by Maggie Brown
For the first time, Ellen looked at Daisy directly. Her lips curled in distaste. “And you are who exactly?”
Daisy smiled at her, not allowing her friendly tone to falter. “I’m Lindsey’s girlfriend.” She glanced around the table. Everyone had stopped chatting and were eyeing them with undisguised interest—the family rift was evidently not a secret. To her surprise, she spied a woman she knew at the end of the table, a mother of a friend from her university days. “Hi, Mrs White,” she called out.
“Hello, Daisy. How have you been?”
“Great, thanks. Lindsey and I had drinks with Clarissa and the girls not long ago.”
“She told me she saw you. I didn’t realize your Lindsey was Ellen’s daughter.”
Daisy brought her gaze back to Ellen. She was studying her like an insect under a dissecting microscope, probably realizing she couldn’t dismiss her quite so readily now they were more on an equal footing.
“Oh, so you do have some sort of formal qualification?” asked Ellen, chuckling lightheartedly as though it was a joke.
“Of course she does,” said Lindsey sharply. “She’s an anthropologist. She worked with me on the robots.”
“Really?” exclaimed her father. His eyes twinkled when he looked at Lindsey. “You certainly got everyone’s attention bringing the robot in like that. Now tell me all about it. I had no idea you’d come so far in your research.”
And from then on, Lindsey became the centre of attention as she good-naturedly answered all the questions fired at her. Daisy sat back and watched with pride as the shackles of her past gradually, and quite simply, fell away. Ellen Jamieson-Ford receded into the background as a new, confident Lindsey emerged like a butterfly from a chrysalis. When at last they rose to go, Ellen looked exactly what she was: a lonely old woman. If Daisy hadn’t been so pissed off with her, she would have felt sorry for her.
“Will you come over to dinner one night,” Ellen asked in a low voice as they said their goodnights.
Lindsey was silent for a moment, then replied with a shake of her head. “Perhaps it would be better if you had a meal with us. I know Dad wants to see my lab.” She turned to Daisy as they walked away. “What about we say goodnight to the folks at our table and sneak out? I’m all talked out.”
“Me too. I just want to cuddle up in bed and tell you how much I adore you and how proud I am of you.”
Lindsey squeezed her hand. “Let’s go then.”
Outside on the footpath as they waited for their taxi, Daisy tilted her head at Lindsey and asked the question that had been plaguing her. “Why haven’t you ever asked your father to your home, babe? You see him at your town lab.”
Lindsey gave a sad smile. “Because my house has been my sanctuary all those lonely years and I wasn’t prepared to share that with him. I love Dad, I really do, but something inside me knows he was part of the problem with my mother. If he had been a real father, he would have stopped her bullying right from the beginning. Parenting isn’t about taking the easy way out, it’s about keeping your children safe.” Lindsey gazed solemnly at her with liquid swimming in her eyes. “My children will be properly looked after.”
Daisy blinked, then broke into a smile.
Chapter Thirty-Five
The morning light through the window caught Lindsey’s leg in a warm glow. Daisy stroked along the length of her outer thigh, not to initiate sex, but to savour the feel of the silky skin. She couldn’t remember when she had been so happy.
“Good morning,” murmured Lindsey sleepily. “I thought you had enough lovin’ last night.”
“Never enough. I don’t know what you’ve done to me but I’m addicted to you,” Daisy said, shifting until she was nestled against Lindsey. She felt warm and soft. “This is so nice. I was so proud of you last night.”
“Really?”
“You were wonderful.”
Lindsey rolled over on top of her and gazed into her eyes. “Just remember, everyone I valued was sitting at our table. You especially. You’re my world now.” She ran her fingers through Daisy’s curls.
Daisy strained forward as her mouth was claimed in a searing kiss and a hand squeezed her breast. She loved Lindsey in this dominant mood. She reclined back on the pillows, prepared to be ravished thoroughly. With an excited moan, she spread her legs apart, knowing she was going to be brought to new heights. And she wasn’t disappointed.
When her orgasm hit, she screamed out her pleasure. But when the last wave had rippled away, she was so overcome that she couldn’t stop tears trickling down her cheeks.
Lindsey tightened her arms around her, concerned. “What’s wrong, luv? Did I hurt you?”
“Of course not,” sniffled Daisy. “It was just what I needed. It’s not that. I want to tell you something.”
“Don’t tell me you have some dark deep secret,” said Lindsey only half-jokingly. “I thought I had enough for the two of us.”
“I love you. I only realized just how much last night when you faced your mother. I swear if she ever hurts you again I’ll make her pay.”
“You love me. You really do?” said Lindsey softly, her eyes filled with hope.
“You bet I do. You set my heart on fire.”
“Then live with me, Daisy. Maybe it’s a bit too soon but I want to wake up with you every morning like this. I hate when you don’t spend the night with me. I want us to be together—a family.”
Daisy shyly took her face in her hands and planted a long kiss on her lips. “I want that too but I can’t give up the agency.”
“We’ll work something out. Could you commute from here?”
“There’s no reason why I couldn’t, though not all the time…it’s too far.” She moved over and propped herself up on an elbow. “Actually, I’ve been thinking seriously of employing someone to help with the social workload for some time. Maybe now I should.”
“Have you the client base to pay the wage?”
“Oh, yes. We can be as busy as we want to be. We’ve had to turn people away. Marigold is doing very well financially.” She ran a finger down Lindsey’s cheek. “I would also like to continue working with you. I’ve enjoyed it tremendously and I get a chance to use my degree in a meaningful way. I could stay in the city Tuesday and Thursday nights and you could spend those nights in town as well. We’ve been virtually during that anyhow.”
Lindsey chuckled. “This is just what you preached to me. Couples work out their lives through compromise.”
“I’ve found those who are fair to each other have the happiest relationships. Now,” said Daisy, sitting up, “let’s have breakfast and afterward, what say we get a Christmas tree. The twenty-fifth is only two days away.”
Lindsey froze, turned abruptly onto her back, opened her mouth, shut it again then stared fixedly at the ceiling. Daisy watched her silently, wondering what had upset her. She stayed quiet, sensing Lindsey would tell her in her own time. When she dropped her eyes to look at her, Daisy could see the moisture glistering on her lashes.
“Tell me,” she murmured.
“We’ve never had a Christmas tree here. Bernie always goes to her sister for the festive season. I know she doesn’t want to leave me but I insist she goes. It’s her family time.”
“Shit, Lindsey,” exclaimed Daisy in astonishment. “You spent Christmas alone every year?”
Lindsey shrugged ruefully. “It wasn’t all that bad. Bernie always made a proper dinner with all the trimmings before she left.”
Daisy fought back a fresh round of tears. Would this woman ever stop pulling at her heartstrings? Swallowing back the lump in her throat, she peppered Lindsey’s face with kisses. “Well, Ms Jamieson-Ford, those days are ended. Now get your butt out of bed. After breakfast, we’re going out to get the biggest tree we can find and as many gaudy decorations as we can find to put on it. Then after we finish admiring the tree, we’re going to ring a gourmet catering firm and order a very expensive Christmas dinner for the two of us.”
&nbs
p; “You’re not going to cook?” asked Lindsey, digging her in the ribs.
“Only if you want a boiled egg on toast. After we’ve stuffed ourselves with this yummy Chrissie dinner, we’re going over to my parents’ place in the evening where there will be games such as charades, with lots of serious family rivalry. Your only task will be to beat Meg who likes to win.”
Lindsey gave a throaty laugh. “Sounds wonderful.”
Daisy smiled at her. “It will be especially so this year with you by my side.” She held out her hand. “Come on, let’s start the rest of our lives.”
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