Page 43 of The Cupcake Cottage

“Hey, Daisy-Mae. Need a tree?”

“Maverick does.”

“Wow, that’s two NHL superstars buying trees from me now.”

“You should put it in your advertising,” Maverick said.

“Well, I’m sorta dating Landon. Does that count, or is it nepotism?”

“Pretty sure it is, but welcome to the world of business. Hey, how’s Dusty doing?”

Cassandra’s expression fell slightly, but she gave them a smile anyway. “He’s doing okay. Thank you. He really loved having the team come to the hospital yesterday.”

“He’s still there?” Daisy-Mae asked.

“They’re doing some tests and observations. He’ll come home tomorrow.”

“It was a lot of fun hanging out with the kids,” Maverick said. “If he has ideas on more fun we can have, just let me know.”

“Or Landon. Or me,” Daisy-Mae added, feeling strangely possessive of Maverick. Maybe it was the way he was focusing on Cassandra, or the fact that Daisy-Mae knew he had a way of going more than the extra mile when it came to people in need. And Cassandra was a woman in need.

The conversation right now made her feel…well, she wasn’t sure. But she’d probably choose insecure if she had to. Which was crazy because Landon, as much as the man hated to admit it, was head over heels for Cass. And Maverick looked at Daisy-Mae in a way that should remove all doubt that he liked her.

She supposed it was just the newness, the time apart, and the fact that their relationship made the papers sometimes.

Although Maverick had also mentioned something about fearing that the public would criticize her and that dating him would make her a target. She knew, without him saying so, that it could twist back on him. All they had to do was say “former beauty queen” and there’d be a stigma that he was dating a bimbo, and poof! The image repairs would slide away.

Again, insecure. She knew it but sometimes felt powerless to pull up out of that nose dive.

“I heard about the fire in the hospital while the team was there,” Daisy-Mae said. “I hope it didn’t scare Dusty.”

“Some wonderful photos came out of it,” Cassandra said, smiling at Maverick. To Daisy-Mae she said, “These guys were carrying kids out!”

“We had to evacuate.”

“Everyone was okay, though?” Daisy-Mae confirmed, even though she’d already seen the official report that a small fire had been confined to the hospital’s cafeteria and that nobody had been hurt.

“Yeah, except maybe Jari.” Maverick laughed and Daisy-Mae glanced at Cassandra, wondering who Jari was.

“Who’s that?” Cassandra asked.

“Dak’s ex. He owns The Gingerbread Café, and she showed up there afterward when we were all there.” Maverick had texted Daisy-Mae to see if she wanted to meet them, but she’d been about to go into a meeting with a T-shirt distributor. “She tried to take on Miranda.”

“The team’s owner?” Cassandra asked. She let out a howl of amusement. “I bet that went well.”

“It was a bit funny. If you were at a safe distance.”

They stood awkwardly for a beat, then Cassandra asked as she headed into the corral, “What size tree are you looking for?”

Soon they were putting a tree in the back of Maverick’s truck and heading back to his place.

“Are you letting me into your woman-free zone again? Or will I have to wait in the truck?” She cuddled Ella closer. “Is that why you told me to bring her—for company?”

Maverick rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“No, wait! The real reason you didn’t want women to come over was because your house looks like a cupcake! Sweet little cupcake cottage,” she cooed. She deepened her voice. “So manly. Stately.”

Maverick sighed and turned down his driveway.

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