Page 54 of The Life Daisy Devlin Designed
“Hey, there!”
Kayley stood and Daisy ran a self-conscious hand over her skirt, as Kayley treated her to a brief, assessing look. She shook Daisy’s hand, her mouth stretching into a cool smile.
She should say something, Daisy thought. But right now she couldn’t even remember one of her songs! “You’re always on in my house!” she said instead. Which was true, even if she wasn’t the one who liked her stuff! “So, how long will you be in Ireland?”
“A few weeks. It’s the last part of my tour, so we have some time to play around.” Kayley gave a one-shouldered shrug and sat again. “I wanna meet up with some family, work on some new stuff.” She touched the large white stone that hung around her neck on a fine silver chain.
One of the men cleared his throat. “Todd Onati.” He stood, tall and solid, his thick, silver hair a contrast to his deeply tanned skin, and shook Daisy’s hand. “I’m Kayley’s manager.” His accent was similar to Kayley’s. “Matt’s been telling us how you’re organising for everything to be finished for us. We all appreciate that.”
“Well, we’re on schedule.” It had been heart-breaking to see the half-acre of orchard completely demolished before a giant rotavator could make it ready for roll-out grass, but it had been necessary.
“Awesome coffee, Matty, thanks,” said Kayley.
Matty?Daisy flicked a look at Matt, but his smile hadn’t wavered.
The other man stepped forward and shook Daisy’s hand. “Tim Meaney. I’m the publicist.”
Daisy blinked as she looked at the younger, fairer man. Late thirties, she’d guess.
“You’re Irish?”
“Cork city, never lost the accent!” He cleared his throat. “We’ll get out of your way. I’m sure you guys have a lot to talk about, and we want to explore the grounds.”
After they left, Daisy smiled a bit awkwardly. “I’m sorry if I crashed in – I didn’t know they’d be here. But it’s kind of exciting to have someone like Kayley Lynch here, isn’t it? I only discovered that my dad’s a bit of a fan!”
“Yeah, they got in last night.” Matt scrubbed a hand over his face. “I made bacon and eggs, but Kayley’s raw vegan, and the other two ate at the hotel. Fancy some breakfast?”
Daisy’s stomach growled.
Matt looked at her expectantly. “You can show me what you’re planning to do today while we eat, if it makes you feel any better.”
“It does.” Daisy sat down and closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the sun on her face, as she listened to Matt in the kitchen. She wondered if she should try to talk about the kiss. Maybe she could work up to it.
Matt came back some time later with a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon and two mugs of coffee. “The bacon was hot in the oven, but the eggs are fresh.”
“Thanks.” She picked up her knife and fork. “So, Kayley seems to make herself at home pretty fast. She’s already calling you Matty!”
He laughed. “I noticed. But I’d say settling in fast comes with the territory when you’re touring. Anyway, I’ve more important things on my mind this morning.”
He gave her an appraising look, and Daisy glanced away, her stomach clenching hard.
He wrapped his hands around his mug of coffee. “You know, I wasn’t sure whether I’d be welcome at your birthday, but I’m glad I went.”
She glanced back up. “Me too. Probably drank a bit too much, though.”Perfect cop-out, Daisy.
Ironically, she was pretty sure it was only her and Brian who’d enjoyed having Matt there.
“Brian told me Laura organised it.” He gave a lopsided smile. “I think she’d have preferred if I hadn’t shown up.” Before Daisy could say anything, he added, “I didn’t see James.”
“He was around.” Probably better they didn’t talk about James. And anyway, why had Brian said Laura organised it? The guy couldn’t bear to give James the tiniest bit of credit!
She drank her coffee, and wondered for the hundredth time if she’d seriously misjudged Matt. She’d always blamed him for what he’d done. Now she wondered if there’d been something she’d missed. She wished she could ask him straight out. Before her party, she’d tried to tell herself that she couldn’t afford to overstep that boundary. But now ...
“So, what are we doing today?” Matt said.
She blinked. Maybe he wasn’t going to mention the kiss, then. Maybe he’d already dismissed it as a birthday kiss – he might even regret it.
“Daisy?”
