by Maggie Brown
The rest of the day Daisy mooched around the house, her face red and blotchy and eyes puffy from crying. Ever so often she sent a text to Lindsey, but after the fifteenth, she gave up hoping for a reply. It was clear the break was final.
The next three weeks weren’t the greatest in her life. Nothing went right: one of her more demanding clients broke up with her latest boyfriend, her car engine blew up and the pipe under the sink burst, flooding the kitchen. It was made even less great when Meg sent a postcard from New York, a place Daisy had always wanted to see, saying smugly what a fantastic time they were having.
She missed Lindsey fiercely. She tried to forget about her but couldn’t. Her face kept popping up in her head no matter what she was doing. Rachel and Mac’s dinner party on Saturday night was the only light on the horizon. They were always fun—it would be an opportunity to forget her troubles.
To stop herself from sinking into complete misery, Daisy had launched into an exercise regimen that she had been meaning to do for years. A brisk run around the block before breakfast, twenty sit-ups before her morning shower and an hour at the gym on her way home. To her delight, when she rushed home from the gym the night of the dinner party, she was able to slip into her usually tight skinny jeans with ease. She could barely breathe when she’d last worn them.
Feeling light and cheery for the first time in weeks, she sailed off. Rachel appeared at the door, dressed in a frilly apron printed with the caption Trophy Wife. Daisy chuckled as she gave her a hug—Rachel Anderson was anything but a trophy. The fiery detective wasn’t someone to be trifled with.
“Come on in, Daisy. You’re the last to arrive.” Rachel gave her a nudge with her elbow. “I’m glad you didn’t cry off. One of our newest detectives is dying to meet you.”
Daisy gave her a half-hearted smile without comment. She wasn’t in the mood to play nice to someone, she just wanted to relax and have fun without pressure. When they entered the dining room, the rest of the guests were already sitting around the twelve-seater table. The air buzzed with camaraderie. She had only a second for a friendly wave to the chorus of “Hi, Daisy,” before a tall, well-built woman rose and pulled out the empty chair next to hers.
Daisy took the offered seat with a polite nod. “Thank you,” she said, sizing her up as she settled into the chair. This presumably was the member of the force Rachel had referred to. In her early to mid-thirties, the detective was an athletic woman with a high forehead, strong jawline, and brown hair cut in a short bob.
“Hello, Daisy. I’m Kerry,” she said, her engaging grin deepening the dimples in her cheeks. “Rachel’s been telling me about you.”
Daisy pursed her lips. Why did all her friends play the matchmaker? “You work with Rachel?”
“Yes. I’ve just been transferred from the drug squad to homicide. Can I get you something to drink?”
“I’ll have a glass of the white wine,” Daisy said, reaching over for the bottle. She swept her eyes around the table, acknowledging those she knew with a smile. When she reached the end of the table to her right, she nearly dropped the wine. Lindsey was staring at her, her violet eyes almost black. Despite herself, Daisy flashed an involuntary smile. Lindsey’s lips curved in response but then faded and her eyes became intense again.
“I’ll pour it for you,” said Kerry, taking the bottle out of her hand.
“What? Oh…yes…all right,” Daisy muttered, feeling oddly disoriented. For a moment she wondered what Lindsey was doing here, then realized Mac would have invited her after the interview.
Soon Mac and Rachel appeared with big pots of spaghetti. After two more trips into the kitchen, the table was laden with mountains of garlic bread and trays of antipasti as well. “It’s Italian night,” Rachel said. “So, dig in.”
“This is really something,” Kerry said over a mouthful of spaghetti.
Daisy heaped her plate full, sniffing in the savoury aromas appreciatively. As she ate, she tried to concentrate on what Kerry was saying and not look Lindsey’s way again. That became impossible when everyone joined in a general conversation. The woman in the seat beside Lindsey, introduced as Cecilia, a professor of English Literature, had a lot to say. Too much in Daisy’s opinion. She disliked know-alls. She even tried to debate with her a couple of times but was smartly shot down.
But infinitely more annoying, Lindsey seemed riveted on Cecilia’s every word.
