Complicating (Preston's Mill Book 3) Page 3

  Damn, she was beautiful.

  Knowing what he knew now, he wasn’t as surprised by her appearance as he might have been. At the wedding her hair had been long and flowing, her dress had been dark green and form-fitting, and her heels had been of the fuck-me variety. The woman staring at him right now barely resembled that. At the moment, Daisy’s hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail, her skirt almost reached her ankles, her shoes were sensible, and she had on a sweater set which barely showed more than her damn neck.

  Very librarianish.

  And damn if it didn’t work on him, conjuring up some sexy library-themed fantasies.

  “Hey, angel,” he said softly, a slow smile pulling at his lips.

  But she didn’t return the smile. If anything she looked like she wanted to bolt.

  Again.

  Hell no. Not this time.

  Carter slowly walked down the steps toward her, and she took a cautious step back. He knew she remembered him. That much was obvious. She blushed furiously as he got closer, and she averted her gaze.

  “Daisy?” His voice sounded like gravel, and it was a borderline plea.

  Then she did look at him. “Um… Hi, Carter. It’s nice to see you.”

  So polite, he thought. Not the best greeting but certainly not the worst. Deciding he could pull off the polite thing too, he replied, “It’s nice to see you too. How are you?”

  She let out a small sigh as she shifted the grocery bags in her arms. “Fine. I’m fine. And you?”

  He nodded and said, “Good. I’m good.” It was beyond awkward. What had happened to the girl who had been ballsy and gone around the wedding reception flirting with men on a dare? Where was the woman who had made him laugh and smile while sharing drinks?

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, her brows slightly furrowed.

  “I was visiting Chris. I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop in and see how he and Heather were doing.”

  “Oh… right. I forgot.”

  “Forgot?”

  “That you were friends with them,” she clarified.

  Seriously? They met at Chris and Heather’s wedding. They’d fucked like porn stars at Chris and Heather’s wedding, and she had forgotten that he knew them?

  “Are you free for dinner?” he asked, deciding to take a chance. When she sort of fumbled the bags, he immediately reached out for them and took several from her hands. “Here. Let me help you.” Looking up the stairs he said, “Which apartment is yours? I’ll carry them for you.”

  If anything, she looked like a deer in the headlights at his suggestion and immediately shifted the bags she still had and snatched back the ones in his arms. “I appreciate the offer, but I really need to go. I… I have plans tonight, and I’m running late.” In the blink of an eye, she had not only managed to snag the bags, but she was halfway up the next flight of stairs.

  He called after her. “Daisy! Wait!” Carter took the stairs two at a time until he caught up with her at the next landing. “Hey, what’s going on?”

  That panicked look was back. Was she… Was it possible she was afraid of him? She was eyeing him, and it wasn’t lustfully like she had at the wedding. Then it hit him.

  The leather.

  Shit.

  Between the boots, the jacket, and the fact that he looked a little rough from the ride in general, no doubt he was missing the somewhat put-together look he’d pulled out for the wedding.

  “Look,” he began softly. “Can’t we talk for a while? I feel like we had a great time at the wedding—”

  “Yeah. A great time,” she muttered.

  “I meant before… that,” he explained. “We had some great conversation, and I’d really like a chance to get to know you more. Just dinner. Please.”

  For a minute he thought he had her, that she was going to agree. But he was way off base.

  “It’s not possible. I… I’m sorry, but I have to go.” Daisy walked around him, and he caught a whiff of her perfume, and he wanted to fight for her to stay even if it was just for another few minutes. She walked up the next three steps before she stopped and turned around. For a moment Carter held his breath, feeling hopeful. Then, “Please don’t bother me again,” she said firmly. There was a tremble in her voice, but she got her message across loud and clear.

  Carter stood and watched her walk away. There was no way he was going to chase after her. Not after the look and the tone she’d just given him.

  Feeling more than a little dejected, he made his way down the stairs and walked out of the apartment building.

