by Zoe Lee
Daisy’s family had done some family counseling when Conor was seventeen or so, while Daisy was in middle school. Conor had always had a drive to fiercely defend his family—they’d started therapy after he’d beaten up buttheads picking on Levi—while holding this small piece of himself back. Some of it, the therapist had said, had to do with being adopted because sometimes it didn’t matter how much their parents loved him, it was a fact that his birth mother had made another choice. Daisy had cried so much, distraught at the idea that Conor’s biological mother hadn’t cared enough about him or had cared so much that she’d given him up to give him a better chance. Conor and Dunk weren’t alike as far as their basic personalities, but they shared that strong need to be liked.
“Mom, these are so fucking good,” Dunk said a second later, clearly oblivious to the important revelation that Daisy had just had about his psyche, cramming another popover into his mouth. Jam and crumbs clung to one corner of his chin. “My hangover is completely cured.”
“I always cure your hangover. It’s been a while, though, which is a good thing,” Shelly said in that dry way she seemed to be able to pull off so easily. “Leda and Jamie’s wedding, wasn’t it? You looked seasick.”
“Funny you should mention that fateful night I first, uh, connected with Daisy on a personal level,” Dunk said, his shit-eating grin flashing on like the big lights at the football field for a night game.
Daisy kicked Dunk’s shin under the table.
He shot her a confused look and asked, “What was that for? My mom doesn’t have a problem with consensual adult behavior, Daisy.”
Daisy felt her whole body burn up in mortification.
“That’s true, Duncan, but don’t be the douchebag jock who brags about his conquests to everyone, including his own mom,” Shelly retorted.
That sent Daisy toppling into slightly hysterical… hysterics. She cackled, hugging her aching stomach, until she caught her breath.
“Oh my gosh, I wish I had gotten a picture of you right then,” Daisy wheezed.
“Anyway,” Dunk said loudly, “what I was trying to explain was why I didn’t tell you that I was driving the Shelby across country with Daisy instead of Chase. And it had to do with an idea to do the drive but pretend we hated each other, that their sneaky plan backfired. I couldn’t tell you about it because, well, you’re a terrible liar, Mom, let’s just say it like it is.”
Daisy rolled her eyes at that and said, “So are you, baby.”
He smiled so that his eyes crinkled a little at the outside corners, making Daisy melt a little because that was his loving, smitten smile. “Maybe,” he said, “but I’m also a super nice guy. I couldn’t do that to my friends, since the setup was payback. I didn’t want to start a new round.”
“Definitely not when Jesse’s leaving so soon,” Shelly agreed.
Dunk’s shoulders hunched a fraction. “Yeah,” he sighed.
Daisy’s heart sank at the reminder. She had been deliberately avoiding thinking or talking about it during the road trip, but now that they were back, it was only a few weeks before Jesse left for Chicago. Daisy was sad to lose a new friend, especially because Jesse didn’t seem the type to be good at keeping in touch; if she would grunt more than talk during a conversation, what were the odds that she’d even text Daisy back?
“But y’all are going to throw her a legendary party, right?” Daisy asked hopefully, to cheer both Dunk and herself up at the thought.
By the way his face lit up, it worked, at least for the moment.
“You bet,” he enthused. “Big blowout at Tristan’s place. Dozen grills, enough beer to fill up the lake, some nice whiskey. All our friends, and Munn and Aden promised they’d keep out acquaintances.”
Shelly laughed at that. “Tell me when it’s going to be. I’ll make some pies or something, whatever Jesse wants. Homemade whipped cream.”
Daisy thought with a pang that she was so glad that she and Dunk had worked things out. Because otherwise, she would’ve gone to the party not one hundred percent focused on celebrating Jesse’s last hurrah in Maybelle. She would’ve been anxious and worried about being around Dunk again. Now they could celebrate the way they were meant to, no cracks among the group, nothing but love, excitement for Jesse’s new life in Chicago mingling with the sadness of her moving away.
