Page 32 of Connor

“Hmmmm… a consultant you couldn’t stop looking at and talking to all last night at dinner. Tanner and I could have left the booth and you two wouldn’t have even realized.” She hums, watching me like a hawk. I sip my coffee and try to act nonchalant.

“She’s here for a month. Of course I need to get to know her. She’s managing one of our biggest investments. I’m many things, but stupid isn’t one of them.” Getting involved with a staff member or colleague is probably the riskiest thing I could do.

“Why are you stroking your beard like that?” Victoria asks, attention narrowing in on the movement, and I pause my hand immediately.

“Because he’s nervous. It’s his tell,” Dad says, walking up behind me, and I drop my hand instantly.

“His tell?” she questions him, and the two of them start talking about me like I’m not standing a few feet away.

“He does it when he’s nervous or uncomfortable. What are you talking about? Hang on, let me guess… Daisy?” Dad asks, and I suppress a groan of annoyance, not answering.

“Don’t you two have some goats to milk or something?” I grumble. Victoria has a few goats as a hobby and now makes goat milk soap with Annabelle, a woman in town, who’s a single mom and teacher at the local school.

“Kevin’s doing it today…”

“Does he have a thing for Daisy?” she murmurs to Dad, the two of them looking at me, yet talking to each other.

“I’m right here, guys,” I tell them with a huff, but they ignore me.

“I think it’s more than a thing. Come on, let’s go. I want to check in on Lacy and Hudson,” Dad says, and Victoria grins as the two of them walk off together. I swallow down the bitter coffee and turn to head back to my office, my to-do list a mile long and now nothing but Daisy on my mind.

13

DAISY

Ifollow Victoria as we walk along the main street of Whispers, everyone looking at me, but this time, they have lots of smiles, coupled with their curious glances, so that helps. Whispers is so pretty. Exactly how you’d imagine a quaint town to be. Flower beds are brimming with color, people out and about, everyone seeming to know everyone, the small street bustling in a way only a small town can.

We’ve already visited Bob at the hardware store. Then I met the lovely Evelyn, who runs the homewares store. We stopped in the bar again for Victoria to pick something up, and I grabbed a few things from the local supermarket.

“Okay, here we are,” she says, pushing open the door to the diner, and we walk in. The place is packed, the barstools all taken, a few tables also full. It has a nice hum of conversation to the place, everyone seems happy, talking, laughing, and of course, looking at me.

“Clearly, this is the place to be,” I say, feeling like I’m under the microscope the way everyone’s gazes move to me. I see a few familiar faces from the bar the other night, but mostly new ones.

“Ladies, welcome. Hi, Daisy, I’m Rochelle, so nice to finally meet you,” an older woman, whom I guess must be in her sixties, says. I remember Connor mentioning she’s one of the best cooks in town.

“Nice to meet you too.” I smile, enjoying the niceties that a small town brings. While Victoria drives a truck, I found it easier to get in and out of hers. It’s a little lower, further cementing that Connor’s is obviously made especially for his larger stature.

“We’ll grab a seat at the back. What’s on today?” Victoria asks as we walk through. I spot a group of women around my age sitting together at the front of the diner, watching us carefully. They don’t look as approachable as everyone else, so that underbelly feeling creeps back into me for a moment.

“Chicken soup today. Shall I get two bowls?” Rochelle asks.

Victoria looks at me in question, and I smile.

“Sounds delicious.”

Rochelle practically beams, and Victoria and I continue walking farther down, grabbing a booth toward the back.

“So that tea you made me yesterday that I drank before bed last night, it knocked me right out. I slept for eight hours straight!” she says, almost in disbelief.

“It was my sleepy time tea. All natural, a mix of herbs, such as chamomile, a little bit of rosehip, lavender, and other things,” I tell her, glad that it helped her. It’s one of my best sellers.

“Connor mentioned that you have a tea range? Is that something you might like to stock at the spa?”

At the mere mention of his name, the vision of Connor running shirtless is back in my mind. When I first saw him shirtless at Sunshine, I hid my eyes. It seemed unprofessional to ogle the man who was clearly confused about what the treatment entailed. But he knew exactly what he was doing on his morning run yesterday, and so I was going to look this time. And I can confirm that, yes, he is a real-life Adonis.

“Mom and I have been making tea for years and using it at our clinic. I would like to implement them at the spa as well. We have a small retail range that we can stock. But also, offering a different tea each day of the week in the reception area to get clients relaxed for both pre and post treatment would be good too.” I think that it’s not only beneficial to the spa, but also, long term, it’s great for Mom and me. Having a spa stock our tea gets our name out there a bit more.

“I think it’d be perfect. I would like to see how we can incorporate whiskey a little more, though,” she says, and I nod.

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