Page 10 of The Hooker

She pouts at me and sighs heavily. “You’re right.”

Daisy stands and takes a step towards the bedroom, but turns back to me. She bends and presses a fleeting kiss on my cheek. “Thank you for tonight.”

The bedroom door clicks shut after Westley skitters inside with her, and I stay on the couch and watch another episode with the feeling of her warm lips on my cheek.

CHAPTERFOUR

Daisy

I push the cold nose off my cheek and squint at the faint light coming through the curtains. “Go away, Westley.” He leaves me with a faint whimper and my eyes fall shut. I press a finger between my eyebrows and attempt to rub away the incoming headache. I shift my head and frown when there’s a tugging sensation at my scalp. Checking over my shoulder, I gasp in outrage when I find Westley chewing on the bottom of my braid.

“Fine, I’ll get up,” I grumble. The clock’s glowing an offensive six o’clock, so it’s time to get ready for work.

I slip out of the soft sheets with a yawn that cracks my jaw, and Westley jumps off the bed and skitters out of the room when I open the door. I find him by the door to the back garden, and he whines when I walk too slow. My eyes roll fondly, and I open the door for him. He launches himself off the deck and onto the grass, prancing through the dew and finding the perfect place to do his business. I close the door against the crisp air, swiftly sweeping my sleepiness away, and cross my arms as I watch him to make sure he doesn’t escape Jamie’s garden.

I rub my head again and blow out a slow breath. Jamie. The most helpful and amazing human who kept me significantly calmer than I would have been without him. Who helped me find my puppy in bare feet after a long day of training and then made me stay with him so I wouldn’t be alone.

I used hisshower.

And he hugged me and wiped tears from my face and ordered food for us and made sure I was comfortable. Something in my stomach flutters as I let Westley inside. He darts past me, claws clicking on the dark hardwood floors, and when I turn, there he is. Jamie, crouched on the floor to rub behind Westley’s ears exactly how he likes it. Dressed in the same soft shirt my hair wet last night and baggy track pants I have to concentrate not to look at. His black hair is mussed with sleep and a faint line from the sheets bisects his left cheek.

It’s true what I told him last night. He is my best friend. I just didn’t realise it until he was the number I called in an emergency. It was Jamie I wanted with me. Not Sage or Poppy or Liam, butJamie.

He’s my most used contact, and it’s not even for work. Most of our texts are about interviews we hear on the radio or a new TV show one of us started. I didn’t realise until last night. Didn’t realise we message every day after work and that it’s something I look forward to, something that’s turned intomore.

I flush when he stands and stares at me, remembering the warmth of his arm around my hips. Of my head on his arm and his large, gentle hand on my face. I swallow harshly and ignore the swirling in my stomach.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better. Tired. Stressed. Annoyed at him, but really glad we found him.” I step closer to Jamie and make a decision.

We broke our unspoken rule of not touching last night, and I could really use another one of his hugs. To be completely surrounded by him. I glance at his dark eyes following me, duck my head, and wrap my arms around his waist, squeezing tight and sighing into his chest. His arms wrap around me, one around my shoulders and the other on my waist, and it feelsright.

“Thank you, Jamie. Thank you for helping me find him and making me stay here so I wasn’t alone and—just, everything. Thank you for being you.” My hands run up to his shoulders and back to his waist.

“Of course, Daisy, of course I’d help. I’d do anything for you.” He clears his throat roughly. “I don’t like seeing you upset.” He clutches me closer and rests his cheek on my hair. His breathing ruffles the strands, tickling my scalp and sending shivers down my spine.

I lean back to see his face. “I’d do anything for you too. You know that, right?”

And I would, I just didn’t realise until yesterday. Stupid, not realising someone is so important to you until a crisis happens, but I know now, and I need him to know he’s not alone in this. Whateverthisis.

He nods and shifts his arm from my shoulders to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear and rubs a finger over my cheekbone. “Yeah, I know.”

“Good.” I reluctantly step out of his arms and hold my hand out, wiggling my fingers until he slaps it gently, but this time he doesn’t just squeeze my fingertips. He grasps my hand, turns it over, and presses a kiss to my knuckles like a fucking Jane Austen hero. Our eyes stay locked the whole time, and all I want to do is tug him back into my arms.

He releases my hand and it drops to my side, tingles running from my fingertips all the way to my chest. “Come on, let’s get ready or we’ll be late.”

I follow him to the kitchen, limbs numb, and blink at him. When I kissed him on the cheek last night, it was to thank him, to show some affection after the ordeal. It didn’t hold more meaning than that. But… I want to grab his shirt, pull him to my level, and feel his lips on mine.

What the fuck is happening?

“I don’t have any of that green stuff, but we can buy some on the way.”

I nod and sit on a bar stool. Is he more than my best friend? Do I have more feelings than friendship? My eyes track over his face, his full lips, and messy hair, the crease on his cheek from his sheets, and a strange comforting warmth spreads through my stomach and chest, and I smile at the picture he makes. It fades quickly, and my stomach drops.

I’m so fucked.

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