Tempted (The Lottery Winners Book 2) Page 9

  “Hey, I have to be fast. What’s wrong with Daisy? She wasn’t herself when I spoke to her on the phone earlier.”

  There was a moment of silence and Gunner’s sense of doom kicked in.

  “She’s seeing someone,” Tony finally admitted.

  Gunner stopped, every muscle in his body tensing. “Who is it?” he demanded. “Just give me a name.”

  Tony laughed, which was always dangerous since Gunner wasn’t kidding. Not even a little.

  “Relax, big guy,” Tony soothed, which was ironic since Tony was about the same height and size as Gunner. The brilliant chef just didn’t have Gunner’s instincts on how to destroy stuff and not leave a trace. More’s the pity. “Daisy can work this out on her own. But just to give you some peace of mind, I’ll go over and talk to the guy, make sure that he’s treating Daisy right, okay?”

  Gunner took a deep breath, then saw that the LT had noticed he wasn’t in formation. “Fine. But call me tonight and give me a name. And a social security number. I’ll have Fingers do a background check on the guy, just to be sure,” he said, referring to Derick, the Master Petty Officer on their team who was a brilliant computer hacker. Technically, Fingers was supposed to write code to help them with their missions and the man could definitely do that. But the Navy turned a blind eye when Fingers used his area of expertise to hack into certain databases that might not want military eyes. If there was something on a computer, Fingers could get to it. Nothing was safe when that man put his mind behind the effort.

  “Relax, Gunner. Daisy’s business manager has already done a thorough background check on the man. He’s safe.”

  Gunner saw the LT’s clipboard move down to his side. Not good. “Fine!” he snapped, moving at a fast pace to reach the others. “But call me. I want details.” With that, he joined his team. Looking at the LT, Gunner’s heart sank. This wasn’t going to be a good afternoon, he thought. On a good day, their leader would run them ragged. On a bad day…well, Gunner braced himself. It was going to be a bad day. On the plus side, their leader’s bad days helped prepare them for the worst of the situations they ran into during missions because plans usually went awry. It was only training sessions like what he anticipated today that allowed them to successfully complete each mission. Staying on one’s toes and keeping alert – that was how one stayed alive and got the job done.

  Chapter 7

  Daisy dumped her tote bag onto the chair by the doorway of her modest home and dropped her keys into the glass bowl. Then stopped. Leaning back against the door, it took all of her effort to stop herself from crying.

  “He isn’t worth it!” she muttered to herself. Unfortunately, her mental admonitions weren’t working today. No matter what, she still felt Rocco’s rejection today deeply.

  “Who isn’t worth it?” Tony asked, coming out of the kitchen, a beer in his hand as he took in Daisy’s tears. “What the hell is going on, Daisy?” he demanded.

  Daisy jerked away from the door, startled to find Tony in her house. “What…what are you doing here?” she asked, pushing away and grabbing hold of the back of her couch, trying to stop herself from falling on her butt.

  “I got a call from Gunner earlier today, but I couldn’t find you. So I came here, deciding to wait for you to come to me,” he explained. He was right next to her now, towering over her and looking big and sweet and gruff and wonderful. “Now, tell me why you are crying, Daisy. Please.”

  Daisy lowered her head, not saying a word. She shouldn’t be surprised to find Tony here, especially after her phone call with her brother earlier today. “Gunner needs to mind his own business. Nothing is wrong.”

  “Okay, fine. You’re good. Nothing is wrong.” He watched her carefully, but he clearly wasn’t convinced. “Then why the hell are you crying?” he demanded, grabbing her arm and gently spinning her back so that she was facing him.

  “I’m not crying!” she told him firmly, refusing to look him in the eyes.

  It took him a moment to smother his amusement. “Okay, so then…why are your eyes leaking?”

  He watched her, hands on his hips, as she walked into her kitchen and opened the fridge. If her red eyes and damp cheeks hadn’t told him that something was wrong, Daisy pretending to cook would have been a big red flag. She didn’t cook. She hated cooking. Daisy would rather starve than cook, although she was an expert at pouring cereal and milk into a bowl.