  “Well that didn’t go quite the way I’d hoped,” he muttered.

  Somewhere in the back of his mind, he really thought that if he ever saw Daisy again it would go much differently. She’d be surprised to see him and slightly embarrassed by what they’d done. He’d ease her conscience, and they’d laugh about it over a quiet dinner together. And if he was being honest, dinner would be followed by rounds two and three of the hottest sex he could imagine.

  “Clearly that’s not going to happen,” he said as he strapped on his helmet.

  And man, did it suck to admit that out loud.

  There were many things Carter had done in his life. Some he was proud of and some not so much. But he never chased a woman who made it clear that she wasn’t interested. There were plenty of other fish in the sea, right? Why waste his time chasing after someone who clearly wasn’t interested? Obviously what had happened at the wedding was a fluke that was simply induced by too much alcohol.

  Not his proudest moment either.

  Usually if alcohol played a role in any of his escapades, it was still based on mutual attraction.

  And dammit, Daisy had been attracted to him.

  It was just that in the light of day—and sober—she wasn’t willing to admit it.

  There had been the whole running out on him before he’d even tucked himself back into his pants, but at the time he’d simply attributed it to her being embarrassed.

  Clearly he was wrong.

  Daisy had some serious remorse, and Carter was done trying to convince himself otherwise.

  Three

  Daisy closed the door to her apartment and breathed deeply, praying she wasn’t going to throw up.

  It was entirely possible that she would.

  She’d thrown up every day this week.

  She was still trying to decide whether her stomach would stay settled when there was a knock on the door.

  “Go away!” she choked, her heart pounding and her belly lurching.

  “Well, that’s not very nice.” The voice coming through the door was female and familiar, and Daisy slumped in both relief and disappointment that the knocker wasn’t Carter, as she’d assumed.

  She opened the door to Chloe, who strolled in—all big smile, big hair, and a lot of long bare legs. She wore a little dress, and Daisy vaguely wondered if she was still dressed from last night.

  With Chloe, it was a definite possibility.

  Soon, however, the scent of cigarette smoke overwhelmed Daisy, and she coughed a little, waving her hand in front of her face. “Have you been smoking?” she asked in a strangled voice.

  “Of course not. I’ve been hanging out in that place on Route 8.”

  “That place is a dive. What were you doing there?”

  “I beat four truckers in pool. Won two hundred and fifty bucks, so don’t lecture me about wasting time.” Chloe pulled a strand of hair in front of her face and smelled it. Her hair was ash blond and wavy. She never blew it out or went to the salon, so it was wild and slightly frizzy. It suited her though. Daisy sometimes wished she could pull off something so messy and undone, but she knew she couldn’t.

  “You were playing pool with truckers at six o’clock on a Satur—” Daisy couldn’t finish the sentence. The emotional turmoil over seeing Carter so unexpectedly, combined with the powerful scent of smoke, were too much. Her stomach heaved for real.

  She ran for the bathroom a
nd barely got there in time.

  Chloe was evidently undisturbed with the puking. She came into the bathroom halfway through and wetted down a washcloth.

  She handed it to Daisy when she’d flushed the toilet and collapsed onto the floor, leaning against the bathroom wall.

  Daisy wiped her face and panted.

  At Chloe’s questioning look, she made an attempt at putting her off. “I must have a stomach bug or something.”

  “Uh-huh.”

  Daisy cleared her throat.

  “Is there something you want to tell me?” Chloe prompted.

  Daisy let out a long sigh. She really wanted to tell someone. She’d known for more than a week now. “It’s morning sickness that lasts all day long.”

  “I was wondering what was up with you this week.” Chloe didn’t look shocked or horrified or concerned or anything. Just matter-of-fact, which was a strange sort of comfort. “I guess you can’t be too far along.”

  “Just a month or so.”

  Chloe nodded. “So do you know what you’re going to do yet?”

