Page 47 of Stealing Sunshine

Glancing across the room, I focus on the nervous twist of her mouth and looped fingers pressed to her stomach. She kicks the first tub of supplies against the wall and heaves a sigh.

“Should we get started, then?”

15

DAISY

I thinkI’m starting to figure Bryce out.

I’ve heard the term Rottweiler boyfriend before, but in this case, it’s Rottweilergirlfriend. While fierce enough to appear mean to those who don’t know her, she’s actually a giant squish ball that would roll over onto her back for some affection from those she trusts.

I’d enjoy being one of those few. Something tells me that I’d never have to handle a single battle alone ever again.

My classroom is coming along, but without proper cleaning supplies, we’ve only managed to get everything back in their proper locations. That hasn’t stopped Bryce from becoming completely focused on fixing a mess that shouldn’t be her concern.

I keep sneaking looks at her, my entire body flooded with warmth as she tears between the desks and arranges them in the way I told her I wanted them. Once they’re organized in groups of four, she narrows her eyes on my desk and kicks its broken leg.

I stifle a laugh behind the back of my hand. If she had access to a jug of gasoline, I’m positive the desk would be up in flames by now.

“I’m sure we can find something to stick underneath it for now. Just to even it out,” I suggest.

“Absolutely fucking not. Darren’s coming with supplies to fix this mess.”

“He is?”

She nods, keeping the desk pinned beneath her scowl. “He should be here soon.”

There’s that warmth again . . . “When did you ask him to come? I don’t want to bother him. I know he must be busy with work.”

“I texted him a few minutes ago. And don’t flatter him. Darren works for a max of three hours a day unless he’s in the middle of a project. If he wasn’t coming here, he’d be going to fiddle around at the station.”

“I’ve never actually known what his career is. Just that he volunteers at the fire station sometimes.”

It’s common knowledge that Bryce is close friends with him. They might bicker like an old married couple, but even I knew as someone from the outside looking in that there would never be anything more than that between them. And the more I think about the potential of that, the likelier a funeral seems because Bryce would rip that man to shreds and leave nothing behind for the birds to pick at.

I’m concerned that I’ll have the same fate unless I keep my guard up. But at the same time, maybe I could use a bit of a challenge in my life.

“He works for an architecture company that runs out of Calgary,” she says.

“Oh, wow. Good for him.”

“He’s good at what he does. Real fucking good. But don’t tell him I said that, or he’ll never let me live it down.”

My lips part on a soft laugh as I pull the end of the string of multicoloured letters out of one of my tubs. “Want to help me hang these while we wait for him?”

“Did you bring tacks or something?”

“A giant container of them. They’re in the tub,” I confirm.

She abandons the broken desk and digs through the tub, gripping onto a clear container a beat later. When she takes the letters from me, I grab the other end and tug it free of all the other decorations. I choose the wall above the dirty whiteboard and drag a chair over before standing on it to reach where I want them to start.

“We should talk about boundaries now. Before Darren gets here,” I say before dropping my palm for a tack. She sets one in my hand with careful fingers, keeping the sharp side up. “I don’t want to overstep.”

The tack takes a bit of a shove to go into the wall, but it gives eventually, keeping theZhung in place. I step off the chair and push it to the other side of the whiteboard.

“My usual boundaries would have us looking like strangers,” Bryce mutters.

“Well, what are they?”

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