Page 52 of Bitter Rival

My smile widens. Isn’t life grand? What should we name our children?

His scowl tells me exactly how he feels about seeing me here tonight.

A beer magically appears in front of me, praise the lord, and I raise my pint glass in a toast.

“To us,” I mouth.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Beckett

I don’t have to be a lip reader to know she’s toasting “to us.” As if there is an us or ever will be.

This past week she’s been testing my limited patience beyond the breaking point.

She undermines my authority every step of the way. “Fine, you do it that way but I’m doing it my way.”

Questions every single little decision I make for the winery and vineyard activities. “I’m not sold on those new labels you ordered for the cabernet sauvignon. I think we should stick to the original branding.”

Blatantly refuses to download the software app onto her phone, thereby leaving the data entry up to me or whoever else is willing to pick up the slack. Namely, Hunter. Which means he has to follow her around to gather the information, completely derailing my attempts to streamline and simplify the entire process.

The kicker was when she told me that technology won’t make me happy.

Grayson and I are trying to keep things afloat without sinking the fucking ship while also dealing with the expectations of our investors.

So the last thing I need on my already full plate is Daisy Larsson’s unwelcome observations on something she knows absolutely nothing about.

But does that ever stop her from sticking her nose in where it doesn’t belong? If only. She has an opinion on every fucking thing I say or do.

And as bad luck would have it, I saw her as soon as she entered the bar in a tiny black skirt with a silky black camisole and black combat boots.

Hair loose, blonde waves falling down her back. Eye makeup winged like a sexy cat.

Caiden smirked and pointed her out to Ledger who I haven’t seen in years. So you would think we’d have better things to discuss than Daisy Larsson. But apparently not.

Ledger gathers our empties and sets two more beers on the bar. “So you and Daisy, huh?”

I shoot Caiden a look. He holds up his hands. “Hey, man, I know what I saw and I know what I heard. It’s all going down at Casa Heyward.”

“Nothing’s going on with me and Daisy. We’re just living together and trying to stay out of each other’s way.”

“And you’re doing a damn fine job of it,” Caiden says with a snort. “So why is she here tonight? Is she stalking you or did you invite her?”

I shake my head no.

We’re together 24/7 and neither of us is looking to spend any more time together. That much I know for certain.

Once again, my gaze involuntarily drifts to Daisy when I should be looking at anything but her.

“He’s harmless,” Ledger says as if I asked. I’m assuming he’s talking about the shaggy-haired guy Daisy is talking to. He looks like a surfer dude who spends all day getting stoned and playing video games in his parents’ basement. “Not the sharpest knife in the drawer. But he’s a good guy.”

“What a relief,” I comment dryly.

I can tell she’s not interested in him. Her smile is too polite. He’s probably a nice guy like Hunter, which means he’ll be relegated to the friend zone where he’ll live for the rest of eternity.

Daisy is either completely oblivious to the way Hunter looks at her or she notices and doesn’t want to lead him on. Either way, she’s doing him a big favor. Daisy would eat him for breakfast, and then he’d be moping around like a lovesick puppy.

She needs someone who challenges her. Not a yes man who would walk over hot coals if she asked him to.

---