
Seated in a quiet corner, Daisy dropped her menu onto the table with a thud, forcing his attention. “Please tell me what’s wrong.”
Before he could answer, she added, “And don’t say nothing.”
Matt set down his own menu, lighter than hers, and looked her directly in the eye. “I’m tired of this, Daisy.”
She waited.
“I’m tired of sending messages that go unanswered when I’m away. I’m tired of not having a normal relationship. And I’m tired of some other man stepping into your and Amelia’s life and getting everything I’ve wanted for years.”
There it was—the raw, exposed reason for his pain.
“He’s not getting everything,” she said, placing her hand over his. “He doesn’t have me.”
“Not yet,” he muttered, pulling his hand away.
“Matt, he doesn’t and he never will.”
He shook his head, eyes hard. “I barely have you, Daisy. I see the way he looks at you, how he reacts when you’re in the room. He’s waiting to sweep you off your feet.”
“You’re off base,” she argued. “He’s trying for Amelia. We both are.”
Matt ran a hand through his hair. “And Amelia. He acts like he hasn’t been an absentee father all her life, and suddenly—”
Daisy got defensive. “Stop it. You know why he wasn’t there. Don’t call him that. I won’t have it.”
Matt held a haughty expression. She’d just proved his point. “Of course you defend him.”
“He’s her father, Matt. What do you want me to do? Forbid him from seeing her? Move out of the state so they don’t have a relationship?”
“Of course not. I just expect consistency.”
