Willow Smoke (56 page)

“Maybe
I
like
savoring
things
more
than
you
do,”
she
said,
exaggerating
her
pout.
“Besides,
I’d
think
you’d
appreciate
that
I’m
using this
opportunity to practice.”

She
lopped
off
the
top
of
the
cone
and
gulped
it
down
while
Nick’s
eyes
darkened
with
banked
passion.
She
loved
rattling
him.
How
had
her
mantra
so
quickly
vanished?
Oh
well,
she
couldn’t
recite
a
mantra
with
her
mouth
full
anyway.

Nick
pulled
his
eyes
away
from
her
and
looked
toward
the
lake.
He
turned
back
to
her.
“I
didn’t
realize
eating
an
ice
cream cone
could
be
so
erotic.”
His
voice
was
strained. “If you could hurry a little, it
might help. Or do you enjoy torturing me?”

“A little,” she
admitted, “but torture is not my thing.”

“Good.
Although
at
the
moment,
taking
you
over
my
knee
seems
like
an
appropriate
option.”

Daisy
popped
the
last
bit
of
cone
into
her
mouth
and
munched
as
slowly
as
she
could
before
saying,
“We’ve
got
a
lot
of
work
to
do
to
prepare
for
Keeneland.
I
know
Clint
will
be
well
prepared,
but we
need
to
do
our
own
homework.”

“You
have
the
catalog
at
your
place?”

“Sure.”

“Maybe
we
can
begin
this
afternoon.”

“Why not?”

“Oops,
I
almost
forgot
Angie
is
coming
into
town. Told her I’d meet her at the
airport.
You
want
to
come
along?”

“Nope.
I’ll
catch
up
on
schoolwork.
If
I
don’t
make
more
progress
soon
I’ll
have
to
drop
the
class.
You
do
take
up
a
lot
of
my
time,
you
know.”

“Is
that
a
complaint?”

Daisy
shook
her
head,
her
blond
hair
billowing
about
her
neck.
“Not
really.
Tell
Angie
I’m
looking
forward
to
seeing
her
for
lunch
tomorrow.”

Nick
lifted
the
bike
half
up
and
paused.
“You
knew
she
was
coming?
You
already
have made time for her? Without me?”

“Yes.
Yes.
Yes.”
Daisy
straightened
the
bike
and
swung
a
leg
over
it.
“We
don’t
need
a
chaperone.
I
like
your
sister
a
lot.
We’ve
talked
on
the
phone
several
times
since
our
first
visit.
Besides,
if
you
were
there, we couldn’t talk about you.”

Nick
frowned
and
mounted
the
bike.
He
began
to
pedal
rapidly.
He
seemed
so
intent on being a
part of her life, yet
there
were
occasions
when
he
seemed
hesitant about her being part of his.

Daisy
sat
across
from
Angie
Underwood at
the
South
Side
Bistro
near
the
university
campus.
Angie’s
eyes
still
bugged
as
large
as
Daisy
had
remembered.
The
woman
appeared
to
be
in
a
constant
state of amazement.

“I
think,”
Angie
said,
pointing
her
fork
with
a
tomato
slice,
“my
big
brother
is
infatuated with you. It’s hard to get him
to
talk about anything but you. If
not you,
then
horses,
which
is
a
poor
substitute
for
you.
You
seem
to
have
quite
a
way
with
men. I’m envious.”

“Don’t
be.”
Daisy
glanced
away
from
the
other
woman’s
intensity.
“I
haven’t
been
around
many to compare.”

“Ah,
the
shy
Daisy,”
Angie
cooed.
“I
remember
now. It’s just that you
look so good
and Nick is so consumed
with you that I forget you’re not a femme fatale.”

Daisy’s
mouth
fell
open.
“Me?
Hardly.
Isn’t
that
a
little
dramatic?”
She
reached
for
a
french
fry.
Or
was
she
a
temptress?
Was
she
just
playing
with
Nick
like
a
kid
played
dress
up
games?
They
had
no
long
range future. Infatuated. Consumed.

Those
were
different
sentiments
than
love. He
cared
for
her
like
she
did
for
him.
But they were
safe. There was the age
thing.
The
horse
partnership.
When
would
it
end?
How
would
it
end?

“Yoo
hoo!
I’m
still
here.”

Daisy
blinked.
Angie
came
back
into
focus.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Angie. I guess my mind
wandered
a
bit.”

“Uh,
huh.
I
like
you
a
lot,
Daisy.”
Angie
paused
and
wiped
her
full
lips
with
a
napkin. “You’re
good for Nick, but I worry.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m
a big girl.”

Angie shook her head. “Oh,
when we first met, I worried about you, but now I worry more about my brother.”

Daisy’s
brow
furrowed
and
her
eyes
narrowed.

“Anything
else
that
I
can
get
you
ladies?”

Daisy
acknowledged
the
waiter.
“No,”
she
stammered. “I’m fine. You, Angie?”

“I’m okay.”

Angie
waited
until
the
man
stopped
at
the
next
table
and
reached
for
his
order
pad
before
continuing.
“I
don’t
think
you’d
deliberately
harm
Nick.
But
he’s
much
more
serious
about
this
relationship
that
you
seem
to
be.”

“Serious?”

“Come
on.
A
girl
knows
when
a
guy
is
serious.
I should talk. Well, at
least a girl
knows
when
a
guy
isn’t
serious.”

Daisy
blinked.
Her
brain
might
fry
before
it
caught
up
with
Angie.
“I
still
don’t
know
what
you
mean.”

“Okay.
I’ll
spell
it
out.”
Angie
took
a
deep breath
and
let
it
out
slowly.
“I
believe
my
brother
is
within
an
eyelash
of
asking
you
to
marry
him,
and
he
has
no
clue
that
you
will
turn
him
down.”