Falling for Fitz (7 page)

“
Feeling like total crap,
brother of mine?” asked Stratton with a grin.

A mug was plunked down on the coffee
table before him, and he stared at it for a second before bringing
it to his mouth, the bitter goodness clearing out the cotton balls
and soothing his aching throat.

“
I’ve felt better.” Fitz
scratched his stubbly jaw, looking around for his phone.

“
I took it away. You said
you were going to call every Daisy Edwards in the greater
Philadelphia area.”

“
She’s probably not even
listed yet.”

Stratton rolled his eyes. “The sort of
logic that didn’t work on you last night.”

“
Sorry, Strat,” said Fitz
sheepishly.

His younger brother straightened his
glasses and reached into his sweatshirt pocket for a little
container of Advil. He shook it lightly before opening it. “I
recommend four.”

Fitz nodded weakly, taking the tablets
gratefully and washing them down with more hot coffee.

“
Alex should be here
in”—Stratton looked at his watch—“about twenty minutes.”

“
Oh, yeah? He doesn’t have
some brunette to take to brunch?”

“
My guess is that the
brunette
and
the
redhead he entertained last night are taking each other out to
brunch… since you insisted that he get his ass over here by ten
a.m. or you wouldn’t be brothers anymore.”

Fitz winced. “Was that right around
the time you took my phone away?”

Stratton pursed his lips and nodded.
“Seemed like the right move.”

“
Did I happen to mention to
Alex why I required his presence in my life at ten o’clock on a
Sunday morning?”

“
You did, in fact. Alex is
supposed to run some quick numbers and approve a loan. I am
supposed to find a building suitable for use as a café in
Haverford. And you are supposed to finalize the
contracts.”

“
What
contracts?”

“
Real estate, small
business, and articles of incorporation. For
Daisy’s Delights
.”

“
Ohhhhhh,
Jesus.”

It was happening again. That reckless
thing that happened when he found himself anywhere in the vicinity
of Daisy Edwards. Hitting people. Getting drunk. Wild schemes to
start businesses without the permission of the
proprietor.

“
Yeah. And I’d tell you it
was all just the harmless ramblings of a drunkard, but while I was
taking the pizza box and the first of your six empties to the
incinerator, you somehow managed to write a coherent twelve-line
press release which you sent to the Philadelphia Sun, informing
them that
Daisy’s
Delights
, the premiere bakery of Portland,
Oregon was opening a branch in Haverford, Pennsylvania in six
weeks.”

“
Six weeks?”

“
Yeah. You’re aiming for
December and the Christmas traffic, apparently. Thank God you
didn’t say six days.”

Fitz took a deep breath,
feeling sick. Although he remembered Daisy mentioning a sort of
vague plan to one day open a bakery, he’d had absolutely no right
to take matters into his own hands.
What
had he been thinking?
Short answer: He
hadn’t. He was blinded to logic because he wasn’t lying last night
when he said he’d do anything for her. But this was ridiculous and
would just have to be undone.

“
I’ll cancel it. The press
release. You can call Alex and tell him to go another round with
the brunette and the redhead. I’m sure he’ll be
grateful.”

Stratton reached beside his chair and
picked up the newspaper. “Too late, I’m afraid. You gave them the
number of your Platinum Amex and told them not to worry about the
cost, but to give you prime placement in the Sunday edition.”
Stratton held up the first page of the Lifestyles section where a
full-column article, including Daisy’s picture, indicated in bold
letters, Daisy’s Delights: Coming Soon To Soothe Your Sweet
Tooth!

“
Oh, my God. You
have
got
to be
kidding me.” Fitz grabbed for the paper, staring at the article in
disbelief. His name… his family’s company… Daisy’s name… bakery,
great coffee, Haverford. It was all there. Her picture. The logo
from her website. “Jesus, Strat. Where the hell’s your
incinerator?! Were you gone for four hours?”

“
I got to talking to the
girl down the hall. Her ex-boyfriend plays games with her head. She
needed to vent.”