  Daisy did know. She’d known from the beginning, and the past week had only confirmed it. “I’m going to keep it.”

  “Are you sure? Because you have choices. I’ll help you find—”

  “No, no. I appreciate it. I really do. But I’m set on this. There’s no question for me.” She put a hand on her belly, which had thankfully stopped churning. “However it happened, this is my baby, and I’m going to keep it.” She actually felt pretty decent now, so she stood up and splashed water on her face.

  Chloe nodded, accepting this decision as easily as she would have accepted any other decision from Daisy. It was one of the best things about her.

  When Daisy limped back into her living area and sat down on the couch, Chloe went to the refrigerator and returned with a can of ginger ale. “It looks like you’ve bought the entire store out of ginger ale.”

  Daisy chuckled a little and took a sip. “I think I have. Also saltines, if you check the pantry.”

  “Okay. I’m going to run back to my place and take a shower so I get the smoke smell off me. Then I’ll come back and we can talk.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “Do you need anything now?”

  “No. I’m good.” Daisy gave her friend a grateful smile. “Thanks, Chloe.”

  “Sure thing. I’ll be right back.”

  When Chloe left, thankfully taking the scent of smoke with her, Daisy stretched out on the couch and closed her eyes.

  She could still see Carter on the stairs just now, looking so rough and sexy and still so appealing. He’d called her angel, as if he really believed she’d come down from heaven. That smile…

  The phone interrupted her thoughts. She knew from the ringtone that it was her mother.

  Her stomach rumbled a little more.

  She didn’t want to talk to her mother, but if she didn’t answer, her mother would call back five minutes later. And then five minutes after that. Then she’d call Estelle Berry downstairs to ask if Daisy was at home.

  After a half hour of not reaching her, her mother would come over to check. She just lived seven minutes away.

  So Daisy exerted enough energy to get up and grab the phone she’d left on the entry table next to her keys.

  “How was work, dear?” her mother asked at her greeting.

  “It was fine.”

  “Your daddy finished fixing the stool for your counter.”

  “Oh good. That was fast. I’ll come over and pick it up sometime.”

  “If you’re going to the church potluck tonight, we can bring it to you then.”

  Daisy blinked. The last thing in the world she wanted to do tonight was go to a big meal at the church. “I wasn’t planning to come.”

  “Now, Daisy…”

  “I don’t have to go to everything, Mom.”

  “Of course you don’t. But it’s good for you to be involved. And who knows? There might be a nice young man there.”

  Daisy gave a little cough. “Uh, yeah. I’m not feeling very good this evening.”

  “I thought you were over that bug.”

  “I am. Mostly. I’m just… tired. Anyway, I’m not going. I’m not.”

  She didn’t want to be rude to her mother. She tried very hard not to be. But sometimes she had to be blunt, or her mother just wouldn’t get the message.

  “Very well,” her mother said with a sigh. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning then.”

  “See you then.”

  She’d barely hung up and returned to the couch when Chloe was coming back into the apartment.

  “That was a quick shower,” Daisy said.

  Chloe’s hair was still wet, and she’d pulled it back in a ponytail. “I can be quick when I need to be.” She sat down next to Daisy. “So tell me all about it.”

  “There’s not much to tell. I’m pregnant.”

  “It was that guy at the wedding, wasn’t it?” Chloe had obviously done some thinking and counting backward in the shower.

  “Yes.”

  “Wow.”

  “We used a condom.” She blushed slightly at the admission. She just wasn’t used to talking about such things.

  Chloe shrugged it off. “But you were also drunk. Things happen. Have you told him yet?”

  “I don’t even know his last name.”

  “You can find out easily enough. He’s a friend of Chris’s, isn’t he? Just ask him.”

  Of course, that was the sensible thing to do. The thing to do if you weren’t scared to death about having the conversation.

  “He’s not the daddy type.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “You saw him. He has… tattoos and everything.”

