3. Daisy

3

DAISY

I fall back and sit on the bed. Did that really just happen? Did Cash Wyatt really just apologize to me and tell me he wants me to stay?

I’m barely able to form a coherent thought when there’s a knock at the bedroom door. I jump off the bed and practically trip getting to it, thinking that Cash is back. When I open the door and find Lucy on the other side, I can’t hide my disappointment. “Oh, it’s you.”

She laughs. “Yep, it’s me. Were you expecting someone else?”

She skips past me into the room, and I close the door before turning on her and crossing my arms over my chest. “So are we going to talk about you lying to me? ”

She looks apologetic and remorseful for all of five seconds and then is giggling again. “It was a small white lie, and I thought it was the best thing for you.”

My forehead creases. “You lying to me was the best thing for me?”

She shrugs and spots the box. “Oh, it’s here. Did you open it? Open it.”

She’s jumping up and down, clapping her hands together next to the bagged dress and box.

I should be mad at her, but I can never stay mad long. I unzip the bag and gasp when I see the red party dress. “Oh my goodness, Lucy! It’s beautiful.”

She’s nodding her head as I take the dress out. It’s a sweetheart neckline, and it’s shorter in the front with a longer train in the back. The dark shade of red is perfect for a Christmas party. It has to be the fanciest thing I’ve ever worn in my life.

“Open the rest,” she says, pointing at the box.

I pull the big bow off the box and jerk the lid off. Inside is a pair of dress shoes. Next to it is a matching bra and panties. I hold up the almost see-through material, and Lucy whistles. “Oooh, my brother’s a freak.”

I look from the matching bra and panty set back to my best friend. “Your brother? ”

When I see that smile on her face, it all starts to make sense. “Wait—what? Are you telling me that Cash bought this for me?”

She nods excitedly. “I told him I’d take care of it, but he wanted to. Look at the rest of it.”

I see the smaller boxes inside, and my hand shakes as I pick one up. Holding my breath, I open it, and my eyes about pop out of my head. Lucy pushes closer to me so she can see it. “Oh my God.”

“It’s beautiful, right?”

She nods with her hand to her mouth. “It was my mom’s.”

I almost drop the box before catching it. “It was your mom’s?” Before she can answer me, I’m shoving it in her hands. “It’s yours, Lucy. You should have it. I can’t accept that.”

She pushes it toward me. “No, that was Cash’s. Trust me, I have all kinds of jewelry of Mom’s. That was left to him.”

“Take it, Lucy.” I almost panic. “I shouldn’t have it. I’m sure he didn’t mean to give it to me.”

She waves her hand in front of my face. “You know Cash, Daisy. He never does anything accidentally. He wanted you to have it.”

“But why?”

She shakes her head before dancing away from me and holding her hands up in front of herself. “That’s between you and him. I did my part and had to lie to my best friend to do it. The rest is up to him.”

“But…” I start and don’t even get the words out when someone is knocking on the door. I point at Lucy. “I'm not done with you.”

When I open the door, Olivia is standing on the other side. “Olivia!” I scream and hug her. She has bags in both hands, but that doesn’t stop me from holding her tightly and bringing her into the room. As soon as I release her, Lucy is hugging her next. “What are you doing here?” I ask her.

She looks at Lucy. “You want to tell her?”

Lucy shrugs her shoulders. “This is my gift to us. I asked Olivia to come and help us get ready for the party.”

I laugh, and a snort comes out. “You will have your work cut out with this hot mess,” I say, pointing at myself.

Lucy rolls her eyes, and Olivia drops the bags from her hands and then puts them on my shoulders. She turns me around and walks me over to the full-length mirror. “Look,” she demands.

I don’t want to. I know if I do, I’m going to see the same mousy brown hair, the dull brown eyes, and the ten pounds I gained my freshmen year of college and haven’t been able to lose since. I’m plain, and I’ve come to terms with that.

“Look in the mirror, Daisy. What do you see?”

I look at my friend first. She’s always been no-nonsense. I met her for the first time years ago when I came home with Lucy from a school break. Lucy had an appointment to get her hair done, and Olivia and I hit it off from the very start. “I see a beautiful woman that is confident and sexy. She has a lot of love to give and hides that behind her rough, fuck the world motto for life. She’s probably one of the sweetest women I’ve ever met.”

Olivia is watching me closely, and she knows I’m talking about her. “I see what you’re doing there, Daisy. Now do you. Look at yourself in the mirror and tell me what you see.”

My eyes drift over to my reflection. “I see a woman…” I let my voice drift off and shake my head. “I can’t do this. Do Lucy.”

I try to pry my shoulders from Olivia’s grip, but she’s not having it. She holds me where I am. “All right, Lucy, I guess we’ll go. When I look at Daisy, I see a woman that is beautiful and doesn’t even know how beautiful she is. She has the biggest heart of anyone I know…”

When Olivia stops, Lucy comes to stand next to me and says, “She looks at the world and wonders how she can make it better. But she doesn’t realize that her just being in your life makes it better. She has so much love to give, but she lets fear and unworthiness hold her back. Tonight, that all changes. She’s going to see her worth and see the possibilities. And she’s going to go after what she wants.”

My eyes are round in my face. I would give anything to see myself the way Lucy and Olivia see me. Maybe it’s about time I start.

I give them both a nod of my head. They know how much their words mean to me. “Okay, okay. I get it. I’m beautiful, and any man would be lucky to have me. I got it.”

“Damn straight,” Olivia says.

Lucy is laughing and shaking her head and points at me. “With that body, that dress, and that attitude, my brother is not going to know what hit him.”

Olivia makes a big production of clearing her throat. “Excuse me, and my awesome hair and makeup skills. Don’t forget about that. ”

We all laugh, and I can feel the hope building inside me. Can there really be something between Cash and me?