  “Stop that,” he growled out, taking the chicken from her hands and shoving it back in the fridge before steering her over to the breakfast bar. “Tell me what you’re in the mood to eat and I’ll make you something.”

  Daisy rubbed her forehead as she sat, leaning her forearms against the marble top. “I’m not really hungry,” she finally admitted.

  He shook his head again. He lifted his phone out of his pocket and dialed, watching her the whole time. He paused, waiting until the person at the other end answered the phone. “Yeah, Ivy, something’s wrong with Daisy. I need backup.” He watched, smiling slightly when Daisy cringed. “Yep, call Marilee and get over here to her house.”

  He snapped the phone closed and leaned against the counter, arms spread wide as he waited. “Care to tell me before the others get here? Or are you going to continue to be stubborn?”

  She shook her head. “You’re making too much of this,” she argued indistinctly, hiding her face in her arms. “Nothing is wrong. I just had a hard day and I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

  “Wrong,” he snapped and took the chicken back out, slapping it onto a cutting board. He started talking about his day, about the new restaurant he’d decided to open, and the small town he’d found in which to open it. Tony loved finding small towns that needed an influx of tourism, even if his restaurants only brought in sporadic guests. His restaurants were a big enough deal that people traveled to experience a meal from one of his restaurants.

  He was talking about tax benefits one county offered when Daisy’s front door burst open. Daisy groaned, her head falling into her propped up hands as she heard Marilee and Ivy call out greetings. “Where are you guys?”

  “We’re in here!” Daisy yelled back.

  A moment later, the two women stepped into the kitchen, both of them looking around, trying to determine the problem and focused on Daisy’s red eyes. “Honey, what’s going on?” Ivy demanded, not missing a beat as she dumped her purse on a chair and dropped into the stool next to Daisy.

  Daisy watched Marilee carefully, waiting for it. Sure enough, the darling snuck a small crystal out of her pocket and slipped it into Daisy’s purse.

  “I don’t need that, Marilee,” she told the kind, gentle woman.

  Marilee’s eyes widened, surprised that she’d been caught, and she walked further into the kitchen. “You don’t need what?” she asked innocently as she reached for a carrot, lifting a brow at Tony who chuckled, even though his shoulders relaxed slightly with her nutritious snacking.

  The three of them ignored Marilee’s little “crystal” quirk and moved on. “Seriously, guys, I’m fine. I don’t need…”

  “Why were you crying?” Tony interrupted.

  Marilee and Ivy both turned to face her. “What’s going on, honey?” Marilee finally asked.

  Ivy stood still, arms crossed over her chest as she surveyed Daisy’s features. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t need to. When Ivy got that look on her pretty features, everyone caved.

  “Fine! I just…well, I might have…sort of…” she sighed, dropping her head onto her hands again. “I made a fool of myself, okay?” she grumbled, unable to look at her friends now.

  Marilee moved closer, draping her arm over Daisy’s shoulders in a gentle hug. “Talk to us, honey. Don’t hold it in.”

  Daisy couldn’t hold back. Not with her friends waiting for her to tell them what was wrong. Over the years, these people had become her family and she loved them just as much as she loved Gunner.

  “I messed up, guys,” she finally admitted, allowin
g the tears to roll down her cheeks.

  “How?” Ivy said, sitting on the stool on the other side of Daisy. Tony’s cooking ratcheted up a notch, a sure sign that he was upset. Tony was normally very controlled when he cooked, so when he started working on several things at one time, the ladies knew that he was pissed off.

  Daisy smiled at all of them. “I just…” she stopped, not wanting to admit to what she and Rocco had done last night, nor did she want to violate Rocco’s privacy by talking about what they’d done together. It was too intimate, too sweet and wonderful.

  Or it had been.

  “I just made a mistake last night on one of the houses and…” she shrugged. “You know how I am. I hate it when I make mistakes.”

  Tony paused in his overdrive cooking and looked across the counter at Daisy. She held her breath, praying that he would accept that story and just move on.

