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I cross the room without a thought and just manage not to pull her into my arms and kiss her until she understands how amazing she is. Instead, I push her blond hair behind one ear and drink in the sight of her.
She stares back like she thinks I’ve lost all rational sense.
“They would all wonder what the hell a kind, beautiful, brilliant, effervescent woman like you could possibly see in a nomad healer like me.”
She lowers her gaze, her eyelashes brushing her cheekbones and snorts. “You’re doing it again.”
I brush a thumb over her cheekbone as I pull my hand away from her face. “What?”
“You’re cheating.”
“I’m telling the truth. In fact, I’m starting to worry you’re too far out of my league for this fake relationship to be believable.”
She looks up at me, chin tilted up, mouth pressed in a flat, hard line. “That’s enough, Noah. I get it. You’re super romantic and you know how to romanticize women really…” She stomps her foot. “You know what I mean.”
My heart flips with hope that maybe if my touch and my flirting can make a lover of words stumble, it’s possible she feels a hint of what I feel for her. I don’t say any of that.
Since I don’t know how to fix this, I say the first thing that comes to mind. “Zephyr’s out there staring at the house as though she’s considering a massacre.”
All the tension and anger leave Daisy like they were never there. “Massacre? She’s a horse, Noah, not a serial killer.”
I go back to the sink. “Whatever you say.”
She chuckles and heads for the back door.
I watch from the kitchen window as she pets Zephyr and talks to her, loving that horse in such an open, kind way I’m almost jealous. Daisy has so much more love to give than she realizes.
By the time Daisy comes back inside, I’ve got a vegetable stir fry with a side of roasted potatoes on the table.
“Wow.” She walks over. “That’s a lot of vegetables.”
“I made enough for your sisters if they’re home in time.”
“That smells delicious.” Honey walks into the kitchen with her chin tipped up like she’s being led by her nose.
“Do you know if anyone else will be home soon?” Daisy looks inexplicably nervous.
“Goldy’s with Henry at Max’s baseball game. Dani and Clover should be here, though.”
As if she’s conjured them, the front door opens and closes and footsteps, many footsteps, sound through the house. Daniand Clover walk in with their boyfriends, Grant and Asher, right behind them.
“Perfect,” I say. “I made a ton of food, and I need help eating it.”
“It looks wonderful.” Clover grabs a plate and takes a seat at the table. She’s in her work ‘uniform’ of leggings and a heather gray Alton Gym t-shirt. She and Asher combined their last names as the name of their gym.
“Are you sure there’s enough?” Asher asks as he sits next to Clover.
“If there’s not,” Dani says. “I’ve got enough day-old pastries in the pantry to feed us all.”
“Business slow?” Grant asks, looking worried.
“No.” Dani pats his shoulder. “It’s been better than ever. I ran out last week, so I made extra this week. More than I needed.”
Daisy looks like she’s about to flee the room, so I wrap an arm around her shoulders. “Want to sit?”
“Not really,” she says as she takes her seat.
She’s silent while we eat and the others chat about their days and an upcoming fundraiser for the sanctuary farm.
