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“They treat you differently once you own it,” I said with a shrug. “Besides, I never go after family run local places. If they start looking to sell, I’ll know. Until then, I’m not fucking up the best burgers in town.” I took a bite of my own and moaned. There were days you just needed a burger and fries and this was definitely one of them.
“I was kind of hoping you’d bring Daisy,” Harper said not-so-subtly.
“Only after you agree not to grill her or put her through whatever torture you have in mind.” I arched an eyebrow before my next bite, hoping she’d realize I was serious.
“Oh please. If she can survive the torture of dating you, she has my approval.” She shoved a fry in her mouth. “I’ve been thinking about what you said about marrying Nathan, too.”
I nearly spit out my milkshake. “I never meant to pressure you. What you and Noble have is between you, and if you’re happy being engaged, then it’s none of my business.”
“I am, but he’s not.” Two little lines appeared between her eyebrows. “And I love him, which means I need to seriously consider what’s holding me back. I mean, we live together, we sleep together almost every night—”
“Ugh. No. I don’t want to hear that.” She was still my baby sister.
“—and we spend every minute we can together. We’re pretty much common law married anyway, and it’s not like he’s even asking me to take his name. But the whole institution doesn’t mean anything to me, you know?”
I nodded and took another bite, knowing she was just processing in her head and didn’t need my opinion.
“But it does mean something to him. Nixon is so happy with his wife and kids, and I know it’s eating Nate up inside that….” She shook her head and looked at me. “When you love someone, you should want what’s best for them, right?”
“Right.” I quickly filled my mouth again, downing half my order of fries in a matter of minutes.
“I mean, you would want what’s best for Daisy.”
I managed to swallow without choking. “Come again?”
She lifted her eyebrows over her hazel eyes. “You. Want. What’s. Best. For. Daisy. Because you love her.”
“Harper, I’ve known Daisy for exactly seven and a half weeks, and only been dating her for twenty-three days. Don’t you think you should give me some time before you start throwing words like love at me?”
“Please.” She waved me off and consumed more of her burger. “You know everything you need to know about someone in the first two weeks. You’re a quick judge of character.”
“Character, not compatibility.” Though I did have to admit that Daisy and I fit together perfectly in just about every area of our lives.
“The last girlfriend you had lasted six weeks and five days—” she held up her finger, “which I might add is a record for you. It was the very accomplished, very poised, Miss Caroline Woodsinger, of the…” She cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes in thought. “Pennsylvania Woodsingers?”
“Boston,” I corrected her. “And Caroline was far more in love with her father’s company than me. She only wanted kids to continue her family’s legacy, and we had absolutely zero chemistry. We would have been a powerful union, but not a happy one.”
“Exactly!” She lifted her milkshake like it made the point for her. “And you knew that within six weeks. Admit it, bro. You have feelings for Daisy Lewis.”
“Never said I didn’t,” I retorted. “She’s…” All the words I used to describe her to Mom weren’t adequate enough. “She makes me look at my life completely differently. She makes me happy to wake up, and more than excited to get to bed.”
“Eew, now that is TMI.”
I grinned. “I think there’s an area between getting to know someone and loving them. The place where you catch those feelings and start to fall,” I said slowly. “I think that is where I’m at.” The words tasted like an unrealized truth, sweet yet poignant, and scary as hell.
Daisy and I were as different as two people could be. She wasn’t poised or power hungry. She was open, honest, impulsive, and utterly addictive.
“You’re falling for her,” Harper said with a smile.
“Shit.” I squared my shoulders and looked my sister in the eyes. “Yeah. I’m falling for her.”
* * *
“You sure you don’t mind me sleeping over again?” Daisy asked a few nights later, pulling her curls through her hair tie as we stood at the bathroom sinks side by side.
“I love having you here,” I said honestly, starting my bedtime routine.
“But I’ve slept here three nights this week already.” She scrunched her nose before tugging her bra off beneath her tank top. It always felt like magic when she did that.
Never mind, the magic was the sudden rise in my cock at the sight of her hard nipples beneath the thin cotton of her tank top.
