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She tried not to read too much into his response. Was he saying he’d had fun this week? Come to like her this week? Perhaps more than like?
Thoughts fled when he put a hand on the small of her back to lead her from the elevator. They made their way to the same ballroom from the night before, only tonight it was set for the banquet. Dinner wasn’t for another half hour, but the room was already packed.
“Close your eyes,” he said. She did, and he looped her arm in his so he could guide her. When he told her to open her eyes, they filled with tears, as she couldn’t believe what she saw.
“Surprise!” her family yelled. It was everyone but Jack and Lucy. Tears overflowed, and she swiped at them before they could ruin her makeup. Kate, always prepared for anything, handed her a tissue.
“Oh, my gosh,” Daisy said. “You came. Even after all that’s happened. You came.”
Her mom hugged her. “Of course we came, honey. This is your big moment. There’s no way we’d miss it.”
“But all the stuff with Uncle Pete…”
“It can wait a day,” her father said.
“What if I lose?” Daisy said.
Emma put an arm around her waist. “Do you really think we give a flying crap about that? Win or lose, we love you, sis.”
Daisy instinctively looked at Lizzie. Of course Emma would say that. She was Daisy’s best friend. Lizzie approached and grabbed both of Daisy’s arms. “Emma’s right. Nobody gives a rat’s ass whether you win. You’re awesome just cuz you’re you.”
“What about Parkers never taking Ls?”
“Ha.” Kate jumped in. “Don’t listen to Lizzie. We take Ls all the time.”
“Speak for yourself,” Lizzie said with a grin, and Kate rolled her eyes. Lizzie turned to Daisy. “Theotherthing I say is that you have to take the Ls to earn the wins. And if you’re not taking Ls, you’re not trying anything new. In other words, the Ls are just as important as the Ws.”
Daisy nodded, getting the message loud and clear. Her family loved her, whether she won or not.
Over Emma’s shoulder, Daisy saw Noah talking to her father, no doubt giving a play-by-play of what had happened yesterday. The horrified look on her dad’s face, followed by relief, confirmed it. He slapped Noah on the arm before pulling him in for a one-armed man-hug. Adam and Dirk flanked them, listening in. They cleaned up all right and looked pretty good in their suits, but didn’t come close to outshining Noah.
“What’s with Dad?” Emma asked, noticing the drama behind her.
“I’ll go see,” her mom said, leaving Daisy with her sisters.
“I think Noah’s regaling him with the details of last night,” Daisy said.
“We only got theReader’s Digestversion. What happened?” Emma asked.
“Some psycho drugged me, took me to his room, tied me up, and gagged me. He planned to kill me with drugs so it would look like an overdose,” Daisy explained.
“What in the damn hell?” Lizzie said. “Over an award?”
“Like I said,” Daisy said, twirling a finger next to her ear. “Not all there. It was the friend of a contestant trying to prove his love. He did kill Veronica and would’ve killed me if Noah hadn’t saved me. He busted in and kicked ass just as it was about to be lights out.” She stuck her tongue out sideways and drew a thumb across her neck.
“You must have been so scared,” Kate said.
“Out-of-my-mind scared,” Daisy admitted.
“How are you so calm now?” Emma asked.
“I worked it out of my system last night.” She tipped her head toward Noah.
“Oh, my gosh,” Kate whispered, leaning in. “Did you guys…?”
“Knock boots?” Lizzie wiggled her eyebrows up and down.
Daisy winked. “Do not tell Dad.”