“
Friend-zoned by the girl
down the hall,” snorted Fitz.

“
Friends is
comfortable.”

“
Try the flip side. It’s
delicious.”

“
This from you? You’re in
the middle of the biggest debacle of your life because of your
schlong. You know it and I know it. You’ve got it bad for this
girl, and it’s ruining your judgment.”

Stratton was right. He was one-hundred
percent right.

“
This is a disaster. This
is a goddamned disaster,” Fitz moaned, shaking his head back and
forth disbelievingly at the newspaper, the growing lump in his
throat compounded by the swirling in his stomach.

Just go the hell back to
London! Can’t you see you’ve ruined my life? Leave me alone. Don’t
ever, ever bother me again.

The words came rushing back as though
she’d said them yesterday, and he winced, closing his eyes as a
bead of sweat worked its way down his face. Yet again he tried to
fix things for the woman he loved. Yet again she was going to hate
him for it.

“
What am I going to do?”
groaned Fitz, holding his head in his hands.

“
You’re going to call
Barrett, explain fast and tell him to take Daisy and her fiancé out
for a nice long breakfast so she doesn’t see the morning paper. I
already found two suitable places for commercial rent in Haverford
village. I also spent a few hours this morning researching what it
costs to start a café, so I’ve got some ballpark numbers for Alex.
When he gets here, we’re going to draw up the loan for Daisy.
You’ll take a shower while I find a real estate agent willing to
show us the two spaces, and then we’ll drive out to Haverford.
Mom’ll be delighted to see us for Sunday supper, you
know.”

This was textbook Stratton. Fixing
everything for someone he loved. It’s what he did. And Fitz had
never felt more grateful for him.

“
But Fitz. What are you
going to do about Daisy? I’m going to make sure I’m not in throwing
range when you tell her what you’ve been up to. Just in case she’s
wearing a ring. Maybe we should stop and get you a helmet too,” he
added as he sauntered to his bedroom to take a shower.

Then again,
grateful
may be too
strong a word.

***

“Well, Dr. M.,” said Emily, “we’re
sorry to hear you’re headed back to Portland tonight. We were
hoping to have a chance to get to know you a little
better.”

Daisy had asked Josh just to be
himself for the remainder of the trip, and breakfast with Barrett
and Emily had gone pretty smoothly, except for the nervous way
Barrett kept looking over at her. Did he hold her responsible for
Fitz’s outrageous behavior last night? Or—oh God, her heart
sank—did he know about what had happened between her and Fitz years
ago? Maybe he was judging her? She’d always just assumed Fitz would
have protected her by keeping their sordid history to himself, but
what if Barrett knew?

“
To be honest, Emily, I’ll
be glad to get home. Not sure if Philly’s for me.”

Daisy whipped her eyes to Josh— they’d
agreed that he’d still play her fiancé for the remainder of the
day. She shot him a frantic, beseeching look.

“
B-but, I’ll try to love
it… for Daisy.”

Daisy’s shoulders relaxed and she gave
Josh a weak smile.

“
You said one of your
patients’ needs an emergency surgery tomorrow?” asked
Barrett.

“
I’m afraid so,” answered
Josh. “Abscess. From the pictures, it looks like a mess. I’ll take
the redeye and operate first thing in the morning.”

“
Without a good night’s
sleep?” asked Emily.

“
Oh, J—Mel can sleep on the
plane, right, honey?”

“
I’ll sure try.”

Emily raised an eyebrow, then turned
her no-nonsense glare to Daisy. “Can I speak to you for a moment?
Outside?”

Daisy gave Josh and Barrett a tight
smile before following Emily out of the café onto the
sidewalk.

“
What the heck is going
on?”

Daisy shrugged. “What do you
mean?”

“
Your fiancé is suddenly
returning to Portland. He clearly doesn’t like Philly, and there’s
no way he can operate on someone after a redeye, so that’s got to
be a lie. Is he—are you two breaking up, Daisy? Be honest. I can
tell something’s not right.”

