40. Daisy

CHAPTER 40

Daisy

"T hank you so much," Daisy says, picking up her new phone from the shop counter. "I still can't believe I ran my other one over."

Signing back into her accounts as she walks back to the Acorn, she starts to realize how much she missed having her phone for these past two days. Like everyone else, her phone is usually an extension of her, so being without it feels like she's been missing a piece of herself. But in some ways, it's also been a bit of a relief, silencing some of the noise around her.

However, the timing couldn't have been worse. With the event only a week away, losing a point of contact was less than ideal. A quick text to check in or ask questions is much easier than an email. As alerts start to ping on her phone, she sees the many missed texts from Sloan.

Two days ago:

Sloan

Hey. Sorry for running out again.

I…

I said I liked you, and it felt like you brushed me off.

Goddess, I don't know why I'm saying this in a text.

And you aren't even answering me.

… really?

Yesterday:

Are you really not going to talk to me?

Daisy? Come on.

I know you're scared. But we could work. We do work.

I really should take the silence as an answer.

"Oh, no. No. No. No. No."

This morning:

Look, you've made your point clear.

I'll see you at the meeting this afternoon, but as far as any "US" is concerned, we're done.

I tried to show you that people actually care about you, that I cared about you, but all you did was push me away, brushing me off as nothing more than a good lay.

I can't keep hoping that you'll finally see me.

Daisy paces along the bar, re-reading the series of unanswered messages again, and replays their last conversation in her mind. "No. No. No. No. Fuck. Shit." Sloan said she liked her, and Daisy said she doesn't sleep with people she doesn't like. "Goddess, no." Daisy's hands run through her hair in frustration. "What have I done?" she asks herself.

"I don't know, but by the looks of it, it wasn't something good," Lachlan teases as he enters from the back room.

She turns and glares at him, power surging inside her. She pushes it back down, not needing to set the bar on fire right now. "Not funny. I fucked up. Huge."

He puts the case of beer in his hands on the counter, rests an arm on top, and turns to face her. How can he look so casual and relaxed when her life is about to implode? Again. "What happened?"

"I fucked up."

He rolls his eyes. "Yes, I got that part. What happened to cause the fuckup?"

"Sloan may have told me she liked me. You know, that she liked me, liked me."

"Okay. Doesn't sound so bad so far."

"I said I liked her too because I don't sleep with people I don't like," Daisy says.

His mouth drops open, dumbfounded. He must see the reaction wasn't what she wanted because he closes his mouth almost immediately, doing his best to school his features.

"Okay. Definitely a bit of a fuckup. But you can just tell her you didn't mean it that way," he offers.

"Then I accidentally ran my phone over, and it took a couple of days to get a new one."

"Didn't think to conjure a new one?"

She side-eyes him. "You live with a witch. You know we can't conjure things we don't already have."

"Right."

"Anyway, she sent me a bunch of texts, and I never responded. She thinks I ghosted her and says whatever happened between us is done."

His features tighten, and his brow furrows. It's taking so much effort for him not to react. She appreciates his attempt to be sensitive to her mood, but watching him fight this is torture for her. "Oh, my goddess. Fucking say it already."

"Yeah, you fucked up, Daze," he says with a stupid smirk. He can be such an ass.

Daisy collapses onto a chair, folding her arms on the table, and leans over, tossing her head between them. "Thank you. I wouldn't have known without your confirmation."

The chair beside her moves as Lachlan settles in it. "It's not irreparable, though," he says softly, reassuringly placing a hand on her arm. "Sloan cares about you. I'm sure she'll hear you out."

"Doubtful," Daisy replies. She huffs out a breath, frustrated with herself and how she completely misunderstood what Sloan had been trying to say, when something clicks. Her head shoots up, and she locks eyes with the dirty demon beside her. "Wait. How do you know she cares about me?"

He smiles, leaning back and crossing his arms over his broad and traitorous chest. "She stopped in a couple of days ago, and we chatted. She was struggling because she realized she had feelings for you and wanted to be more than fuck buddies. I told her to tell you. I'm guessing that conversation didn't go to plan, or you wouldn't be here freaking out like a fifteen-year-old whose crush said they liked her back."

"And you didn't think to say anything to me?"

"Why would I? As far as I knew, she was going to tell you."

"You should have warned me," Daisy insists. Internally, logically, she knows none of this is his fault, but she can't stop herself from lashing out. Wanting someone else to be to blame for her fuckup. She's so tired of being the one constantly making mistakes. Being the one everyone looks down on as they step over her on the way to their own achievements. She wanted to be seen as a success for once, and she couldn't even manage that.

"Warned you about what?" he asks, frustration with her evident in his tone. "That someone fucking cared about you? That you had a good thing going and shouldn't be a tool and mess it up? I may control shadows, but I'm not clairvoyant, Daisy." His words cut, poking at her insecurities. Someone other than him and Petra cared for her. Someone wanted to be with her, and she was so obtuse.

He leans in and gazes at her momentarily as if he's considering his next words. Why he feels the need to be careful with them now is beyond her. Gently, he says, "You are worthy, Daisy. You are capable of love and of being loved. I see how you love Petra. I see how you are there for her, rallying her and being her champion. You care so much for those close to you, yet you refuse to accept that same care back. You are stuck in your head, latched on to faults that aren't yours. You've let that control so much of your life, but it's time you realized how wonderful you are. Sloan saw that and only wants the chance to get close to you. Stop pushing her away."

Daisy wipes away the tears that have escaped her. He certainly knows how to cut away her bullshit. "Since when did you get so smart?"

He laughs gently. "You seem to have forgotten who my wife is. I had a brick wall to break to get her to see me."

"True," Daisy sniffles, wiping her nose on her sleeve.

"The real question you need to ask yourself is, do you want her? Do you care enough about her to risk the pain if she says no?"

"I think so?"

"You need to be sure. Because if you aren't one hundred percent certain, it's not fair to either of you," he says assuredly.

Daisy thinks about it. What is it about Sloan that she is drawn to? She's been there in her time of need. She's continually shown up despite Daisy's efforts to keep her away. She's gorgeous, with chocolate eyes she wants to drown in and a smile that lights up Daisy's soul. She's repeatedly proven that she's not the same Sloan she was when they were young. That she wasn't even really that Sloan to begin with.

Goddess, she'd been such a bitch to Sloan. It's remarkable they even got to be friends, let alone lovers.

Daisy's magic hums hungrily under her skin as she thinks about everything she likes about Sloan. No, not like. Love . The things she loves about Sloan. Her power knew all along, pulling her toward Sloan, calming under her touch, and Sloan helping her learn to control it.

She looks at Lachlan, who sits back in his chair, examining his fingernails with a knowing smirk on his disgustingly handsome face. "Shut up," Daisy says sharply before laughing.

"Glad to see you've caught up with the rest of the class," he responds sarcastically. Violent tendrils emerge from the air, playfully pushing him out of his seat. Laughing, he dances away as he glances toward the door of the Acorn. "We should probably open the bar, though, and let that line of people in."

Daisy's eyes widen as she picks up her phone and checks the time. They're half an hour late opening because she was sitting there whining like a child about someone loving her. Or she assumes Sloan loves her. "Fucking Hades, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. Go unlock the door and let them in. I'll give them a free round, and they'll be fine."

Daisy nods and does as instructed, then finds her place behind the bar. While prepping all the free drinks, she devises a plan to get Sloan back.