Daisy
“This is a big thing, isn’t it?”
I looked over at Brooke. I knew exactly what she was talking about, but there was no way I was discussing it.
“I have no idea what you’re speaking of.”
My friend raised a brow at me and shook her head. “Really? That’s what you’re going with.” She smoothed her hands over her hips, both of us taking up space in the mirror to check our dresses.
We were here for a wedding. Odd to think this was my second wedding in so many months, but it was a wedding that I was excited for.
My cousin Sebastian had seen the worst, dealt with the worst. And yet here he was, about to take that next step with one of my best friends.
I still couldn’t believe it had been over five years since he’d lost Marley.
I still remembered Marley’s laugh, the way she would shy away and be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of Sebastian’s family. But she had always been there, quiet, but engaged. Part of us.
And when we lost her, it was like losing a limb. Part of our souls. Sebastian had gone and figured out how strong he was, not for himself, but because of Nora. His little girl needed him, and he stepped up to the plate. Just like our family had done for him. We hadn’t let him do this alone, hadn’t let him grieve or raise Nora by himself. But now he had found his new happy ever after. His Raven. The fact that Raven had also been friends with Sebastian and Marley when they were younger made everything feel full circle. It was a gift, the love between the two of them. It was his second chance, as well as Nora’s. Because she loved Raven with all of her little heart.
Nora was such a wonderful child and made friends wherever she went.
Which was why Brooke was standing there, looking at me and not her own reflection.
Because Nora had brought one of her friends, and that friend happened to have a single father, who was sort of my date.
“Are you lost in thought about the wedding that is about to happen? Or about a certain single dad who I know is going to be out there tonight?”
I narrowed my gaze at Brooke. “Were you always this tenacious or have we rubbed off on you as a family?”
We were here for this wedding for two of my favorite people, and I was standing by another of my favorite people. I was so damn blessed. Brooke had a second chance with my cousin, because sometimes fate was great like that.
Lake and Nick were happy and in love and healed. Soon they would be having a baby, and Noah and his two loves were engaged, and we’d be going through this whole circus again. It was never too much. It never felt as if things were over the top, but people were moving on and starting families, and somehow I was here with a date. With his daughter. It didn’t really make sense how I had gotten here.
Was I dating Hugh? Was he my boyfriend?
“I really want to know what’s going on inside your mind right now because it looks like your brain is spinning a thousand miles an hour.”
I looked over at Brooke, and asked, “Is he my boyfriend?”
Brooke looked at me, blinked, and burst out laughing.
“I don’t know if I appreciate that reaction. I mean, I could use a little support here.”
“Oh, I’ve got your support. Yes, he’s your boyfriend. You guys are what, seeing each other a couple of times a week? Eating together, spending time together. And not just for work things?”
“Maybe.”
“And now he’s here at a wedding with you?”
“Technically Nora invited Lucy because Nora is standing up between Raven and Sebastian for the wedding. Which, can I just say, is the cutest thing ever. I know Nora wanted to be a flower girl, but her standing with them for the wedding? It’s a family.” I wiped tears from the corner of my eyes, annoyed with myself. “If I ruin this makeup already, I’m going to be very upset with myself.”
Brooke smiled. “It is adorable and it’s perfect for them. Because they’re not forgetting where they came from, but they are looking to the future. We didn’t have Luke stand with us like that, but he ended up in Leif’s arms for the end of it.” Brooke wiped away tears as I remembered their wedding. Luke was Brooke’s son from a previous relationship, but called Leif Daddy now, and had been a big part of their wedding. Just like Nora was now. Second chances didn’t come often, but it seemed that my family was finding theirs.
“Okay, Hugh is here as my date. And I sort of invited him, but mostly because Nora had already invited Lucy, so I wanted him to come with his daughter. Things are just so complicated. How did he become my boyfriend? Are we allowed to say boyfriend at our age?”
“I don’t know why you’re acting as if we’re eighty. And by the way, eighty-year-olds have boyfriends. Live in the moment. Claim the title. You are dating. Have you guys introduced yourselves to anyone else?”
I shook my head. “Not really. We sort of just know everybody we hang out with. Hugh’s new to the area. It’s not like he really knows anyone to introduce me to. His friends are my friends. Which is going to get really complicated when this whole thing explodes.”
“If. Not when. Let’s not put that out there into the universe.”
I nodded, wringing my hands in front of me. “I’m really not good at this. I think the most serious relationship I’ve ever had was with Crew, and I don’t know if that counts.”
“Because you guys are still friends who hang out and work out? How is Hugh handling that?”