Resentment prickled. Daisy’s attention fully grabbed now, she studied the professor critically. She looked to be around forty, with dark brown hair tied back in a loose ponytail, hazel eyes, and the pallor of someone who spent all their time indoors. Her brown slacks and pale yellow high-collared blouse made her appear colourless. Although she had nice boobs and a slim body, she could do with a makeover. Her hair was the wrong style for the shape of her face and she needed a bit of exercise outdoors to bring some life to her.
Absorbed in her cynical assessment, she lost track of the conversation until she heard Cecilia say, “I always try to be a little early. It’s the height of rudeness to be late.”
When she realized she was gazing directly at her, Daisy swelled with indignation. Was she meaning her? Not that she cared particularly. The woman was so uptight she probably had a clock in every room.
Then when someone mentioned that the new Asian takeaway chain, Jollibee, was opening an outlet in their street, Cecilia announced fastidiously, “I never eat fast food. Too much fat and sugar.”
Kerry leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Just as well she’s not a cop. She’d starve.”
“She needs to lighten up and get rid of the stick up her arse,” Daisy muttered sharply back.
Kerry raised her eyebrows comically and murmured, “Maybe I’ll lend her my handcuffs.”
Daisy hastily stifled a giggle when she caught Lindsey frowning at her. Oops! She smoothed down her hair to compose herself before she turned back to Kerry, who gave her a long glance and asked, “You know Lindsey Jamieson-Ford?”
“I do some part-time programming for her.”
“I read her article. She’s very talented.”
“She’s a whizz at robotics. The smartest woman I’ve ever met,” Daisy said proudly, forgetting for the moment that Lindsey despised her. “And a very nice person with it.”
“Cecilia seems to think so. She’s been flirting with her all night.”
“Really?” said Daisy a little too quickly. As if she hadn’t damn well noticed. She refilled her glass, taking a healthy swig as she tried to ignore how Cecilia was leaning into Lindsey. Shit, the woman was nearly in her lap.
Rachel appeared with more wine and beers. “How are the drinks going?”
“Not for me,” said Cecilia. “I rarely have more than the prescribed two standard drinks, but I’m sure Daisy won’t say no. Her second bottle is nearly empty.”
Daisy glared at her, insulted. Was the damn woman inferring she was drinking too much? If she was going to count, then she should do it properly. Couldn’t she see the woman across the table was sharing the bottle? With a defiant glare, she emptied her glass in one gulp. The drink went down the wrong way. All eleven women turned to stare at her as she spluttered and gasped. To her horror, her eyes wouldn’t stop streaming. Smarting with humiliation, she rummaged in her bag for a tissue.
“Are you okay,” asked Kerry, who slapped her vigorously on the back. “Here…have some water.”
Gratefully, Daisy wiped her eyes and took a sip. “Thanks. I don’t know what I’ve done to upset Professor Uptight.”
“Don’t worry about her. She resents you.”
“Why on earth would she?”
“Because you have far more personality and Lindsey hasn’t stopped looking at you.”
A warm glow shot through Daisy. Perhaps Lindsey wasn’t too annoyed with her after all. She pulled a face as another scenario popped in. Maybe she was going to make a voodoo doll of her and was planning where to stick the pins.
From then on, she made a p
oint of ignoring the prissy professor, though she just drank water for a while. The last thing she wanted to do was get sozzled. Kerry turned out to be good company with a clever sense of humour. They were chuckling at a joke from the solicitor across the table about her stay-at-home ex-girlfriend who only went out when the Wi-Fi died, when Cecilia piped up, “There’s nothing wrong with being a homebody. I prefer a quiet orderly life.”
Daisy was about to say something flippant when the remark sank in.
Oh fuck! No. No. No. This was a bad dream.
She met Lindsey’s eyes in dismay and a silent communication passed between them. Lindsey gave a twitch of her lips, daring her to deny it. She couldn’t. Cecilia fitted all the criteria of Lindsey’s ideal wife, straight from the page of that blasted questionnaire. There was such a woman out there after all. And what crappy luck she’d turned up here.