  He didn’t. She continued to stare at him, daring him to call her a liar.

  “Fine!” Ivy stated and stood up. “If you aren’t going to tell us, then we’ll just…figure it out for ourselves.” Ivy walked over to Daisy’s drawers and started pulling out spoons and knives. She pulled open another drawer and stuffed the knives in, then pulled out cooking utensils. Ivy rearranged Daisy’s carefully organized kitchen into open chaos.

  Daisy watched, her fingers tightening on the arms of the stool. “That’s not going to work,” she warned, but she had to lean back, bracing herself so she wouldn’t go over and fix everything.

  Marilee tssked. “Really? You’re going to be stubborn about this?” she warned. Marilee waited until Daisy shrugged, still trying to dismiss the issue. “Fine,” and she walked over to the pantry. Reaching in, Marilee looked over her shoulder. Daisy was watching her, tension in every muscle of the blond woman’s body. “Canned goods,” she said, pulling out some of the cans, “mixed with the rice and cereal. Oh my!”

  Ivy laughed and stuck a fork upside down in Daisy’s knife block. The sharpened knife was moved from the block to her utensils drawer.

  Finally, Daisy covered her eyes and shook her head. “Fine! Fine! Just stop! I’ll talk! Don’t mess anything else up, I’ll tell you everything!”

  The three of them laughed, Marilee and Ivy high-fiving each other. Tony pulled some appetizers out of the oven. “Eat first,” he commanded, shaking his head as he chuckled. “Then interrogate.”

  Daisy sighed, loving these people but irritated that they knew her so well. Tony’s way of showing his love was to feed everyone. The more he cooked or the faster he worked, the more worried or angry he was. As that as a gauge, Daisy knew that he was furiously worried at the moment.

  “I’m really hungry,” she lied, thinking that they could eat and perhaps everyone would forget that she was upset about anything and they’d move on.

  With that in mind, she pulled a bottle of wine out and four glasses, pouring everyone a glass. “Ivy, I thought you were heading to that island where the special plants were blooming. What happened with that plan?” she asked.

  Ivy shrugged and grabbed an asparagus tip as she sipped the wine. “Apparently, this plant is slow to bloom and the temperatures in the area are too hot at the moment. The bud has formed, but it won’t open up until the temperatures drop a bit more. And it needs more rain.”

  “Global warming,” Marilee scoffed. “It’s hitting everyone in different ways.”

  “That’s the truth,” Daisy agreed, relieved with the subject change. She grabbed a piece of cauliflower, just to appease Tony even though she hated the stuff, and dunked it into the dip he’d whipped up. She had absolutely no idea what it was made out of, especially since she hadn’t been grocery shopping in weeks, but Tony had probably brought over all the ingredients, plus whatever he thought might tempt her into eating something more than just cereal. Daisy would wager good money that Tony had already stuffed her freezer with pre-cooked meals. Again.

  They dined on roasted vegetables and some sort of chicken curry meal that was absolutely delicious. Tony wasn’t just a good cook, he was a fabulously creative chef, and other chefs in the country scrambled to catch up with his ideas and imitate them. But by the time they’d figured out all of Tony’s secret ingredients and specialized preparations, he’d already introduced something new.

  When the last of the wine was poured, the four of them were laughing and relaxed, sitting in her comfortable family room. Daisy wasn’t overly concerned about Rocco. Not right now. She might have made a mistake last night, but she would get over it. She’d get over him. He was right, a professional relationship was better. She’d keep their conversations work oriented and professional. Casual. She could do this, she told herself as she washed her face and brushed her teeth as she got ready for bed that night.

  “I’m going over there,” Tony announced to Ivy and Marilee as soon as the door to Daisy’s house closed behind them.

  Ivy stepped in front of Tony and he chuckled. Ivy was taller than the average woman, but he was still taller. “You going to stop me, stilts?” he asked.

  Ivy glared up at him because, yeah, she was taller than Marilee and Daisy, but she was still shorter than he was by several inches. And he was only calling her that because she was skinny and he knew that it bothered her.