She didn’t have much of a choice, but
at least she could swear Emily to secrecy. Not only that, but it
would be a relief not to have to pretend around someone.

“
It’s not going to work
out,” said Daisy, shrugging. “Mel’s heading back to Portland for
good, and I’m staying here.”

Emily’s face contorted in sympathy and
she opened her arms to Daisy, making Daisy’s guilt quadruple. “Oh,
Daze. I’m so sorry!”

She patted Emily’s back awkwardly as
Emily held her close.

“
It’s, um, it’s okay, Em.
We’ve been, um, growing apart for a—a while now? Yeah. And so… you
know, I’m okay. He’ll be happy there, and I’ll just, you know, make
a fresh start here.”

Emily leaned back, putting her hands
on Daisy’s shoulders. “You’re so strong. I’d be a mess if I lost
Barrett.”

Daisy almost laughed. Comparing her
sham engagement to the genuine, once-in-a-lifetime passion shared
between her cousin and Barrett English was outlandish. She might
have laughed too, if her jealousy hadn’t kicked in.

“
Then you should probably
snap him up.”

Emily grimaced. “Fitz sort of wrecked
that for me last night.”

Daisy’s eyes widened and her mouth
dropped. “You were going to—”

Emily nodded. “Last night. I was going
to put the ring on as we danced after dinner. But, then Fitz hit
Mel, and we had to help you two, and by the time we returned to the
ball they’d cleared dinner, and I was starving so we ended up
sneaking out to McDonald’s and I couldn’t bear to put on my
engagement ring over a Big Mac.”

“
Oh, Em. I’m so
sorry.”

“
I’ll find an even better
moment. Maybe even tonight. You’re coming to Sunday supper, aren’t
you? After you drop off Dr. M. at the airport?

“
Sunday supper?” Daisy
asked weakly.

“
At Haverford Park. Ever
since Barrett and I started dating, we’ve all gotten together every
Sunday evening at five o’clock. Eleanora always had a Sunday supper
and so did my Mom. It seemed silly to me and Barrett for us to have
separate dinners a five minute walk away, so we convinced the moms
to combine efforts in exchange for attending every week. So far, so
good.”

“
It’s not…
awkward?”

Emily shrugged, a smile creeping up
the corners of her mouth. “You know Eleanora. She somehow makes
things happen.”

“
Anyway,” continued Emily,
“as long as you’re staying at the gatehouse with Mom and Dad until
you find your own place, it would only be awkward if you
didn’t
come.”

“
Does my Dad
go?”

“
Of course!” said Emily.
“It’s been nice to have him around more. I know it means a lot to
my Dad to have his brother a little closer.”

“
Then I guess I’ll be
there.”

And Daisy’s stupid heart
leapt because maybe Fitz would be there too.
Oh, God, please let him—don’t let him—let him—don’t let him
be there.

Emily noticed the conflict on her
cousin’s face and pulled her into another embrace. “Oh, Daze, here
I am going on about Barrett and engagements and family dinners
while your heart is probably in shambles. I’m so sorry.”

“
Really, Em. It’s fine.
Like I said, Mel and I have been more and more distant lately. He
never even got me a ring. It’s probably for the best.” She leaned
back and looked into her cousin’s eyes, so much like her own. “But,
do me a favor? Don’t tell anyone. Not yet. Not your folks. Not my
Dad. Not even Barrett. It’s, um, it’s so embarrassing. Let me tell
everyone in my own time, okay?”

“
I understand,” said Emily,
pretending to lock her lips and throw away the key. “Mums the word.
You’re very strong.”

I hope
so
, thought Daisy, following Emily back
into the café to finish brunch before packing up and driving Josh
to the airport for his late afternoon check-in.
Because it’s going to take all the strength I have to push
gorgeous, complicated Fitz English out of my heart.

As Fitz drove himself and Stratton
through the gates of Haverford Park that evening, he was finally
starting to feel better about everything.