Page 64 of The Life Daisy Devlin Designed
Daisy grinned. “There you are.”
“There I am what?” Matt looked amused.
“That just sounds a bit more like you, that’s all. Like you used to sound.”
“Like I never left?” Matt’s expression closed, and Daisy wished she hadn’t said anything.
Upstairs, Kenny and his team had started work on the three smaller bedrooms.
“Be careful, boss!” Alec’s voice stopped her at the door of one of the rooms, and he pointed to the floor.
“Circular saw, right! Thanks, Alec.”
He grinned, and shot her a cheeky wink.
Her mother’s warning wasn’t necessary, Daisy thought. She just had to go with her gut.
“We’re off, Daisy.” Kenny eyed her carefully. “You’d be as well heading home yourself. That rain is bucketing down, you don’t want to get stuck on any of these roads.”
Matt laughed. “It always looks a bit worse out here in the country. It’ll be fine. Anyway, thanks for everything today, lads, I really appreciate it.”
Kenny gave Matt a brief, hard look, before nodding curtly at Daisy. “Will I see you tomorrow, then?”
“Um.” Daisy thought for a moment. “No, probably not. Phone if you need me.”
Kenny nodded. “Mind yourself, now.”
Matt smiled widely as he held the door open, shutting it as soon as Kenny and the others left. He turned to Daisy, who was leaning against the wall. “Why do I get the feeling that Kenny doesn’t like me?”
“Are you buying him the good biscuits?”
“Chocolate Mikados.”
“I wouldn’t worry, then. Kenny can be a bit grumpy until you get to know him, but he’s actually great.” She wondered if Kenny was still annoyed by what Todd had said about Alec.
“Alec hasn’t done anything inappropriate,” he’d told Daisy. “He’s probably just a bit starstruck, that’s all.”
Daisy couldn’t imagine Alec being starstruck, but she’d simply said that she’d leave things with him.
“I’ll take your word for it,” Matt said now, as he walked down the hall to her. Daisy caught a hint of his aftershave: woodsy and subtle. “Hey.” He gave her a long look.
“Hey, yourself.” She tried to wet her lips.
“We could stand here, I guess.”
“Um.” A slow flush crept along her neck. “Kenny’s right, I should probably head off.”
“Stay for a coffee? I always have one around this time.”
Daisy shook her head. “How do you ever sleep?” The moment the words slipped out, she remembered he’d always been a restless sleeper, waking frequently during the night, sometimes getting up to smoke a joint. She wondered if he was still the same. And if he’d guessed what she was thinking.
“I can make decaf, or tea, if you prefer.” Matt’s voice was light.
She should definitely go. But things had felt a bit off earlier, and she told herself it was important for the job to make sure they maintained a good relationship. “Yeah, okay. A coffee.”
He smiled. “Come on, we’ll go next door.”
Daisy took her time to look around the small, open-plan guest wing, as Matt made coffee. Had it been a good idea to stay? Now that she was off the clock, being alone with Matt threatened to stir up too many old feelings. One coffee, she told herself, then she’d leave.
