Page 61 of The Daddy’s Girl

“Are you going to see him again?”

I glance over into my friend’s eyes. He means Jacob, but I’m thinking Matis.

I could tell West about what happened later in the evening. He was the one who suggested it in the first place, but I’m not ready to make it real yet. Matis obviously panicked when reality hit, and I don’t want to relive that. For now, I’m keeping the good and ignoring the bad.

“I don’t know,” I mumble.

“What about Matis?” he asks, sparking my attention. I shift in my seat as I glance back at him, wondering just how much he knows. “Did he have a good date with the sister?”

Oh. He’s asking about the double date.

“I think so. She was a little obnoxious for my taste,” I reply with a slight scowl on my face.

Weston only smirks at me with knowing eyes. “Someone sounds a little jealous.”

Me, jealous of her? I was the one who got a private tour of the city, complete with macarons and some light groping.

If anything, that night made me realize that Matis sees me as more than a girl. He kissed me and touched me and wanted me like a woman. The idea of a date with Jacob now feels like a waste of time. I told Jacob I would text him the next day, but I never did. Hopefully, he gets the hint and moves on.

He was nice, but next to Matis, he doesn’t compare. My heart will never beat for one like it does for the other.

Now, more than ever, it feels like there’s hope.

I could tell when Matis dropped me off in my bed that he was no longer broody and cold about the kiss. He called me his treasure, and we were us again.

“I’m not jealous,” I reply bitterly.

“Got something you’d like to share with the group?”

I glance up from the bracelet I’m picking at to see Elizabeth glaring at me with sharp, cold eyes. Everyone else at the table is looking our way too, but less villainously.

“Sorry,” I mumble as I fold in on myself.

My brother shoots me a wide-eyed get it together look. West and I stay quiet for the rest of the meeting, and when it’s our turn to give any updates, I have nothing.

Everyone starts to pack up as a thought suddenly occurs to me.

“Actually,” I say loudly as I straighten up in my seat. The team freezes and glances my way. Suddenly with all their scrutinizing gazes, I start to wonder if this idea is just really stupid and I’m being delusional or juvenile to even suggest it.

“What is it, Mel?” My brother, bless his heart, is the one to give me the most attention and genuine curiosity.

“So I have this…program thing that I want to apply for. I mean…I am applying for it. It’s an incubator.”

Eyebrows wrinkle as looks of confusion grow.

“I know that’s a weird term, but it’s not important. The important part is that I have to provide some sort of visual project. I mean, every project is visual, though, right? So that’s a weird name for it.”

“Get to the point,” Elizabeth says with a sigh, making me shrink in my seat. Her brother shoves her arm, but I wouldn’t consider her following expression very apologetic.

Get to the point, Amelia.

“My point is…that I could maybe hold a fashion show…here?”

Julian smiles coyly but doesn’t speak first. It’s Phoenix, surprisingly, who actually shows a little interest. More than I expected.

“A fashion show? Designed by you, I assume.”

I curl a lock of hair behind my ear, but it falls back into place. “I mean…yeah. We don’t have to. It’s just an⁠—”