Page 94 of A Doctor for Daisy

“It took me a long time to wear your mother down,” Charlie said proudly. “But she finally gave me her number.”

“That night?” she asked.

“No,” Penny said, laughing. “I saw him twice more before he got it.”

“Over three months,” Charlie said. “She came in with a friend and I was working. I got lucky again as one day it was lunch and not dinner.”

“Denise likes going there,” Penny said. “We’d gone to dinner the first time and I went to the bar to get our wine since the server was busy.”

“I waited on her,” Charlie said. “Hit on her too, but she was too good for me.”

Penny laughed. “Just shy.”

Theo found that funny. That Penny was shy, but maybe it had more to do with men. Didn’t Daisy say that her mother hardly ever dated when Daisy was a kid?

“But I wore her down. Then it was several weeks before we even went on a date. I never thought I’d get a kiss from her and let alone any action in the sheets.”

Penny laughed and rolled her eyes. Daisy blushed and he wasn’t sure what his reaction should be. He never wanted to hear his parents make comments like that.

“You seem happy,” Daisy said.

“I’d be happier if Penny moved in with me,” Charlie said. “But I figured it’s going to take some more convincing there.”

“I’ve lived on my own for years,” Penny said. “I like it that way.”

“You like being taken care of,” Charlie said. “I know you do. Let me do that for you.”

Theo turned and looked at Daisy and saw the frown on his girlfriend’s face. He didn’t get that impression from either mother or daughter. “I’m going to go check on the pie.”

“I need another glass of wine,” Penny said and got up and followed Daisy to the kitchen. He wished he knew what was being said in there because he could tell it was something.

“Woman talk,” Charlie said. “Don’t you love it?”

“I don’t think much of it,” he said. “I’ve got two sisters and they did it all the time. I figured if it concerns me they will let me know.”

“Not me,” Charlie said. “I can be persistent and get my way.”

“I’ve learned that it’s best not to push and let them come to you when they’re ready,” he said.

Theo had no clue why he said that. He didn’t know this guy and had no desire to give him any advice. He could barely manage his own life.

Penny came back out with her wine. “The dessert won’t be much longer. Theo, why don’t you go help Daisy?”

“Sure,” he said, standing up and walking into the kitchen. Though you could see the kitchen from the living room there was a half wall with a bar there for people to sit and eat. With them sitting in the living room you couldn’t always see in.

“Hey,” Daisy said. “The pie is almost done.”

“So I heard. What’s going on?”

Daisy sucked a big breath in and sighed. “My mother is losing her patience with Charlie. She wanted you in here so she could tell him to cut it out.”

“Cut what out exactly?” he asked. He could think of a long list of things.

“The pressuring her to move in with him. She doesn’t want to do it. She came in here and wants me to say something and I told her no. I’m not getting into the middle of it. She’s never done that for me and it’s not my place to do it for her.”

“I thought you wanted her advice with things,” he said.

“Advice is one thing,” she said. “At times. Solving her problems for her is another. She told me I’d do it for Heather and I argued that I wouldn’t. If Heather and Luke were out there and something like that was going on, I’d stay out of it. I’d tell Heather the same thing I told my mother, that she needs to speak up and deal with it.”

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