Page 32 of Too Close To Call

Tori takes the cup and kisses Daisy on the cheek. “Thanks, baby. It will just hit the spot.”

Then Daisy turns to me. “I didn’t know what your favorite is so I got you double chocolate, peanut butter cup.”

My eyes meet Tori’s. She opens her mouth, but I swoop down to Daisy’s level and take the offered cup. “Thanks, buttercup. I love it.”

I stuff a big spoonful in my mouth to prove it. I even smile and make a sound like it’s the yummiest thing ever.

Paul and Axel chuckle and move off quickly to get back to work. Those asses know I hate chocolate.

* * *

Later that night, Tori and I are once again on my back deck with a sleeping Daisy between us on the wicker sectional couch. I’d fired up the outside kitchen again, but this time we’d made pizzas. It feels different having Tori and Daisy over tonight. The air between us isn’t as cautious or stilted. I’m not sure what happened—or didn’t happen—at the garage earlier, but something changed. I like it.

“I still can’t believe you have a pizza oven. This house is incredible, you know. I’m not sure I told you that last time.”

I nod. Tori had changed after work into a pretty floral sundress that only has small straps holding it up. All through dinner I’ve fantasized about one, or both, of those straps breaking. “Thanks. You should have seen it before I renovated.”

“That bad?”

“Well, it’s almost a hundred years old and had always been in the Hoffman family.” I point down the beach to the left. “My parents’ house is about a mile that way. Go about half a mile more and you’re at Bode’s house.” Then I point to the right. “My Uncle Rod is about a mile that way and Murphys own all the land between us.”

“It must be wonderful to have such a big, close family.”

Wonderful yet annoying. But in a good way. “When is the last time you saw your mom? Didn’t she come from a big family?”

Tori huffs a laugh. “I told you she flew in on her boom right after Dad’s funeral to play the grieving ex-wife. She made everyone’s life miserable, and when she found out Dad left her nothing and that he had an ironclad will, she flew back out. With a little help from my lawyers in the form of a threatened restraining order. She’s never seen her granddaughter and I have no idea if she even knows she’s a grandma. It certainly wouldn’t make any difference to her.”

I can’t imagine growing up without my mom. Being a girl growing up without a mother must have been hard for Tori. “What about her family? Has any of them ever reached out to you?”

“No, never. As I grew older, I always wondered if they were just like Mom, and Dad paid them off to stay away.”

“I wouldn’t have put it past him. He loved you, Tori, and he only wanted the best for you.”

And I wasn’t, or so Dale must have thought.

“I wish he could have met Daisy. Those two would have been tight. He would somehow have figured out how to deal with a dress diva who is more interested in fashion than what’s under the hood of a car.”

I chuckle. She’s right; he would have. “She is something. I saw some of her creations. Is that all from Carina?”

“Carina has been like a second mom to Daisy. At first, after Dad died, I didn’t even try to work. I mean, Dad left us both well off and I don’t ever have to work if I don’t want to, but that’s not how I want to live my life. I want to be an example to my daughter. I want her to learn a strong work ethic and not lie around the pool all day and play video games. She doesn’t even know what a video game is.”

I gasp in horror. “That’s harsh, Tor. All kids need to learn how to drive a virtual race car around a virtual track and beat all the other virtual cars.”

She laughs and the sound of her voice hits my heart. “Daisy would be more interested in dressing the fashion doll and taking the runway by storm. Anyway, Carina began keeping Daisy for me when I started my driving school. I couldn’t chance going back to racing with Daisy to think about. Having one parent living that lifestyle is enough.”

“I read about your school. You are the primo stunt and defensive driving school in the country. That’s something to brag about.”

“Thanks. It’s what I know. My business degree came in handy too. We have a pretty good rep and even Hollywood sends work our way when they need an actor trained or a particular stunt created.”

That has to be pretty dangerous work. Even with the stunt choreographed, there would still be elements of danger. My hands sweat, thinking of Tori rolling a car or going up in flames. “You don’t do the driving, do you?”

“I did everything at first. Now I have some very talented partners that do most of the driving. The older Daisy gets, the more time I want to spend with her before she goes to big school. She starts kindergarten in the fall. I’m not sure I’m ready for that big step.”

I can’t stop my thoughts from going to the fact we could have had a kid Daisy’s age. We could even have had more than one child by now. That had been the plan. I want the life we’d envisioned all those years ago.

That one moment in time set me up to be distrustful and detached with all the women I’ve dated since Tori. Treating my dates more as hookups than potential relationships meant there was less chance of getting hurt.

“Anyway, Carina started out with just an online store. Within a year, she had her own fashion line and well-known designers wanted to work with her. She created her own brand and, as they say, the rest is history. She travels a lot to and from New York, but when she’s home, she still needs Daisy time.”

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