  “A lot of guys have tattoos. It has nothing to do with his parental abilities. What’s the real reason?”

  Daisy took a few deep breaths before she answered. “I’m just scared. I don’t even know him.”

  “Yeah. I get that. He should be told though.”

  “I know. I’m going to.”

  “You’re just putting it off as long as possible.”

  “Exactly.”

  Chloe squeezed out her wet ponytail. “Okay. The way I see it, you have a couple of choices. One, you can find out his name and where he lives or works and go see him right away. Just tell him you’re pregnant and see what he says. He may not even want to be involved, but you’d have done your duty and gotten it over with.”

  “What’s the other choice?”

  “You could wait. A lot of women wait before they tell anyone since things are so uncertain in the first trimester.”

  “I know.”

  “So wait until you’re in the second trimester. Tell him then. Same thing. See if he wants to be involved or not. If he does, you can probably both be reasonable and work out his involvement.”

  Daisy cleared her throat. “Any other options?”

  “You could be a total coward and selfish ass and not tell him at all. Then later you’d feel guilty about it—you know you would—and you’d have to spring a surprise baby on him, complete with his dark hair and little baby tattoos. Imagine how he’d blow his stack then.”

  Despite her angst, Daisy had to chuckle at that. “I’m not going to do that. I’m going to tell him.”

  “Good. When?”

  Daisy sighed. “Tomorrow. I’ll talk to Chris and Heather to find out who he is. Then I’ll try to find him tomorrow.”

  “Excellent. Proud of you.” Chloe gave her a teasing grin. “Knew you’d do the right thing. You’re not a good girl for nothing.”

  “That’s me. Total good girl. Knocked up by a stranger at a wedding.”

  “Don’t be melodramatic. Have you been to the doctor yet?”

  “No.”

  “Then we’ll get you an appointment for this coming week. I’ll go with you.”

  Despite everything, Daisy was feeling better. Maybe even a little excited. “You don’t have to do t
hat.”

  “I know I don’t. But your other options for doctor visits are your mother or a tattooed bad boy you don’t even know. Who are you going to choose?”

  Daisy couldn’t help but smile. “I definitely choose you.”

  ***

  An hour later, Daisy walked down the hall to Chris and Heather’s apartment. She was about to knock on the door when it swung open unexpectedly.

  She jumped slightly at being confronted with big, handsome Chris, who was carrying a full trash bag and had two pizza boxes tucked under one arm.

  “Hey, Daisy,” he said with a grin. “What’s up?”

  “I was… I was coming to see Heather,” Daisy improvised, suddenly nervous about asking this man about Carter. She liked him perfectly well, but he was a man, and it just felt weird. “Is she around?”

  “She got back about a half hour ago. Go on in. She made cookies, so get them while the getting is good.”

  Chris continued down the hall. He was obviously headed for the dumpster in the back of the building. If she was lucky, Daisy would have five minutes before he came back.

  She would have to move fast.

  “Heather?” she called out, alerting the other woman to her presence before stepping into the apartment.

  “Come on in,” Heather said, grinning from behind the kitchen counter. She was little and pretty and blond, and Daisy liked her a lot. She was a small-town good girl like Daisy.

  A small, ferocious barking erupted as Daisy came in, and she looked down to see a Yorkie running toward her, complete with pink ribbon tied around her neck.

  “Hey, Lucy!” Daisy said with a smile, leaning over to pet the small dog. “Why are you barking at me like that?”

  Lucy’s barking immediately transformed into happy pants and squirms at the attention.

  “She’s full of herself today,” Heather explained, sliding cookies off a tray with expert precision. “I took her with me when I visited my dad, and he always spoils her. Are you feeling better?”

  “Y-yeah. Thanks.”

  Heather must have noticed her hesitation because she gave Daisy a questioning look. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, it is.” Remembering Chris would be back any minute, Daisy rushed on. “I actually just came to ask you about…” She trailed off, suddenly embarrassed.