  But he wasn’t going to distract her this time. “What are you going to do?” she demanded, refusing to back down.

  “I’m just going over to talk with him, honey,” he promised, turning serious as he glanced at Marilee’s concerned expression.

  Ivy watched him for a long moment, but she couldn’t see his eyes clearly in the dim light from Daisy’s exterior lights. Instinctively, she knew that he was going to do more. “No. You’re not. You’re going to barge into Rocco’s place and do something stupid, like Gunner would. But…”

  “I’m not Gunner and he wouldn’t do anything stupid either. I just want his side of the story.”

  Marilee touched both of them gently. “Why don’t we let this go? Daisy is strong and capable and, from what I saw in there, she doesn’t want us interfering. She can figure this out herself.”

  Ivy and Tony both looked at her. “When was the last time we ever backed off when one of us was in trouble?” Ivy asked, her voice smooth and careful, but with a hint of steel. Then Tony and Ivy turned to fully face Marilee. “You were going over there by yourself!” Ivy gasped. “You sneak! You think that you can find out what’s going on without our interference.”

  Marilee smiled brightly. “Guilty,” she admitted. “But you guys have a somewhat belligerent approach to confrontations. I think I’m more equipped to handle this.”

  Tony snorted, his hands fisted on his hips. One of his friends was hurt and he was furious about it. He was ready for a fight, needing to release some of the anger he was feeling. He wouldn’t fight though. He’d go back to his place and pound on his punching bag until he was exhausted, then confront the asshole who had hurt Daisy’s feelings. “Why? Because you’re nicer?’

  Marilee shifted, not intimidated by Tony’s stance. Hmmm…Ivy was a bit intimidating though. “Because I’m more gentle. Because I’m not going to storm into the guy’s apartment and confront him,” she told Tony. And there, she saw the truth in his eyes. “Confronting Rocco won’t do any good anyway. Whatever is going on between Rocco and Daisy, it’s their business. We need to butt out.”

  Tony blew out a breath, looking up at the stars. For a long moment, no one said anything. When Tony looked down again, he shrugged. “Fine. I’ll drop it.”

  Ivy stared at Tony for a startled moment, then at Marilee’s determined expression. It took another irritated huff, but she also gave in. “Fine! I’ll let it go as well.” She looked at the others but shrugged slightly. “For now.”

  Tony’s deep chuckle told her that he agreed with her.

  Marilee relaxed. “Good. Then let’s head home and let Daisy get some sleep. She’s exhausted and things will look better tomorrow.”

  All three of them turned and walked hom
e. Because LowPoint was so small, none had taken a car. They’d all just walked over to Daisy’s house. Which was one of the reasons Daisy hadn’t realized that Tony was in her house cooking up one of his frustration-feasts.

  Chapter 8

  Tony took the stairs to the top floor of the old Victorian house two at a time, reminding himself with every step that Daisy was capable of handling her own problems.

  But Tony couldn’t stop years of worrying about the women who were closer to him than sisters. After a short conversation with Gunner, they both agreed that more information was necessary. So if Daisy wasn’t going to provide that information, then Tony was going to get it from the other source, Rocco.

  It wasn’t like Tony needed to figure out where the guy was living. It was LowPoint. Everyone knew everything.

  Well, almost everything. Whoever had put bubbles into the park fountain the other night was a mystery. And someone had draped the mail boxes in sheets decorated to look like clowns last week. That didn’t make a whole lot of sense either.

  Unfortunately, they hadn’t hired a sheriff yet, although the vandalism was increasing the board’s efforts to speed up the interviews. To date, no one who had interviewed so far had really excited anyone on the town’s board so…the search continued.

  He reached the door and knocked, cringing slightly as the loud sound reverberated through the empty space. Vaguely, he noticed that the door here was freshly painted and the hallway looked to have a glossy coat of stain. But he was too intent on discovering why his friend was upset. The last conversation he’d had with Daisy had been about this man, so it was the first place to start.