The thought reminded Daisy that she hadn’t talked to her family yet to let them know that she was home again. She’d been texting them regularly, since her father and brothers had been uneasy about the trip in the first place. She’d let them know that she was with Dunk—reluctantly, but she’d known they would see Chase and freak the hell out. It had only intensified her father’s concern, while it had made her brothers bristle, convinced that it had been Dunk’s scheme.
“I actually better head out,” Daisy said into a pause in Dunk and Shelly’s planning what they could bake and cook for the party.
They both looked over at her in surprise, as if they couldn’t imagine where else she could possibly have to be.
“I need to check in with my parents and my brothers, and call Stephanie and Karen to give them a piece of my mind,” she explained with a smile.
“Be nice to them,” Dunk said with a chuckle, leaning over to give her a sweet kiss, sliding his hand around her neck to clasp the base of her skull briefly in his big hand. “How about I drive you home? It’s a long walk and you’d have to haul your luggage too.”
“Okay, thanks,” she said, suddenly shy.
She stood up and hugged Shelly, thanking her for the meal, and she and Dunk headed downstairs to gather up her purse, clothes from yesterday, and her luggage before they went out to his truck.
The drive home was quiet, the radio on instead of one of Dunk’s playlists, and it was a tiny difference from the road trip, but it made Daisy sigh softly. The trip had been magical, a bubble of time where they hadn’t had the other things in their lives tugging at their attention or time. Now they were going back to their everyday lives, and while she was sure they loved each other and were both committed to making it work, she wasn’t sure how easy it would really be.
When Dunk pulled up to the curb in front of her apartment building, Daisy tucked wisps of her hair behind her ears a little nervously.
“Um, so I’ll call you later?” she asked.
Dunk ran a hand through his hair and answered, “I have a few people I need to catch up with myself. I promised Chase I’d go talk to her first thing, and then I need to pick up a thank-you gift for the people who helped my mom take care of Tugger while I was gone.”
“Okay,” she said quickly, trying to shrug like it wasn’t awkward.
“But call!” Dunk added, a little too loud in the truck even with all the windows rolled down. He closed his eyes briefly and then his thumb slid across Daisy’s chin, pushing it up so they were looking at each other. “But call,” he repeated, calmer, “and if I don’t answer, leave me a message, so I can hear your voice whenever I get home. I know we only shared a room the last few nights, but between that and the car rides, I’m kind of used to hearing your voice all the time, Daisy Rhys. I’m addicted now.”
Her awkwardness was gently reassured by his fervent words, and she leaned in to kiss him, framing his face in her hands, their tongues pushing together frantically.
“It isn’t going to be weird, right?” she asked, almost pleading, raw and vulnerable and needing to know that he was, too.
“It’ll be a little weird,” he teased.
“Dunk—”
“I swear, it’ll be good,” he said so fiercely that his voice cracked.
She nodded, kissed him one more time, and jumped down from the truck, reaching back in for her purse and luggage.
“I love you,” he called out suddenly when she was going up the stairs.
She swung around and swallowed hard, the awe and joy in those fresh words, those words he’d never given another woman like this, romantic and new, making her tear up a little. She cupp
ed her hands around her mouth to help her project and called back, “I love you too, Coach!”
The title made him flash her that all-teeth grin.
She turned and hurried up the stairs before she gave in to the temptation to fly back to his truck, climb in, and never leave.
Chapter 29
Dunk
Dunk drove away from Daisy’s apartment with his hands clenched so tightly around the steering wheel that his knuckles weren’t even white, they were purple. Daisy had looked so fragile in the truck on the way over, her eyes big and worried, and trusting him to be there, to be good. No one had ever looked at him like that, and the pride that it was a woman as amazing as Daisy warred with sheer terror that he’d never be able to live up to it.
But the good news was, he had some awesome friends, and some of them really had their shit together, both personally and professionally.
Which was why he sped straight from Daisy’s to Aden and Chase’s place, calling Aden on the way to make sure that they were home first.