Defeated, Daisy gave a shrug of surrender and slumped back into the chair. She willed the stone in her stomach to dissolve but not even the fabulous desserts had appeal anymore. She would have burst into hysterical laughter if it wasn’t so utterly devastating. She just wanted to go home and have some comfort ice cream in front of the telly. It took every muscle in her face to fix on a smile as she lifted her head to look at Kerry.
To her surprise, the detective gave her a wink with a wicked let’s-shit-stir expression. “Watch this,” she whispered and called out, “What do you do for kicks, Cecilia, if you stay home all the time.”
Cecilia fixed her hazel eyes on her with distaste. “I’m on the organizing committee of the university press which keeps me busy. I’m also in a book club and play bridge.”
“I actually wasn’t referring to those extra-curricular activities, however exciting they sound. I mean what gets you going. Erotic books…Internet sex?”
The room fell into silence.
Daisy felt a sudden giggle rise inside her. The professor didn’t look amused. “Don’t judge everyone on yourself,” she snapped.
“No need,” replied Kerry, wagging her eyebrows. “Women love a girl with a badge.”
Spots of pink mushroomed into Cecilia’s cheeks. She looked ready to rip off Kerry’s head, but surprisingly it was Lindsey who defused the situation. She hadn’t said a word all night, so when she asked in her best-cultured voice, “Do people actually have Internet sex? How bizarre,” there was a startled silence before laughter rippled around the table.
Her eyes twinkling, Daisy quirked an eyebrow at Lindsey and received an answering gleam. Cecilia deflated like a leaky balloon and began to shuffle her knife and fork around on her plate.
Then suddenly out of the blue, Lindsey called out, “Do you like girls with badges, Daisy?”
Daisy caught her breath, her nerves twitched. Aware that Kerry, as well as everybody else around the table, waited for her answer, she sat paralysed. The room was silent. She was under no illusion what the question meant. Lindsey was giving her a final chance. Well damnit, she wasn’t going to deny her again. Critics would have to wear it. “No. I’m more partial to girls with robots,” she replied shyly.
“Good. That’s all I wanted to hear,” Lindsey said and rose to her feet. “Now if you ladies will excuse us, Daisy and I have unfinished business to discuss.”
Daisy didn’t argue. She patted Kerry’s hand and said, “Thanks for your company. I had fun.” Ignoring the surprised stares, she rose and entwined her hand in Lindsey’s. Mac gave her a tiny way-to-go smile as Rachel accompanied them to the door.
“Well, well. You two are a surprise,” said Rachel. “That darn Mac never said a word. I would have sat you together had I known. Do you want me to order a cab?”
“I’ve texted my driver. He’ll be here shortly,” said Lindsey. “Thank you for the lovely evening. My company is planning a Christmas function and I hope you’ll both come.”
“We’d love to. Take care now.”
When the door closed behind them, they walked down the steps into the front garden. Daisy’s nervousness flooded back. Finally, this was it. Lindsey was officially hers. Her heart began to pound and she felt the blood beating in her ears as they looked at each other in the semi-darkness. She put a hand on Lindsey’s cheek then covered her mouth with hers. Lindsey pulled her against her, the kiss raged to a searing one that made her head buzz. They were still locked together when headlights shone through the shrubbery. After the car pulled into the footpath, they separated reluctantly.
“My place or yours,” Lindsey whispered throatily.
“Yours.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
The security lights winked on as they climbed the steps to the front door. Home had never seemed more welcoming to Lindsey: the slate-clad walls seemed to glow with warmth and the ivy above the door looked like Christmas decoration.
“I’ve missed you, Daisy,” she said, not able to keep the hitch out of her voice. “This place isn’t the same without you. I didn’t really know what a dull world I lived in until you came bouncing in. I can’t go back to that. The house has been like a mausoleum these last weeks.”
“I had the most miserable time too. I didn’t realize what I had until you left. I felt like tipping my drink over Cecilia tonight. You seemed to hang on her every word.”
“You don’t honestly think I was attracted to her?” said Lindsey, amused.
“I was so jealous. She was practically sitting on your lap.”
