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“Ignore it. They’re vultures. They don’t know me, they don’t know you. They don’t know us,” I tell her as I stand and grab her hand. She looks at me, searching my eyes for something, and I grab her other hand, standing toe-to-toe with her.

“Breathe with me, Daisy,” I ask her quietly, and her eyes widen before she nods.

“In, two, three, four…” she says as her eyes close.

“Out, two, three, four…” I say as we stand together, holding hands and breathing in sync for a few more beats before we open our eyes and look back at each other.

“You’re getting good at that.” Her smile is small, but there.

“Deep breathing is a new hobby of mine. I was taught by the best,” I quip, and her smile widens a bit, making me feel better.

“Are you ready for the party tonight?” I ask her, knowing the spa opening has been all that anyone has spoken about all week, as Victoria has been busy pulling it together.

“As ready as I’ll ever be. Thank you for organizing a dress and hair, makeup, shoes, the works. A real-life glam squad is coming for me.” She hums, still smiling up at me. This is her night to shine. Our night to shine. I was always going to ensure she had everything she needed. Because while I love Whispers, I know it doesn’t have the shops or people to help her for a formal night like tonight. So I flew them in, especially for her.

“You don’t need glam; you’re always the most beautiful woman to me.” Leaning down, I take her lips in a chaste kiss.

“Well, on that note, I should go. I have a few things to finish up before I head out.” Stepping backward, away from me, she slides out of my grip.

“See you tonight,” I tell her, watching her go.

“See you tonight,” she says, sending me one more sweet smile over her shoulder before she’s out of my office, and I’m slumping down in my seat.

My dad’s right. I’m completely and utterly in love with her.

37

DAISY

With quick steps, I strut back to my office and go straight to my laptop, my heart pounding. I put on a brave face with Connor, but all my old insecurities came flooding back in an instant when I saw that article.

I find the article online and look it over properly, immediately feeling sick. The photos they captured are a total invasion of our privacy. There are some of us in the car, others of us walking into the dry cleaners at the bottom of my apartment. A few taken from a long-range lens, no doubt, of us stepping onto the jet together. There’s a whole montage of our entire trip to the city. To make matters worse, the images of me are not flattering whatsoever. The article headline reads “Connor Whiteman is Trying on Someone Different for Size,” clearly a jab at my weight while also pointing out that I’m not like his usual girlfriends.

I think back to the trip, to him telling me that he hasn’t ever really had a girlfriend. Dates, yes. Casual hookups, yes, but nothing like this. I really look at the pictures then, of the two of us, and I still. Not from the angles or what we are doing, but the way Connor is looking at me when I hadn’t realized. His eyes look at me with pure adoration. There’s another photo of me gleaming up at him, and it’s one of the happiest photos of me I’ve ever seen. But what’s consistent in all of them is the clear, open body language we have that speaks volumes of how we feel about each other. We’re always touching, smiling, laughing and you can’t fake that.

I swallow and continue reading. The article goes into details about Connor, like his wealth and status, before the journalist questions what he’s doing with someone like me. I’m not sure how, but they have found old photos of me and published those too. They mention Sunshine and call me a hippie.

“Got a minute?” Tanner's voice is rough as he startles me, and my gaze whips up to his.

“Sure,” I rush to say as I click off the screen and clear my throat, trying to get my head into gear.

“I wanted to say congratulations on the spa. You’ve done a great job,” he says as he walks toward my desk, leaning on the back of the armchair opposite me.

“Well, it isn’t over yet, but thank you. I appreciate that,” I tell him, grateful.

“Victoria has arranged one hell of a party tonight.” He looks at me seriously for a moment, so I wait for him to continue. “Are you looking at the article?” he asks.

I can’t hide anything from him. My emotions are clearly written all over my face, not just about the article, but also about my work, Whispers, and Connor. So, I just go with the truth. “Yeah…”

“It won't be the first hurdle that you and Connor face together,” he says, and I remain silent. “I know my son. He’s never brought a girl home to introduce me to.”

My breathing stalls at that information.

“Sure, he dates, has been a bit of a ladies’ man over the years, but he has never committed before now. I blamed myself for that. I was always a loner. I was thinking he might be more like me than I realized.” He continues with a sigh. “But, hell, he hired you after meeting you the first day and brought you straight here, so clearly, he’s had feelings for you from the start.”

I swallow past the lump in my throat, knowing he still has more to say.

“And I can see in the way you two interact that those feelings are reciprocated.” He watches me carefully, and I take a deep breath.