“Since your birthday party,” he confessed.
There was a weighty pause, then Sean began to cynically laugh. “Of course it has.”
“Look, man, I’m sorry about lying to you, truly. But I won’t be sorry about being with her because—”
Sean interrupted, “Yeah, because you love her, I heard.”
“Yeah, I do.”
Daisy’s heart fluttered. She would never tire of hearing him say that.
“You’re like a brother to me, Sean, but please don’t ask me to choose because if you do, you may not like the answer.”
He wouldn’t choose. He wouldn’t apologize for loving her.
Sean didn’t speak for a long while. “I’d never ask that. It’s just gonna take a while to get used to, I guess.”
Jameson blew out a loud breath. “Yeah, I get that.”
Sean’s anger cooled, if only slightly. “Just please don’t flaunt it in front of me.”
“We’ll try.”
It wasn’t an approval, but it wasn’t the end.
Daisy heard what sounded like a handshake, which filled her with an ounce of hope. Other than Jameson getting punched, this was going much better than expected.
Jameson quietly shut the door behind him and helped Daisy off the ground. They had just entered her room when he asked, “Did you hear all of that?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
She bit down on her lip, fighting the urge to smile. “And… I love you, too.”
“Good, that’s very good.”
His forehead rested against hers, relief settling in the space between them.
“You know what song fits this moment?” he whispered.
“What song?” She grinned.
Without hesitation, he hummed softly the tune to a song she immediately recognized. It was, after all, her favorite. The lyrics smoothly rolled off his tongue as he swayed her back and forth.
Jameson started to sing it under his breath, low and steady, like the rest of the world had gone quiet.
When he reached the chorus, happy tears blurred her vision.
When he finished, she laughed softly and wiped at her cheeks.
“‘Angel,’” she whispered. “By Aerosmith.”
Chapter Nine
Daisy, Age 16
TIME SEEMED TO FLY ONCEDaisy and Jameson stopped pretending. What surprised her most was how few people were actually surprised. Evidently, they were spectacularly bad at secrets. Their moms had known. Charlie and Rebecca had guessed and most classmates had, too. Even Sean had heard the rumors; he just refused to believe them until he saw for himself.
