Twisted Love (Modern Romance #3) - Piper Lawson Page 0,43
a bike?” she teases.
I steer closer to her and swipe at her, but she ducks away, laughing.
We browse stores, and Daisy lingers on a rack of postcards.
“Never pegged you as the postcard type,” I comment.
“Vi sends them to me once in a while.”
Lily’s words come back to me, but I don’t let on. “You never said anything.”
She flips one over, studying the back. “She’s all over the place. I don’t even know what her life is like, but I miss her and envy her all at once.”
“Why do you envy her?”
Daisy sets the card back, sucking in a breath and avoiding my gaze. “Because she does what she wants when she wants. She always has.”
“You think you’d feel better if you did that too?”
Her gaze meets mine. “No, I don’t.”
Once we’re strolling back toward our bikes outside, I ask, “What do you want to do after you have Richard singing your praises?”
“Grow this business. Get Lil through school.”
“Date Wall Street.” My words have an edge that contrasts with the warm sunshine and colorful stores.
She cuts me a look. “He seems smart and reliable. He has sisters. Supports a number of charities.”
“Thank God. The tax deductions will keep you warm at night.”
Her eyes spark as she pulls up next to our bikes, holding down the edge of her sundress as it’s caught by a breeze. “I’m not Lily’s age, or holding out for something wild and reckless. I know that when I walk into a room, I’m clever, articulate, reasonably attractive. Not the most clever, or the most articulate, or the most attractive. That was always Vi, and she was the first to point it out.”
The hairs on my neck lift. “Vi gave you a hard time?”
I’d sensed there was shit between them, but didn’t hear about it outright. Daisy never talked about her sister with me, even after her twin left.
She takes a breath, shielding her eyes from the sun as she squints up at me. “Siblings have their issues. I thought we were exempt from that, because we were so close for so long. Looking back, maybe things weren’t as perfect as they seemed. Even when we were kids, guys would pretend to like me to get an invite to our house to get close to her. She liked the attention, the games. In high school, I figured out it wasn’t worth my time competing with her. Men bend over backward for women like my sister. Not for me.”
The idea that her twin or anyone else—including her—made her feel that way has my hands clenching the handlebars. “That’s first-class bullshit. You are exquisite. Not your sister, not anyone else. If you need someone to prove it to you, I will yell it through the streets of Edgartown.”
She presses her lips together, hiding a smile. “Because that’s what a good boyfriend does?”
“Because it’s true. Get on the handlebars.”
Her eyes widen, but she leaves her bike on the rack as I pull mine out.
I do what I promised, calling into the wind while she laughs from her spot perched up front.
It feels as though we’re kids again, only it’s better. My childhood was split between parties and red carpets and being afraid the other shoe would drop—that my dad would take off, that we’d lose everything.
This is freedom. Knowing I have my own back, that the only person I need is a breath away and she won’t turn her back on me.
I stop outside an ice cream store.
“I can’t believe I didn’t wind up with tire tracks down my back,” she pants as she hops off the bike and trips up to the window.
“I can’t believe you don’t trust me.”
“I trust you with my life.”
What about with your heart?
The question rises up from nowhere.
She studies the menu, and I study her.
“What are you getting?” she asks. “I’m going mint chocolate chip all the way.”
“Chocolate,” I say absently.
There’s something I need to say to her, a declaration burning in my throat that needs to be voiced, because it feels right. They call us up to order before I can.
We head back to the hotel in time to change for the reception.
Daisy showers first, because she says she’ll need to dry her hair and take longer getting ready.
When I get out from the shower, there’s an email from Holt to me and Xavier suggesting a new way of organizing the associates. It’s as if he’s already thinking of being in charge.