Sweet Heart (The Hearts of Sawyers Bend #2) - Ivy Layne Page 0,53
sore spot and something's up right now—I don't know what because she won't talk to me—so I'm asking you to look out for her.”
I nodded. “I already am.”
“I can see that. Daisy is the best, you know. And she deserves the best.” J.T. tilted his head to the side and scanned me from the top of my head to the tips of my shoes. A smile curved his full lips and he winked. “I think you'll do.”
I couldn't help but grin at him. “As long as Daisy thinks so, that's all that matters.”
J.T. straightened and raised his chin at the door. “Yeah, I think you'll do. Let's go down before she comes storming up to rescue you. I need to scavenge dinner out of the kitchen anyway.”
“Not eating over at Grams'?” I asked. I was curious how J.T. fit in with the rest of Daisy's family.
J.T. rolled his eyes and followed me out of the apartment, closing the door behind us. “If it was just Grams? Definitely. That woman can cook. But I'm gonna take a pass until Daisy's parents skip town again.”
“Not their biggest fan?”
J.T.'s eyes went dark and he shook his head as he went through the back door and into the kitchen. In a low voice Daisy wouldn't hear, he said, “It's mutual, but you'll figure them out soon enough if you stick around.”
“Gotcha.” I dropped the subject as we came into the kitchen. Daisy stood there with an oversized Sweetheart Bakery cake box in her hands. “Wow again,” I said. “What's in there?”
“Chocolate cake with a raspberry cream filling. I hope I made enough for everyone.”
J.T. grinned. “Daze, that cake is enough for half the town. Now, you two hit the road. I'll lock up here. And Royal?”
I raised an eyebrow and waited.
“I'll be waiting up, so bring her home before she turns into a pumpkin.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Daisy
What did J.T. say?” I had to ask even though I doubted Royal would tell me.
Men.
J.T. had been insistent that I give him a few minutes with Royal. I hadn't wanted to, obviously, but J.T. had been oddly stubborn and I hadn't had the heart to shut him down. He was the one person who was always, always in my corner. Just like I was always in his. If he wanted a minute with Royal I had to trust him not to do anything that would embarrass me or screw things up.
Royal shot me an amused grin. “Wouldn't you like to know?” At my glare, he laughed. “Just the normal best-friend-slash-big-brother type stuff. I better watch my step and treat you right, etc. Since I was going to do that anyway, no big deal. I like him.”
“Me too,” I agreed. “Most of the time.”
“He's just looking out for you. I like that you have that. Tenn would probably be grilling you on my behalf by now if he wasn't enslaved to your brownies.”
“Just wait till he tries this cake,” I said, my nerves easing a little.
“You didn't have to bake a cake, Daisy. Not that I'm complaining. But that's a huge box. It looks like it was a lot of work.”
I looked down at the box in my lap. It was a huge box and it had been a lot of work. Not on the level of a custom cake for two hundred, but still, it had been extra time on what was supposed to be my afternoon off. I didn't mind.
I wasn't always confident in myself, but I was definitely confident in my baking, and I wasn't showing up to dinner at Heartstone Manor empty-handed. I didn't trust myself to pick out wine and I doubted they needed more flowers, but I was sure I could make a good impression with a chocolate cake.
I wasn't just depending on the cake. For the first time in what felt like forever, I'd put serious time into the way I looked. I'd bought the dress a year before after I fell in love with it in a boutique in Asheville. I didn't have anywhere to wear a fancy cocktail dress or the shoes that went with it. J.T. had talked me into getting it anyway. For the first time, I was relieved I'd spent the money.
Tonight, instead of dragging my hair back into a poof or bun like I usually did, I'd loaded it down with product after my shower, carefully separating each curl, and going to work with my diffuser, J.T. helping on the back because—let's face it—I am not