“You’re exaggerating now. Just let’s say she didn’t impress me much.”
“But she was your ideal wife,” said Daisy, giving her a dig in the ribs.
“Yes, well…I was completely wrong. You were right…are you satisfied?”
A peal of laughter echoed. “That’s why I’m the matchmaker.”
“Huh! You were very friendly with Kerry though,” Lindsey said. Instinctively she reached for Daisy’s hand for reassurance.
“Actually, she was really nice. And fun. I may have been interested at one time but not now. My heart’s taken,” said Daisy with a reassuring squeeze. “I’ll keep her in mind, though, if I get more lesbian clients. She’ll make someone an excellent wife.”
With a smile Lindsey closed her eyes. How she had missed this. Every day was going to be an adventure. And how wonderful to be a part of a solid whole at long last.
When she’d left Daisy’s apartment, she was like a rudderless ship cast into a bleak sea. She would never have believed that love could hurt so much. After stewing all day, she deleted Daisy’s texts and removed her number from the phone. But by the next day, her righteous indignation had dissolved into abject misery. No longer angry with Daisy, her fury turned against herself. There was no one else to blame for her emotional heartburn. She hadn’t even tried to understand Daisy’s point of view, even though it had some logic. As a matchmaker, she genuinely thought she had to do the right thing.
As the days went by, Lindsey wondered where Daisy was, how she was doing, what she was feeling. It was like poking a bruise. When she finally decided to put her pride aside and phone, she found the number she’d deleted had been a private one. Her courage failed her at the thought of contacting the office and having Allison answer. She’d probably give her a tongue lashing for upsetting her friend.
She didn’t have a clue what to do. Bernice had turned cool and though nothing was said, it was obvious she blamed her for Daisy’s absence. Joe was more silent than usual, answering in monosyllables. When Mac emailed the invitation, she’d accepted eagerly. It was a chance to get out of the house and she was sure to have Daisy’s number.
“Do you want a drink?” she asked, suddenly feeling shy.
“Hmmm-mm…” said Daisy nuzzling her face into the curve of her neck. “I don’t think so.”
“Then I’d better get you to bed,” she said with a helpless sigh.
As they swayed toward the stairs, Daisy aroused her unbearably with long sweet kisses. When Lindsey felt the soft body shiver against hers, d
esperate needy sounds squeezed out of her throat. The simple act of climbing the steps became nearly impossible as Daisy’s mouth ran down her neck to her cleavage. When she slid her hand into Lindsey’s bra, she barely made it to the top without slipping.
“The bedroom better be close,” Daisy said, busily unbuttoning Lindsey’s shirt.
“It’s here,” she said in a strained voice.
Daisy gave little murmurs of approval as the king-sized bed came into view. “It’s huge.”
“I like plenty of room.”
Fire flashed in Daisy’s eyes, all lightheartedness gone. She was smouldering with want. “Then we’d better use every bit of it.”
“Lie down,” said Lindsey. She gently pushed her down onto the bedspread.
“I—”
“Shush. Let me,” Lindsey whispered. She pulled off Daisy’s blouse, then moved her hands up and down her sides, her thumbs just brushing the nipples.
“Hmmm, hurry sweetie. I need you.”
“There’s plenty of time, so relax. I intend to enjoy this to the fullest. I want all of you.” She unclipped Daisy’s bra, traced a finger over the swell of her breasts and flicked the nipples. They hardened into little bullets. Desire curled in Lindsey’s stomach. “You’re so beautiful,” she said reverently, then dipped her head to take a nipple into her mouth.
As she sucked and massaged her breasts, Daisy pressed closer. “You’re making me crazy,” she whispered.
“I want to.” She caught her wrists, holding them above her head with her prosthetic hand while she worried the nipples lightly with her teeth. She worked open the jeans and slid them down as far as she could with her other hand. Then she continued a slow tormenting journey over her abdomen with teasing fingers until she slid under the pants into the warm slippery flesh beneath. Pleas tumbled off Daisy’s tongue as she writhed on the bed, “Yes…please…oh…please.”
