Page 17 of Pushing Daisy
Petra eyes her skeptically but must decide she’s been pushing Daisy enough today as she doesn’t ask any further. “So you have a potential venue. What else have you been working on?”
“Well… I have this plan for a sort of weekend retreat. I want it to be a chance for the guests to mingle and get to know each other in a safe and welcoming place,” Daisy starts before launching into the list of vendors she’s been in contact with and how she sees the event unfolding. Really, she wants the outcast community members to have a chance to build relationships with others. She knows it won’t solve all of their problems, but if they can build a bit of a support system, it will be a great start to facing the challenges of trying to integrate with the rest of the community who has let them down.
“That sounds great. I’m so happy to hear it’s all going so well.”
“Thanks. Anyway, The Dandelion said I could bring a guest, and I was wondering if you would want to make a bit of a girls’ weekend of it? Spend the weekend getting pampered and treated like the queens that we are. What do you say?”
“Yes! I’m in!” Petra says excitedly. While she has full access to everything in the community now as the Premier Witch, Petra has never been to The Dandelion but has always wanted to go. Daisy knows Petra just never felt comfortable spending the money on herself.
“Great!” Daisy replies, her heart feeling fuller now. Magic dances under her skin as she relishes in the temporary joy of this moment and lets the sense of accomplishment wash over her.
CHAPTER 10
Sloan
“Look. This isn’t going to work. I’ve tried reaching out to her. I’ve gone and talked to her in person, and she won’t cooperate. She says she’ll get back to me and then ghosts me. She’s leaving me on read, for fuck’s sake. Daisy is impossible. Frankly, if this is how she wants to conduct herself, then this event is going to be a disaster,” Sloan huffs into the phone.
Lachlan sighs through the connection. “I know she can be difficult. Trust me. She has a hard shell but is really the best person, aside from yourself, for the role.”
They aren’t going to let her out of this. It’s like a high school group project all over again. Only, instead of Sloan being the one in the lead like usual, she’s being left behind by the self-appointed leader who doesn’t want to talk to the popular girl. She sighs. “Okay. How do I break through her shell?”
“You have to get her to trust you,” Lachlan responds. She can practically hear his stupid smirk.
“And, oh great demon one, how do I go about doing that when she won’t even talk to me?”
“Well, she likes cupcakes. That’s probably a good place to start.”
“You’re so helpful,” she retorts. “I need this, Lachlan. I need a win. I need to do something for myself. Do you think you can pull your horns out of your ass and actually help me?”
He snorts on the other end, frustrating her even more. Leaning back in her chair, she raises a hand, calling on a spark of magic, letting the silver current bounce and bolt between her fingers. The magic play helps her calm the tension in her body and gives it somewhere to focus.
“As much as I love horn play?—”
“Gross,” Sloan interjects.
He continues, “I find that being persistent helps. Keep showing up. Keep messaging. She’ll break eventually.”
“Again, about as helpful as hitting my head against a cauldron,” she mumbles.
“What was that?”
“Nothing. Thanks for the chat.”
“Anytime, Sloan,” he replies. As she is about to hang up, he says, “Oh, Petra said she and Daisy are going to The Dandelion this weekend to check out the venue for the event.”
“Good for them?” Sloan replies, now bored and wanting to end this meaningless call. “I’m sure they’ll have a grand time.”
“I think so too. But it would be too bad if Petra couldn’t make it, and someone else had to replace her,” he says, letting the meaning behind his words hang between them. “Anyway, thought you should know.”
“Thanks,” she replies as he hangs up. Placing the phone on the desk, she continues playing with the silver spark in her hand, forming it into a glowing ball and then back down to a tiny sizzling spark and rolling it between her fingers as she thinks. It took years for her to be able to have that kind of control over her power, to allow it out but keep a hold on it, preventing it from going wild. That focus is now something that helps her think. Before long, her phone vibrates. Picking it up, she sees a text message from Petra.
Petra
It appears I’m coming down with something.
It would be a shame for my spot at The Dandelion to go to waste ;)
Meet Daisy there on Friday at 3:00 pm.
