“I will literally die if you make me wait.”
“Then I guess I’ll call the hearse now,” Daisy teased.
Anna rolled her eyes. “Fine. But I’m coming back to yours tonight.”
“Wouldn’t expect anything else.”
Her appetite gone, Daisy slipped inside. The noise dulled as she entered the mudroom, taking the cake out to prep with candles. She was just about finished when the door clicked behind her.
She turned—and froze. Jameson filled the small space.
“Um, hi. Do you need something?” she asked, pulse leaping.
“Daisy, come on. Can you stop treating me like I have the plague?”
“I’m not—”
He cut her off gently. “We both know you are. And we both know why. I’ve been dying to get a moment with you alone all day.” He stepped closer. She took a step back.
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” she blurted. The air in the room suddenly felt thick.
“What? Talking to me? Or… last night?”
Daisy pressed her palms to her face. “I don’t know. Both, maybe. Last night was… a lot. The song, the painting, the wine…”
“Daisy.”
“I just need time, okay? I haven’t had a second to process it all. Right now, I want to focus on Amelia and deal with us later.”
He didn’t answer right away. He just stood there, one hand on his hip, watching her like she was the most complicated, most precious thing he’d ever seen.
Finally, she met his gaze, gathering the courage to ask, “What do youthink?”
“Of us?”
She nodded.
Jameson didn’t answer right away. He took a good look around, mulling over his next words. “Ithinklast night was the best night of my life,” he said quietly. “For the first time since you came back, I have hope. Hope that we can be good parents—and maybe more than that. IthinkI’ve carried a torch for you since the moment I saw you in that cafeteria thirteen years ago. It’s only burned brighter, no matter how hard I tried to put it out. And Ithink—” He smiled, almost shyly. “Ithinkthat I love making love to you and that I want to do it for the rest of my life.” He paused, taking a step closer, lowering his voice, “And Ithink—actually, Iknow, that I’m in love with you, Daisy Daniels. I don’t think I ever stopped.”
Her eyes filled. She had never known what it felt like to hold someone else’s heart in her hands until now. But there she was and Jameson had just handed her his own.
Steadily, he took one last step, closing the distance, resting his forehead against hers. “I want it all, Daisy. Please tell me I’m not on this island alone.”
And then—the door swung open.
“Oh my! I’m so sorry.”
Margot froze in the doorway. Daisy jumped back, mortified.
“Amelia’s finished eating,” Margot said delicately. “She’d like to start the cake. She sent me to find you both.”
“Thanks, Mum,” Jameson said smoothly. “Tell her we’ll be right out.”
Margot hesitated, eyes flicking between them before she retreated.
The second the door clicked shut, shame washed over Daisy like cold water. Her eyes stung, her head hurt, and the spell she was under had shattered.
“Daisy…”
