he was going to be furious if she snuck from his place again — but she didn’t know what else to do. She didn’t think she was prepared for a morning after. That seemed so much more intimate than the act of sex.
She gazed at him for a while before forcing herself to crawl from his arms. She nearly caved and went straight back to him when he frowned and grumbled in his sleep. But she wasn’t going to stay the night.
She quickly gathered what clothes she could find — her panties were nowhere to be found — got dressed, and sadly left his home. She had a lot to think about, but for now she didn’t want to do any thinking at all. She just wanted to relive this night over and over again.
Maybe it would happen again. Maybe it wouldn’t. Either way, she’d have zero regrets. She’d been exactly where she’d wanted to be at the exact time she’d needed to be there. She’d figure out what came next in the full light of day — not in the middle of the night.
She left him in body, but she certainly didn’t in heart or mind.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Hudson leaned against his truck with a smile on his lips. He’d started the day laughing and hadn’t quit whistling all day. Yep, it was a good day. He’d woken up with the sheets cold beside him — and that didn’t worry him one little bit.
Daisy had stayed. She’d had a wonderful time, and she was his. She might be scared, she might’ve run off in the middle of the night again, but unlike the last time, he now knew where she was, and he knew she wanted to be with him. The fight wasn’t with him, it was with herself. This was moving in the right direction.
He watched as a group gathered at the school, volunteers handing out flyers, a band on the lawn playing music, and a booth with drinks and snacks to draw in passersbys. And right in the middle of it all, front and center, was Daisy, encouraging people to go to city hall and speak up for their community. He’d been standing there for a solid ten minutes without her noticing him, just waiting.
Finally his moment came. She looked up, her smile froze, and her eyes locked with his. He winked at her, and that seemed to shake her from her surprise. He pushed off from his truck and moved toward her, determination in his step, fire in his eyes.
She seemed to realize he was going to say whatever he wanted to say, so she excused herself from the people she’d been speaking with and met him in the middle of the street, a flush in her cheeks as she looked first at him and then behind her, as if she was worried about being overheard.
“Good morning, Daisy,” he said as he held out a brand-new Yeti cup filled with coffee.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, eyeing the cup but refusing to take it.
“Since you snuck out again, I brought morning coffee and bagels to you. It’s customary to share a meal after the kind of workout we had together last night,” he told her, not even attempting to quiet his voice.
Her cheeks flushed brighter as she once again looked behind her. There were a few people staring in their direction, but he was sure none of them had heard their exchange.
“Come with me,” she hissed.
“I’m not moving until you accept your coffee,” he told her. She was stubborn — well, he could be too when there was something he truly wanted.
“Fine,” she said, practically wrenching the cup from his hand. “How long have you been here?” She automatically lifted the cup and took a sip.
“About ten minutes,” he answered as he followed her. She skirted around people and moved toward the side of the schoolhouse.
“How is this coffee still hot?” She took another sip, but more carefully this time.
“This is my favorite cup. It will keep things hot or cold for hours,” he told her.
“Wow. I didn’t know this kind of thing existed,” she said, taking another drink. “Thank you for the coffee.” The last part seemed to be added a bit reluctantly.
“I like doing things for you — I like it a lot,” he said, meaning it. Never before had he wanted to buy gifts for a woman or go out of his way just to make sure her day started off right. He could