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“Wait!” Lanie called out. “Let me run something by you first.”
* * *
I scanned the park again before examining the map on my phone for the fifth time.Where the fuck is she?My dot moved closer to hers, but I couldn’t see Daisy anywhere. The park benches were empty, the fountain was crammed with kids, and the pathways were full of people walking dogs. The only daisies in sight were the wild ones growing in the fields…and that was where I found her.
Lying in the sun beside her suitcase, Daisy had fallen asleep with a notepad, map, and phone on her chest. I wanted to shake her awake and tell her how stupid she was for letting her guard down in this city, but I couldn’t. She looked like an angel with her blonde hair sprawled out like a halo, and all I could do was drink in her beauty.
I quietly lay beside her, watching every breath pass over her perfect lips, until her eyes flickered open.
“Shit!” She shot up with a gasp, sending her notebook and phone tumbling onto the grass.
“It’s just me, Daise.” I grazed my fingers over the knuckles that were about to punch me. Her fight reflex was strong. “Breathe.”
“Ethan?” Her eyes grew wider. “How did you find me?”
I held up the map on my phone.
“You’re tracking me too?”
“Flynn’s idea.” I smirked. “And a necessary one too, apparently. You can’t go falling asleep in a park in Manhattan, Daisy. It’s fucking dangerous.”
“I didn’t mean to,” she whined as she sat cross-legged in front of me. “I barely got any sleep on the flight, and I just thought I’d rest my eyes for a minute. I was going to come back to the gallery once your shift had finished.”
I matched her stance. “It finished an hour ago.”
“What?!” Her eyes bulged as she checked the time. “Nooo… I missed the inspection.”
My dick ached for those pouting lips. “What inspection?”
“I found this great apartment in Greenwich, but it’s undoubtedly been snapped up by now.”
“Why are you looking at apartments?”
“Because Smudge can’t live in a one-bedroom studio. He needs space.”
My heart threatened to combust as I forced nonchalance. “Smudge?”
“And I refuse to cook in akitchenette,” she added, twisting her face in disgust.
With glistening eyes, I picked a tiny daisy from the lawn. “What are you saying, Daisy?”
“I’m saying I need a proper oven.”
I twirled the stem in my fingers. “Daisy…”
“I can’t bake in a microwave.”
“Daise…” My eyes locked onto hers. “Tell me.”
“I can’t live in that house without you, Ethan,” she blurted as her eyes welled. “So, here I am.”
“You want to move to New York?” I scrunched up my nose. “With all these people, and cars, and the noise…”
She shoved my shoulder. “Hey, do you want me here or not?”
I dropped the daisy to capture her hand and linked my fingers through hers. “Truthfully… I want you to stay in LA.”
Her face fell. “Oh.”
