This has been one of the strangest days of my life.
How else do you describe a twelve-hour period where you experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows?
Throughout the whole damn thing, Daisy has been unwaveringly at my side. Somehow that made the worst of it a little easier to bear. The situation with my family has always been a dirty secret that I’ve gone to great lengths to hide. Having Daisy there as a silent onlooker, watching me as I subdued my father…that was beyond anything I could have envisioned. The hot licks of humiliation will forever be singed into my psyche. And yet, now that she knows the truth, it’s like a crushing weight has been lifted from my shoulders.
After all these years, I can finally suck in a full breath of air. Daisy’s hand is secured in mine as we ride the elevator to the third floor. Today is a turning point and I want to get the rest of it over with. I want everyone to know that Daisy is mine.
And that means sharing the news with Noah.
I straighten my shoulders and mentally prepare myself for the impending shitstorm that is sure to follow. Noah isn’t going to be happy about this. He’s made it his life’s mission to protect Daisy from guys like me.
It’s difficult to imagine the two of us being on opposite sides of a situation. That’s never happened before. We’ve always had each other’s backs. If there’s one person I can count on, it’s Noah Walker.
And vice versa.
As much as the thought of damaging our friendship pains me, there’s nothing I can do about it. After years of wanting Daisy, she’s finally mine and I can’t let her go.
I won’t let her go.
Not even for Noah.
As we reach the apartment door, I tug Daisy into my arms and brush my lips across hers. She immediately opens and my tongue sweeps inside her mouth. Everything rioting inside me calms. I never imagined there was anything or anyone who could do that, but she does. She’s a balm for my soul.
After a handful of moments, I pull back. My gaze locks on hers and searches for signs of doubt. “Are you ready for this? ’Cause after we let the cat out of the bag, there’ll be no turning back.”
I pause and give her time to reconsider. Now that a decision has been made, I’m ready to move forward. But Daisy needs to be just as certain about her feelings as I am. When she doesn’t immediately answer, nerves prickle to life at the bottom of my gut. My throat constricts, and it becomes harder to breathe.
Has she changed her mind?
Maybe now that she’s taken a good look at what I come from, she wants nothing to do with me.
Could I really blame her for that?
Fuck no.
But that doesn’t mean it won’t kill me.
“Daisy?” It takes everything I have inside to keep the fear from entering my voice.
Her eyes snap to mine. There’s nothing but steely determination shining brightly in them. The relief that floods through me is enough to weaken my knees.
“I’m ready, Carter.” Her brows slide together. “But are you?” She tilts her head and studies me carefully. “I’m not the one who was filled with doubts,” she reminds me. “You were.”
I tug her until her body is flush against mine and then kiss the crown of her head. “You’re right, I was. But as usual, you’ve blown my best laid plans to hell.”
She chuckles and swats at my chest. “Please. I’m the best thing that’s ever happened to you.”
“You are.” I sober, wanting to get this over with. “Let’s go tell your cousin what’s going on, so he can get his head wrapped around it.”
“Okay.”
With one last shared look, I unlock the apartment door and hold it open. Noah sits at the table as he types away on his computer. You can tell he’s in serious student mode because his black rimmed glasses are perched on his nose. He glances up and does a double take when he sees us. A frown settles on his face as his eyes narrow.
This afternoon started out great and then turned to shit. Somehow, Daisy and I have grown stronger because of it. Even though we’ve been hiding our relationship from Noah, I think he senses the shift as well. He leans back against his chair and folds his arms across his chest.
“Where have you two been?” he bites out.
I’ve heard him take that tone with plenty of the guys on the team. But never with me.
Daisy grinds to a halt. Her muscles freeze as she spears me with a look as if to ask if I’m sure about going through with this. I almost shake my head in exasperation.
How can she doubt me after everything we’ve been through today?
I grab Daisy’s hand and thread my fingers through hers, locking us together in a show of solidarity.
Noah inhales a sharp breath. “What the hell—”
“Daisy and I have been seeing each other.” I brace myself for the fallout, aware that I’ve broken bro code.
The longer he remains silent, the more jacked up I get. My nerves have already been shot to hell from dealing with my parents. But Daisy is worth it. I straighten to my full height as my resolve strengthens.
Instead of losing his temper, Noah slaps his thigh and stabs a finger in my direction. “Holy shit! For a moment there, you almost had me.”
I give Daisy a bit of side eye.
She shrugs as if to say I don’t know what to make of this either.
“Dude, I’m serious.” I clear my throat. “Daisy and I have been seeing each other.”
That statement has him doubling over with laughter. He wipes the moisture from his eyes. “Nice try! You two can barely stand to be in the same room together.” He howls with laughter. “You hate each other!”
That was never true. It had more to do with self-preservation than anything else and I regret every damn minute of it.
When Noah doesn’t get himself under control, my patience snap. I was expecting anger from him, not flat out disbelief. For fuck’s sake, the idea of us being together isn’t that farfetched.
“Things have changed, bro,” I grit out. “This isn’t a joke. Daisy and I are together and wanted you to be the first to know.”
I’m not sure if it’s the look on my face or the seriousness of my voice, but all at once, Noah straightens. The laughter dies as he stares at me with wide eyes. “The fuck you say!”
Now this is more in line with what I was expecting.
He rises to his feet.
Noah’s a big guy. Tall and broad shouldered. He can easily bench his own body weight. I don’t want this conversation ending with a fight, but I’m prepared to deal with his anger if it does.
Ignoring Daisy, he demands, “You’re serious?”
I nod. “Yeah, I am.”
“Exactly how long has this been going on for?”
“A couple of weeks,” I admit. At least now everything is out in the open. If there’s any silver lining to the situation, that’s it.
“I don’t understand,” he mutters with a shake of his head. “Are you forgetting that this is the same girl who baked brownies filled with laxatives, so you’d shit your brains out?”
“No, I haven’t forgotten.” Noah doesn’t have a clue as to how I’ve always felt about Daisy. He doesn’t realize that I’ve spent years pushing her buttons so that she’d hate me and keep her distance.
“And now you two are what?” His face crumples in disgust and he flinches. “A couple?”
Ignoring the question, I say instead, “It was never our intention to lie to you.” I glance at Daisy, not wanting to put words in her mouth. “We needed time to figure out for ourselves what was happening between us.”
Noah shakes his head as if to clear it. “So, you two have been what? Sneaking around and screwing behind my back for weeks now?”
Daisy gasps as the color drains from her face.
“That’s none of your damn business,” I bark as my fingers tighten around hers.
“The hell it is,” Noah growls as his fists clench at his sides. He looks ready to lose it and part of me can’t blame him for that. But I’m not going to stand here and listen to Noah disrespect Daisy. I don’t give a shit if she’s his cousin or not.
“My relationship with Daisy is private and has nothing to do with you,” I tell him.
That announcement only serves to piss Noah off more. His jaw locks as he bites out, “We need to have a private conversation.”