He rushed inside, yelling a hello, then followed Aden’s voice out to their porch. “Oh,” he said, taking them in, almost feeling bad he’d interrupted what was clearly a relaxing, lazy Sunday morning.
They were on the loveseat, Aden’s feet crossed on the plastic coffee table, Chase sprawled out on her back with her calves draped over his thighs. They were reading, and there was some slow, folksy music on low.
“Hey, Prince Charming,” Aden deadpanned, sliding a bookmark in place and putting the book aside.
Rolling his eyes, Dunk took the chair across from them, dumping his phone and keys near Aden’s feet.
“Thanks for bringing my baby home,” Chase said.
“You know, I should be pissed at you and Leda,” Dunk told her.
“But not Karen and Stephanie?” Chase asked innocently.
“Those girls were hoodwinked by your smooth-talking lawyer argument, no doubt,” Dunk groused.
Aden offered up one of his signature grunts and cocked an eyebrow under his backwards ball cap. “If you were pissed, we’d be getting Super Soakered with Kool-Aid or something right now,” he remarked.
“That… would have been a great idea,” Dunk said thoughtfully. “I’m putting that one in my back pocket for the next time you schemers do something like this.”
“You aren’t really mad, are you?” Chase asked.
Dunk heaved a sigh and crossed his arms. “No.”
“I think we deserve a thank you,” Aden declared.
“I’ll thank you as soon as you thank me for buying you the time to stop Chase from leaving,” Dunk countered with a big wink.
Aden snorted, and Dunk damn well knew it was his smothering-a-laugh snort. “Don’t fucking count on it.”
“Was that your version of I love you, man?”
Chase laughed.
Aden harrumphed, but his hand was absently smoothing up and down Chase’s bare shin and ankle, his thumb massaging the arches of her feet.
“From what I’ve gathered, it all turned out very well,” Chase said, her expression encouraging Dunk to tell them everything.
At that, the last of Dunk’s half-hearted annoyance with them over the whole setup blew away, and he leaned forward, elbows digging into his thighs. “There was an aquarium, a flirty waiter, a mechanical bull, the Grand Canyon, an emotional roller coaster, and I love yous,” he declared.
Chase squealed, “This is going to be such a great story!”
“A mechanical bull?” Aden eyed Dunk skeptically and then a slow smirk spread across his face. “How badly did you hurt yourself?”
Dunk shot Aden an ineffectual glare, knowing he had hurt himself so very, very badly on that damned bull. Then he launched into detailing the trip: the sights, the conversations, his kickass playlists, the rising sexual tension, the intermittent flirting, that life-affirming, life-changing moment at the Grand Canyon, and the night that had changed their lives forever. And then the painful, but wonderful conversation they’d had yesterday.
When he was done, Chase blew out a big breath. “Whew,” she exclaimed, “no wonder you sound like you’re losing your voice.”
“Shelly talked about your dad?” Aden asked, his face set in stern lines, the way it did when he was concerned but trying not to be too heavy.
Dunk rolled his shoulders and nodded once. He’d seen Daisy’s look, the way her mouth had softened in sympathy while her eyes had narrowed slightly, as though his mom’s words had put Dunk into clearer focus for her. It wasn’t something he dwelled on. Mostly he was angry at the man for treating his mom so poorly, and for hurting his sisters, who had been old enough when he walked to remember him.
“She must really believe you and Daisy can make it, if she talked about something painful to offer you two advice,” Chase offered quietly.
“Yeah,” Dunk said a bit shortly.
All of them let that be for a moment, acknowledging the hard thing that Shelly had gone through before she’d met Dunk’s stepdad—his only dad, really, as far as he was concerned—who was the best.
And then Dunk looked up at Aden, hands fisted on his knees, and said roughly, “I can’t fuck this up, Aden. I can’t… I can’t let her down. I get it now, how scared you were that day I stole the keys of Chase’s rental.”
Aden scratched his jaw.
“I’m going to go in,” Chase murmured.
“What? Why?” Dunk asked in alarm, feeling like he was about to get his ass handed to him by one of his best friends in the whole world.
