Willow Smoke (72 page)

“I
do.
How
about
Paddle
Dreams?”

“That’s great.” Nick
found it hard to
breathe.
Did
this
mean
that
he’d
been
misreading
her
moods
these
last
two
weeks?
Maybe
she
was
just
upset
with
Maxine
and
Reggie.
He
watched
her
gather
herself
by
taking
a
deep
breath before
eyeing
him
with
that
look
of
determined
vulnerability
he’d
grown
to
love
and
dread. No, he hadn’t
misread her.

“I’ve got to move back
to my apartment,” she whispered.
He
wished
he
could
erase
her
pain
and
his
own.

“It’s not that I don’t
like it here and appreciate what you’ve done for me, but I have
to
be
on
my
own.
At
least
for
a
while.”

“So
are
you
saying
we’re
finished?”

Her
eyes
clouded
over.
“No,
not
unless
you
want
us
to
be
finished.”

“You know I don’t,” he
admitted. “Far from it. I want you to...”

“Please
don’t
say
it,”
she
interrupted.
She
gagged.
“It
would
only
make
this
harder.”

“Okay.
So
how
do
you
want
to
play
it?
We’re not
finished, but you’re moving out.
It’s
your game. So what are the rules?”

Daisy
brushed
a
lock
from
her
forehead.
He
noticed
that
her
hand
lingered
a
moment
longer at the corner of an eye.

“I
don’t
know.
I’d
still
like
to
do
things
together. The horses and the track. But
not
sex.”

“No,
not
sex.”
He
sounded
mocking.
And
maybe
he
intended
to
be
just
that.

“I don’t want you out of
my life, but I
don’t
know
what
to
do
with
you.
You
want
more than I can
give. Or at least am ready
to give.”
Her eyes implored a response.

Nick
sighed
and
shook
his
head.
“I
don’t
want
you
out
of
my
life
either.
I
love
you.
I
want
you
even
more
in
my
life.”
He
watched
her scowl.
“But I won’t go there, not
now.”
She
relaxed
a
little.
He
gave
her
a
tight
smile.
“Maybe
we
should
go
back
to
square
one.”

“What
do
you
mean?”

Nick
leaned
back
in
his
chair.
“We
kind
of
got started without
much romance. Oh,
there was some
banter. But I never had
the
chance
to
really
romance
you.”

- o -

Daisy
reached
for
her
coffee
cup.
She
swallowed
slowly
and
reddened,
remembering
rapping
on
the
door
of
his
suite
in
Shakopee.
“That
wasn’t
your
fault.”

“It wasn’t anyone’s
fault. And I’m eternally
pleased that
you took the first step. I doubt that I would’ve. Not that I hadn’t fantasized
about you a lot. I just figured the
age
difference
made
you
off
limits.”

“Hah. So much for your
figuring.” Daisy
clamped her mouth
shut. It was so easy to
fall
into
a
pleasurable
bantering
with
Nick.
If
she
wasn’t
careful,
she’d
succumb
to
the
comfort
of
their
relationship
and
never
leave.
But wasn’t love about more than
comfort?

“I
know
you’re
determined
to
leave,”
Nick
said.
“I won’t try to make you stay.
Might
as
well
try
to
make
water
run
up
a
ten
percent
grade. I want to make a deal
with
you, though.”

Daisy
lowered
her
head.
Be
careful,
here
he
goes
again.
This
is
where
things
will
get sticky. He’s not going to just let
me
fly away on
my
own.
She
shivered.
She
wasn’t
sure
she
wanted
to
fly
away
entirely
on
her
own.
“What
do
you
have
in
mind?”
she
whispered.

Placing
his
hands
around
his
coffee
mug,
Nick
said,
“First,
as
to
your
security.”

Daisy
flinched,
but
remained
silent.
It
didn’t
surprise
her
that
this
would
be
his
first
point.

“I know we can’t provide
for your complete
security.”
His
voice
shook.
“But
as
long
as
Reggie
is
out
there
you
are
at
risk.”

“No
more
than
usual.”
Why
couldn’t
she
sound
convincing?

“The
ante
has
been
upped,
Daisy,
and
you
know
it.
I
want
to
put
a
security
system
in your apartment.”

“What
good
will
that
do?”

“It
may
help
you
sleep
better.
I
know
you
won’t
be
able
to
avoid
the
creep
entirely,
but
at
least
he
won’t
have
the
element
of
surprise
on
his
side.
Do
you
agree?”

“It’s your money.”

Nick withdrew as if she’d
slapped him.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t
mean
to
be
snide.
And
I
do
appreciate
your
concern
for
my
safety.
But
you
also
have
to
realize
that
I
was
raised
on
the
streets,
Nick.
I
have
a
graduate
degree
in
street
smarts.”

“Good. Second, I want to
continue
growing
our horse
partnership. I’m not
interested
in
switching
trainers.
Are
you
still
interested
in
managing
our
horses?”

“Of course.”

“Good.
Third,
I
want
to
see
you
on
a
regular
basis. Some at the track,
but I also
want to escort you to
plays, to the art
museum,
to the
Bulls, to places you want to
go.”

“The
romance
you
talked
about?”
Daisy
eyes
rounded.

“Yes.
Do
you
agree?”

She
should
scream
no,
but
the
word
would
not
form
on
her
lips.
It
would
have
been
the
easy
way
out.
Instead
she
answered,
“Yes,
if
I
can
say
no.”

“Allowed.”

“Good.”

Nick
smiled
broadly.

She
loved
to
watch
him
when
he
thought
he
was
on
a
roll.

“No
sex.”
He
scrunched
his
mouth.
“I
understand,
but that’s going to be hard.”