He grinned, taking that last step in front of her. He cupped her face and leaned down to caress her lips ever so briefly with his.
Yep. That spark was still there.
The patter of footsteps on the kitchen tile forced him to draw away to find his coffee cup again, and Daisy busied herself with whisking just as Glenda swept into the room.
“Good morning!” she practically sang as she caught sight of them. “I thought for sure you both would be sleeping until noon—after getting home as late as you did.”
Daisy froze. “I hadn’t realized you were still awake.”
Her aunt hesitated a beat too long in his opinion before she replied, “Oh, I must have dozed off somewhere after eleven, I’m afraid. So I don’t know exactly when you returned. How was the party?” she asked, walking past him to grab a mug that she filled with water and put in the microwave. As he’d learned, tea was her preferred morning poison.
“It was better than I had hoped,” he said and, looking at Daisy, winked.
She turned away, setting the dough back in the bowl and covering it with a dishcloth. Not apparently wanting to be idle, she grabbed some of yesterday’s leftover bacon and chopped it before putting into another bowl. It was hard not to admire the quick, precise movements she made as she worked, the happiness that made her face seem bright and carefree.
She was grating cheese as he leaned against the counter, watching her, when his phone rang from his pocket. He cringed at the caller ID, although he wasn’t entirely surprised.
“Hello, Stuart.”
“Good morning, Jack. It looks like congratulations appear to be in order.”
“Congratulations? I don’t follow.”
“You must not have pulled up the Tribune yet. You’re the feature story. Well, you and your fiancée, I should say. You’re front page of the local section and the comments have been exploding—most of them positive.”
“That’s…great.” He put his hand over the phone and spoke to Daisy and Glenda. “The Tribune ran a story this morning on us.”
Daisy and her aunt exchanged glances before Daisy got up, went to the laptop on the corner counter, and opened it up.
“It is great,” Stuart continued. “Keep this up and this next year will be a breeze. Even Aaron Leary has been quiet this morning, probably simmering in resentment.”
Or planning his next move of attack.
“Anyhow,” Stuart continued. “Everyone is clamoring to know more about the two of you, how the kids are adapting to becoming a family, how you two are going to adjust to life in the Governor’s Mansion, that sort of thing. I was thinking that since it’s the holiday, now would be a great time to be seen in town, doing things to celebrate the country’s birthday. I can notify a few of the media outlets where you’ll be so—”
“No,” Jack said firmly. “I already did the benefit last night. They got their pictures, clearly. Today is the Fourth of July, and I think I speak for Daisy and myself in that we just want to stay close to home and out of the spotlight for these last few days. Remember, this is our vacation, Stuart, not a publicity stunt.”
Stuart sighed warily. “Fine. But
when you return home, there’s a number of events that you’ve both already been invited to and I’ve taken the liberty of accepting. I also have received three requests from major media outlets to conduct an in-person interview with you, as well as Daisy. Just to give that personal touch.”
Jack glanced over to Daisy, who, with her aunt next to her, was scrolling down the computer screen, her eyes wide. He couldn’t tell if she was pleased or frustrated by what was on display, and he wanted to end the call so he could feel the situation out.
“I’ll be back in town on Sunday,” Jack said. “We can go over the details then.”
“Can I at least nail down a couple of interviews for next week? I mean, we want to stay ahead of this story, show everyone how excited you are for the job, and give them a peek into your life as soon as possible.”
Jack sighed. He was trying to ease Daisy into the possibility of actually making a go of this thing, something that was going to take some time and perseverance. He was nervous about throwing her into the fray too early and possibly scaring her off. And yet…this was the reason for the engagement in the first place. To keep up positive public opinion. “How about I get back on that for you, say tomorrow?”
“Okay. Jack. You all keep doing what you’re doing and we’ll talk later.”
The line ended, and Jack meandered over to where the women were, setting the phone down as he leaned over.
There were only about six photos in total. The primary one, the one that immediately captured his attention, was from last night. At least they’d gone with the one of them both smiling at the camera, looking a lot more relaxed and unnerved than he’d felt. The others were of them at the park yesterday, along with a couple of them playing on the beach Sunday, when they’d taken a break from sailing and fishing. He hadn’t even seen the cameras around for those shots.
“You all look so beautiful and happy in those photos,” Glenda said, her voice suspiciously heavy with emotion. “Just like a family.”
“What do you think?” he asked Daisy, watching her face carefully.