42. Daisy

CHAPTER 42

Daisy

D aisy taps the toe of her wedged ankle boot on the sidewalk in front of The Dandelion as she rechecks her watch. Sloan was supposed to be here ten minutes ago. Daisy wants to wait for Sloan to arrive, so she asked if they could hold off starting the meeting for a few minutes. She's about to head back inside when she sees Sloan's car fly into the parking lot across the street. Sloan dashes across the road, barely looking to make sure the way is clear and narrowly avoiding getting hit by not one but two cars. Her hair is tied in a loose bun, with tendrils softly framing her face. She's in work attire, wearing dark slacks and a cream sweater.

Daisy feels her power respond to Sloan's, the call and answer between them electrifying and mesmerizing. How she didn't realize this connection before is beyond her, but she welcomes it now, noticing what has been missing these past few days and, honestly, all of her life. She thought she had felt love before, but she was so wrong. This connective current and comfort is what she's been looking for. The soft place to land, the sense of security, the feeling of home. Of course, now all she has to do is get Sloan to take her back.

"My apologies, I had an important meeting that ran over. Are we good to go?" Sloan asks flatly. She must still be angry, as there is no hint of emotion in her words. Daisy may have her work cut out for her.

Daisy swallows. "Y… Yes. We were waiting for you." She sees Sloan tense before they turn and enter the building.

After sitting down with the venue coordinator, Sloan moves her chair away from Daisy ever so slightly, making Daisy's heart ache. She looks to Sloan, attempting to show her she's here, with her, that they are doing this together, but Sloan refuses to look at her. Daisy notes the tension in the pursing of her lips, the rigidity of her shoulders, and the way she leans away, trying to put as much subtle distance between them as possible.

The coordinator, Willow, clears her throat. "I've reviewed your final plans, and everything looks great. The Dandelion is thrilled to host this event, and we are eager to welcome all your attendees. We've also been working behind the scenes to ensure all the details are finalized with your various community partners."

Daisy's heart fills with pride. This event has been a massive undertaking. But knowing how the community has indeed rallied around it and how excited the various businesses have been to be involved has been both surprising and humbling.

"I must say, we are very pleased at how this has come along and how you two," Willow says, gesturing between her and Sloan, "have managed to pull this all together. The council chose the right witches to guide this event. I can't wait to see how all the magic unfolds and the ripples it sends out into the community."

Daisy smiles brightly, feeling that, perhaps for the first time in her life, she has done something right. Everything may be going wrong with Sloan right now, but she is succeeding at this, at least. The true test will be over the following weekend. However, for now, she will bask in this sense of accomplishment and use it to fuel her next step—talking with Sloan. "Thank you so much for your kind words. We…" Daisy says, looking to Sloan, who remains stone-faced, looking as if she can't wait to get away, "had some growing pains, but we've made it work, and I think it has helped us to have a better understanding of each other and of our goal for Mixing Our Spirits."

"That's such a great way to view it. We won't always like who we work with but can still form great partnerships and work toward a common goal. Now, before we end, do you have any questions?"

Daisy waits, giving Sloan a chance to say something. Anything. Sloan's jaw tenses and she looks down at her hands, but she remains silent. After a lengthy, uncomfortable silence, Daisy opts to end the awkwardness. "To clarify, there'll be a point person available all weekend should we need help or if any issues arise?"

Willow looks between her and Sloan, the slight raising of one eyebrow the only sign that she's picked up on something amiss. "Yes. I'll be here during the day all weekend. Our other coordinator, Penelope, will be available in the evenings and overnight. When you arrive next week, there will be a welcome package with all the pertinent information and contact details."

"Great, thank you." Daisy looks over to Sloan again and swears she feels a chill radiating from her. "We will be sure to reach out if any other questions arise before next weekend."

"Sounds good. And thank you again for choosing The Dandelion," Willow says, smiling pleasantly as Daisy and Sloan stand. Willow extends her hand and shakes both of theirs before they leave.

Out front of the building, Daisy rounds on Sloan. "Not a single word to say in there? Really?" Sloan rolls her eyes and turns away, heading back to her car. "No. No! You don't get to walk away."

Sloan ignores her, but Daisy can see her anger. A halo of silver magic surrounds her, pulsing like a heartbeat, a living entity that is an extension of Sloan. Daisy reaches out, placing a hand on her shoulder, making Sloan turn around to face her.

At that, Sloan bursts. "You. Do. Not. Touch. Me. Ever. Again," she grinds out, anger fueling every word. Her eyes glow with uncontained rage. "You lost that privilege. You pushed me away. You refused to act like a fucking adult, and you expect me to go in there and pretend to be Miss Perky? No. I showed my face. I did what I had to do. This has all been your show anyway, right? I was just a thing you had to deal with."

"What are you talking about? I may have resisted this partnership initially," Daisy says, but seeing Sloan's look of exasperated frustration, she corrects, "Okay, more than resisted. But I thought we worked through that. I've seen how much you've put into this. How much you want to show everyone who you are. Who I know you are."

Sloan laughs in disbelief. "Who I am? Cupcake, you don't know me at all if you thought you could ghost me and I'd be okay with it."

"Sloan, please. I think you misunderstood. Please talk to me," Daisy pleads. Sloan refuses to listen and starts walking away. "I ran over my phone. I didn't ghost you. I didn't know you were sending me messages."

Sloan's steps falter briefly, barely noticeably. But Daisy knows what she saw. "No. I'm done talking. We've talked enough." Sloan steps into the road, calling behind her, "I'll be here next weekend as expected. I don't back out of my responsibilities."

Her words sting, nestling into that hole in her chest that she's spent so hard trying to fill. That hole that Sloan fit into so perfectly. Before Daisy can respond, Sloan is in her car and driving away.

"Well, fuck me."