Chase smiled reassuringly, stroking her hand over Aden’s shoulder as she rose. “It’s okay, this just seems like a best friends kind of heart to heart moment,” she said, then took her book and went inside.
“You’re not going to let her down,” Aden said after they’d sat in the quiet mid-morning summer day for a little while. “You’ll screw up,” he added with a fatalistic shrug, “but you won’t let her down.”
“But I’m… me,” Dunk protested as he threw his hands up.
Aden cursed under his breath and rubbed his hands together. “Shit, Dunk. Please don’t make me get all mushy. You know you’re not as… dumb as you come off sometimes. You’ve read a thousand books about love and relationships. And you’d never cheat or turn into a criminal—or run out on her,” he said, his stoic expression weighty with conviction.
Slumping, Dunk muttered, “You’re giving me a pep talk.”
“So what? Are you looking for some magical way to be the perfect boyfriend?” Aden scoffed good-naturedly, a smirk edging his mouth.
“Of course I’m looking for a magical way to be the perfect boyfriend!” Dunk laughed, the tension breaking up in his chest, making him breathe easier. “I’m asking you for advice because even when you were with the ex who shall not be named on and off for years, you didn’t let her down.”
Aden’s head dropped onto the top of the couch back and he blew out a breath. “Of course I let her down, Dunk. But she let me down too.”
Groaning, Dunk whined, “You’re freaking me out more!”
Aden shrugged, then frowned and took off his hat to scratch his head. “Listen, you just… you love her, you want to take care of her, make sure she has a nice home. Bubble baths and a car that doesn’t break down all the time. You want her to have time with her girlfriends and space to do her art. That’s important, but it’s not that hard. Don’t be jealous of the time she spends on the other things she loves. There’s no… end of love.”
Dunk opened his mouth to make fun of Aden, but Aden’s cheeks went rusty under his summer tan, embarrassed by his own sentimentality.
So Dunk tried to simply hear him, especially since he didn’t really want to make fun of Aden for being happy, not when he’d been unhappy for so long. “I can learn how to share her time,” he sighed. “I didn’t like that, before. When she told me that she needed time for herself.”
“And, uh, don’t forget that she wants to take care of you, too, Dunk.”
<
br /> “I don’t want her to do that,” Dunk interjected hastily, thinking about what she’d told him about her marriage. “Tyler needed her to take care of him, like, emotionally, and it wasn’t good for her,” he explained.
“Love isn’t… a town of one-way streets,” Aden replied.
“What the hell are you talking about?” Dunk asked in confusion.
“If you want to take care of her, then she’s allowed to want to take care of you, Dunk,” Aden clarified impatiently. “You can’t stop her.”
That was a complex idea and Dunk frowned, trying to untangle all of the threads. In his mind, it was obvious and simple. People in love wanted to take care of each other, and they should both want to and actually do it. But in his heart, he didn’t want to make her feel obligated to take care of him just because he had all these things he wanted and needed from her. He didn’t want her to give anything up to try to make him happy.
“How do you make sure it’s even? We promised to be an equal partnership,” Dunk finally responded, looking hopefully at Aden.
Aden’s normal stoic expression softened and stretched into a grin. “Well, when it’s out of balance, that’s when you fight, or want to fight.”
“And then what?”
One of Aden’s brows lifted. “You fight it out, you have make-up sex, and then you work it out,” he said as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “Every time won’t be as bad as your eight-hour negotiation.”
“But I don’t want to fight,” Dunk protested.
That sent Aden into laughter so loud that Chase poked her head out onto the porch and looked between them. “What’s so funny?”
Since Aden was still laughing too hard to talk, Dunk pouted and admitted, “I just said that I don’t want to fight with Daisy.”
Chase giggled and came back onto the porch, curling up next to Aden, who stretched an arm along the back of the loveseat to accommodate her. “Well, that’s admirable, Coach, but you know that’s a big fat pipe dream.”
“I know,” he grumbled, then glared at Aden. “Quit laughing, asshole.”
