Page 19 of June 7

Chad and Melanie walked into the room, stripped off their sweatshirts, and went to their lifeguard stations so Tara could concentrate on teaching. Daisy pressed a hand to her stomach. She should've had something to eat last night or that morning before leaving for work, but she'd had too much on her mind. Once she'd woken up, she rushed out to work—figuring an early swim before anyone arrived would help relax her.

Her plan worked until Tara's concern about the break-in rubbed off on her. Now, she dreaded when the day ended and she had to return home.

She sat at the desk and woke the computer. Sometime today, she needed to work on the schedule for September. They only had ten more weeks of having the high school lifeguards around, and she needed to plan at least three summer swim parties for the local kids.

A luau with fun water games and giveaways. A cartoon party where the kids would get to decorate the tables in the spectator area with their favorite characters and then have challenges in the water. She'd ordered some goggles, floats, and swim-boards to give away as prizes. For the last party of the summer, she wanted to raise food for the food bank in town. Two cans of food would let them gain entrance into a night swim. It would be a family event with all ages welcome.

She had already asked the city if she could borrow the clear strings of lights typically used to decorate the trees downtown in December. They'd look great hung around the pool enclosure in the dark with the pool lights on.

For that party, Liz would be the one running the show. They'd hang a white sheet across the end of the pool and play a movie while popcorn would be available for them—when they took a break from swimming.

"Daisy?"

She startled, coming out of the chair. Bane stood beside her. Not having seen him approach, she pressed her hand to her chest and tried to slow her heart rate.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to surprise you." Bane held out a cup of coffee. "I brought you this."

She recognized the brown and white cup with a green lid from The Coffee House. Grabbing the drink and cupping her hands around the warmth radiating off the coffee, her smile was doing crazy things to her body.

"Thank you." She held the slot on the top of the cup under her nose. "I left this morning without my usual cup."

He held out another brown bag. "Brought you a donut, too."

"What?" She set the drink on the desk and dug into the bag, pulling out an éclair. "What's all this for?"

"You had a rough night." His gaze intensified. "Coffee will pep you up, and uh, the sweets taste good."

She smiled, taking a bite of the donut. She moaned in pure delight. It was the best thing she'd ever tasted.

Not because she was starving. Not because she hadn't had coffee and donuts before. But Bane brought them to her, and no man had ever done something so nice for her.

"I would've shared the cookies you gave me yesterday, but I ate them all." His gaze warmed.

Shocked by his sudden change, she second-guessed if she'd seen the happiness in his eyes when he went back to frowning.

But she'd seen the change in him, and it was sexy. And he'd eaten the cookies she made him. Today was looking a lot better than yesterday.

"Do you want to come over tonight? I'll make you dinner?" She held up the donut. "As a thank you for the treats. Actually, instead of making dinner, I could swing by Chinese Palace and pick up food. Do you like Chinese? If you don't, I could stop at a pizza—"

"Chinese is good." He stepped back.

She smiled brighter, eager to have his company.

He dipped his chin and walked out of the building. She fell into the chair in relief. Unsure if her excitement came from him surprising her with treats or that she'd found a way not to be alone tonight.

She picked up the coffee and took a sip. That first hit of caffeine tickled her toes.

Bane wasn't a grump like she was led to believe. There was a nice man under that gruffness and behind those tattoos.

"Miss Hill, you're smiling." Sierra plopped herself down on the corner of the desk. "Was that your boyfriend?"

"No." She took another bite of the donut. "Just a new friend."

"Uh-huh." Sierra batted her eyelashes. "You're gettin' yourself some—"

"Don't go there." She pointed, shaking her finger at the teenager. "Aren't you supposed to be out at the pool?"

Because of her age, she got along well with the teenagers. She wasn't out of touch with how they think and act. It made her relationship with the teenage employees easier when she could communicate with them on a level they respected.

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