“Oddly okay. Mostly because they get to gripe about me.” I didn’t bring up the notes, or the fact that over the past weeks we hadn’t learned anything. Maybe it was a person who wanted to scare me, but there hadn’t been anything else. We’d only had issues from that rival security company, but even then, I wasn’t the center of it. Everybody had somewhat stopped growling around me, trying to protect me from an unknown force. We were still working and everything felt normal.
Including the fact that I was seeing Hugh.
“It’s okay, you know. To be happy. I didn’t let myself think that for a long time. But I’m glad you are. At least I hope you are.”
I bit my lip and nodded. “I’m going to try. I’m going to try not to think of the worst as well. Not that that’s easy.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Knock, knock.” I turned to see Kane standing there, a smile on his face, but there was something in his eyes. He had been hiding something. And while I wanted to force him to tell me, I knew he wouldn’t. He was growlier than I was. And that was saying something. If he wanted to have a secret, I would let him. But I hoped when it was time, if he was hurting, he would come to us. I just wanted him to be okay.
“We should be getting out there. You ready?” he asked us both and I nodded, taking Brooke’s hands.
“Let’s go, it’s time for a wedding.”
“I hope I don’t sob the entire time. I don’t know why weddings get to me.”
“I don’t know either. They’re just saying a few words to each other before we get to eat cake. The world already knows they love each other. That they have each other. Why do they need to have a whole party for it?” Kane asked, and I met Brooke’s gaze, wondering where his hostility was coming from, but we didn’t ask, because standing in front of us were two people that took my breath away.
“Babe,” Leif said as he held out his hand, and Brooke hugged her husband before they headed into the ceremony, taking their seats. Kane mumbled something at my side, but I didn’t hear it. I just saw him walking away, and then I was alone with Hugh.
Again.
“You look astonishing,” he whispered.
There was something about that accent that sent shivers down my spine.
I wore a champagne-colored dress, something that complemented the colors of the wedding, but as I wasn’t an attendant, I didn’t have to match exactly. Only Greer and Noah were standing up for them. We outnumbered Raven’s family by a lot, so we didn’t bother with bride or groom’s side seating. Plus, Raven was one of ours anyway.
Hugh stood there in his gray suit that hugged his body and made me want to rip it off him. I loved a man in a good suit. And I had seen Hugh in them before, since we did some bodyguard services where we needed to be dressed up, but I had never seen him like this.
I loved the way he looked in jeans, in gray sweats, in anything, in nothing. But the suit?
“We should go sit down before I press you up against the wall and do something I shouldn’t,” he grumbled.
“Honestly, I was thinking the same thing.”
He reached out and trailed his finger along my jawline, and I shivered at his touch.
There was just something about him. Just something. And I knew I needed to rein it in if I wanted to stay in control.
“We should go sit down.”
“We should.” I cleared my throat. “Where’s Lucy?”
Hugh grinned, his smile so bright at the mention of his daughter, that the ice around my heart began to crack, just a little.
Damn it. I couldn’t fall for him. I couldn’t love him. Not when I didn’t know what was coming. But it was just so hard not to.
But that was a problem for future Daisy.
“She is sitting with Nora’s grandparents, even though she was supposed to be my date for the wedding. However, she wanted to support them since Nora wouldn’t be sitting with them.” He rolled his eyes. “As if they don’t have other grandchildren.”
“That is seriously the sweetest thing ever.”
“True, but now I don’t have a date.”
I raised a brow. “I’m pretty sure I can fill in. If Lucy’s okay with that.”
“Oh, she’s okay with it. In fact, I’m pretty sure she demanded it.”
He smiled and took my hand, and we made our way inside.
We sat by Kane and Kingston.
“Are you really trolling for women at a wedding?”
Kingston scoffed. “It’s a little difficult when most of the attendees are family members or already taken. But don’t worry, I see a couple of Raven’s friends from school. This could be interesting.” He looked at Kane. “What do you say?”
Kane shook his head. “All yours. I’m just here for the cake.”
I frowned, wondering what was going on with him, but I ignored it for now, paying attention to Hugh. He slid his hand over my knee and tension slid through me before I turned my attention back on the ceremony.
When the music began, I swallowed back tears. I needed to be strong, even though from the way people were sniffling around us, I wasn’t the only one having a hard time.
Because everyone in this room knew the enormity of what was happening, and when Hugh handed me a linen cloth to wipe my tears, I leaned on him and watched two people that I adored profess their love and promises to each other, with little Nora bouncing between them, agreeing to watch over them no matter what.
They loved each other, the two of them, and I was forever grateful that I was part of this.
That I could watch this.
And I could feel Hugh’s heat against me.
And I let myself fall just that much more. Even if I knew I shouldn’t.
