She, on the other hand, had just been relieved she’d managed to keep her tongue in her mouth the entire night and had kept up a naturally paced conversation. Especially since she couldn’t remember the last time she’d been alone with someone of the opposite sex—at least someone who wasn’t related to her.
Or when she’d spent almost every moment of a conversation wondering whether someone’s
mouth would taste as sweet as the marshmallows he was popping down, his tongue taking way too long to lick the corners of his mouth where some invisible marshmallow cream had gotten to.
After grabbing a mug from the shelves, she filled it with coffee and went to the window, hoping to catch a view perhaps of her fiancé racing down the beach.
Daisy stopped short when she spotted Aunt Glenda and Jack Harrison chatting on the deck, a plate of yesterday’s lemon curd poppy-seed muffins sitting between them.
Good Lord. Her too chatty and prone to oversharing aunt had been left with Jack unsupervised? In alarm, Daisy raced to the door and went out to greet them.
“There you are. Good morning,” her aunt said, her eyes twinkling in their usual mischievous way.
“Morning,” she returned, sneaking a glance at Jack.
In a long-sleeved navy crewneck, his usually smooth jawline peppered with the growth from the previous day, he looked more rugged than the polished image he normally portrayed. It should have been a relief to her nerves, but instead only seemed to up his sexy factor by a hundred and ten.
His smile was easy and immediate. “Hope you slept well,” he said, almost in a tone that made her wonder if he realized just how fitful it had been.
“I did, thanks.”
Ollie, who’d been snoozing by Jack’s chair, came bounding over to greet her. She set her coffee on the table and bent down, looking into big brown eyes that stared back at her so adoringly. He really was cute, even if around his nose, there was a faint odor of eau de skunk. Finally, she stood and picked up her coffee before taking the seat next to Glenda.
“You just missed Stuart’s call,” Jack said. “It seems that since the governor’s formal announcement and our brief press conference yesterday, people have been responding favorably to the news of our engagement.”
“How on earth could he possibly know that?” Daisy asked incredulously.
He shrugged. “There are people who do random polling as part of the campaign. It’s a little early, so we won’t know more for a few days, but at least the early indications seem to be positive.” He cast a furtive glance at her aunt, almost as if the two of them had already been discussing this. “Stuart thinks that we need to capitalize on that support immediately.”
Daisy had known this would be part of it, the publicity, but it didn’t make it easier to willingly put her and the kids out in the public eyes for scrutiny and comment. “What exactly does he have in mind?”
“For starters, he was able to wrangle up tickets for the two of us to attend a local black-tie charity event tomorrow night. It benefits organizations that work with kids with autism within the community.”
“And before you say it, you don’t have to worry about the kids,” Glenda said, patting her arm. “I’m more than happy to keep an eye on them for you. Besides, how often can anyone say they’ve had the luxury of going to a ball? It’s going to be so exciting.”
A ball? Black tie? The fanciest thing that she had packed was a bright yellow sundress. Hardly something that would be appropriate. “Not to be a downer, but I don’t have anything remotely close to black-tie ready.”
“I’ve already got that under control, too,” Glenda said, winking conspiratorially at Jack. “I spoke with Payton just ten minutes ago and she’s having three of her own dresses overnighted so you don’t have to worry about spending a penny on it.”
More charity. Damn.
Not seeing really much choice, she nodded in resignation. “Okay. I guess since you two have it all figured out.”
“Cheer up, my dear,” her aunt said, taking a sip of her coffee. “It’s not every day a woman gets escorted to a ball by someone as handsome as our own future governor. Or gets to pretend they’re engaged to him, for that matter. You know, you’re going to have to start practicing for your big public debut. Maybe you two should pucker up for a minute, without the added pressure of all those cameras. I’m sure I could give you two some tips, just to make sure you can sell this thing.”
Glenda sounded a lot more excited about that proposal than she should be, and Daisy couldn’t help but laugh, even as she kept her gaze from Jack. “I don’t think it’s going to come to that.”
“You never know, and I’d hate for your first kiss to be awkward or stilted,” her aunt pushed.
“And kissing each other while you’re evaluating us is going to be less awkward?”
“I don’t know,” Jack said slowly. “She might have a point.”
Daisy whipped her head toward Jack, who was grinning widely. It took her a moment to realize, after he and Glenda burst into laughter like two old cronies, that they were both teasing her. At least, she was pretty sure they were teasing her.
But she was feeling oddly warm and embarrassed now as both of them stared at her, and she fought the urge to bolt. What she needed was some time to think and get herself in the right state of mind for all this.
Breakfast. That’s what she should get started on.