* * *
As the bride and groom danced across the dance floor, I smiled into my champagne and looked up at Hugh.
“What?” I asked, knowing that people’s attention was on the couple in front of us. I’d never brought a date to a wedding before, so I hadn’t known what to expect. But so far everybody had been giving him space and hadn’t made things too complicated. However, I knew that could change at any minute. My dad was giving me a side eye every once in a while, checking out Hugh, and while they had met, they hadn’t spent much time together.
“I was thinking about the fact that I met you at a wedding. It seems like we’ve come full circle.” He had his arm around my waist and I leaned into him.
“Pretty much. And that wedding ended pretty nicely.” I saw his gaze go dark. A good kind of dark. I pressed my thighs together and swallowed.
“Okay, I should stop talking or this is going to get very uncomfortable soon,” Hugh mumbled as he squeezed my hip. I sipped my champagne, the cold bubbles soothing as they went down my throat.
The music changed and people went out to the dance floor, but we didn’t move. We stood near the back wall.
“You know, there’s a large closet on the other side of the hall. Just down that hallway.”
He looked down at me and I drained the rest of my drink. He did the same, then took both glasses and set them down on a nearby table. I shivered.
Hand in hand, we tried to look casual walking through the crowd, and thankfully were ignored. Lucy was hanging out with Nora, being watched by the grandparents, and that meant we had a few moments. This was so wrong, and I didn’t care.
We made it to the hallway without being stopped, and then we took off running. We were laughing like teenagers, but my heart raced and I wanted more. And then I found myself in the closet, door closed behind me, being lifted onto a shelf.
“If this buckles, we’re going to have to pay for it,” I said with a laugh.
Hugh grinned, and then his mouth was on mine. He slid his hands up my skirt, gripping my hips, and I spread my legs for him, letting him settle between them. He kissed me harder and harder, tongues meshing, before he was nibbling on my throat and shoulder. He pulled down the bodice of my dress, my breasts pooling into his hands. I wanted more, needed more. I gripped him over his pants and squeezed.
“Dear God,” he mumbled. “If we aren’t careful, I’m going to come in my pants instead of fucking you in this closet.”
“At least it’s a nice closet.”
I slid my hand over him again, as he squeezed my thighs, kissing me gently, and then harder.
I moaned, needing more, knowing this might be all we could get. But I wanted everything.
Everything? Did I mean in this moment, or beyond?
I didn’t want to think about that, and yet I couldn’t help but remember how we had met.
He caught the garter. I caught the bouquet.
But it was just a superstition, it was fake. It led to this though, and I’d be damn happy if I could keep it.
But I wasn’t going to say that out loud.
But then he was kissing me harder and I forgot everything else.
Until the door opened.
“Are you kidding me right now?”
We froze, and I was grateful that Hugh’s back was to the door. I knew that voice, as well as the growl beside it.
“Daisy Montgomery-Knight.”
“Dad?” I squeaked, and Hugh cursed.
Hugh was completely dressed, and I quickly adjusted my dress so I was decent. But he was standing between my thighs, and this couldn’t get more awkward.
“I am going to go dance with your mother and we are never going to talk about this.” I heard my dad walk away, as Kane cleared his throat.
“Well, I would let you two continue, but they wanted us for some more candid photos. I guess you should probably get ready. But congratulations, you’re the first Montgomery at this wedding to get caught in a closet. Remember what happened at Leif’s?” he asked, but before I could answer he closed the door behind him, though I could still hear his laughter.
“Oh my God. That was my dad. And my cousin. I’m going to go die now.”
Hugh pressed his forehead to mine, his breaths coming in pants.
“Do you think your dad is going to kill me now? Or wait until I’m not expecting it?”
“He would never do that to Lucy,” I said honestly, and Hugh looked at me before he burst out laughing. “Not the impression I wanted to have with him.”
“Well, it’s fine. I am steeped in mortification. I’m going to need so much therapy.”
Hugh pulled me off the shelf, and then we were laughing while fixing each other’s clothes.
“I’m going to need a minute,” Hugh said, and I looked down at his crotch and the very hard erection pressing through his pants.
“Oh my.”
“Pretty much. You do this to me. And I cannot believe I just left my kid out there dancing with her best friend while I’m making out with you in a closet.”
I saw the annoyance in his gaze. Was it at me? Or the situation?
“I’m sorry. We just lost our minds for a bit.”
“Yeah. Seems like we did.”
He didn’t say anything else. He just let out a deep breath, and then we left the closet, thankfully to an empty hallway.
He didn’t hold my hand, just walked by my side as we went back to the reception, and for some reason fear settled into my belly.
I had done the unthinkable. I had fallen for Hugh.