Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 136425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 682(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 682(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
She wouldn’t say that. “I don’t know I would use the word love yet.”
Daisy pointed Devi’s way. “That’s my point, friend. You’ve spent so little time with him that the guy you like is mostly in your head. You’re not in love with him. You’re infatuated with the idea of him. He’s got a pretty package and seems nice and smart, and you like how he tops a sub. That doesn’t mean you know him. It doesn’t mean you would even like him if you spent time with him, but how will you ever know if you don’t spend time with him?”
Bri frowned. “I don’t like it when she’s all logical. I prefer my Daisy talking about soul mates and true love.”
Daisy took Bri’s hand. “But how can you find either if you don’t try? I know what I felt for Nate as a kid was a crush. Believe it or not I only intended to spend one night with him. One night to get him out of my system.”
“And now you’re engaged.” It was how things went with Daisy. She could walk into a perfectly normal situation and it would upend almost immediately. In this case it led to assassins and being stuck at Sanctum for days, but also with her being engaged to Nathan Carter, who did turn out to be the love of her life.
Had she walked away from her chance to do the same?
“Yup, because when the opportunity presented itself, I was open to it.” Daisy sat back down, looking at Devi with a serious expression on her usually sunny face. “The whole love thing is not for the faint of heart. It doesn’t simply happen. We make it happen. Or at least we open ourselves up to the possibility. We don’t run away from it. Even when you know it can break your heart. You know what our Aunt Grace says.”
“It’s better to have a broken heart than an empty one,” Bri said quietly. “It’s easier on paper. I watch my brother. I love him so much, but he’s screwing up with the two people he’s loved since he was a child. I keep thinking if those three can’t make it, no one can.”
“But they will,” Daisy vowed. “This is a bump in the road. You have that attitude because we’re in one of the hard parts. Note I said one. I’m not so unrealistic that I think it’s easy going from here out, but the beginning is hard. It’s normal to want to protect yourself when you see heartache all around you. When you see how the people you love long for something they think they can’t have. When you watch them screw up again and again and there’s nothing you can do about it. My brother is at fault, too. So is Carys. They’ve all made mistakes, but they’re finally confronting them now. It’s a good thing. It’s why I think Devi should confront what’s really bugging her.”
“I thought it was Zach,” Devi said. “I mean I’ve got a lot going on right…” Damn it. She figured it out. Daisy had been studying way too much. She was going back to college to get certified to work with kids on mental health. “It’s not because I didn’t get the jobs I wanted.”
Bri sent Daisy a look. Like they’d talked about this and came up with a plan to handle it. To handle her.
“Fine.” She sat back with a sigh. It looked like her hot evening was going to turn into a girl-talk session. “My deep desire to get railed by a hot and forgettable Dom tonight does have something to do with the job hunt. Dais, I know you’ve run through a lot of jobs and it’s got to hurt when you get fired…”
Daisy held a hand up. “It does, but I’m not putting my soul into what is essentially art and having it judged by everyone. I know, sweetie. It’s why Bri won’t let anyone but us read her incredible novels.”
“They’re just not ready,” Bri argued.
What wasn’t ready was Bri, and that was okay. She needed to take her time and learn her craft. She could do that because she was a writer. Devi wanted to do the same, but designing clothes wasn’t a solitary job. Not the way she wanted to do it. “You’ll know when they’re ready. But I’m definitely letting the rejections get in my head. I thought I was feeling confident. I walked out that door feeling hot and sexy, and then Zach was looking at me and all I could think about was the fact that I designed this corset and the shorts, and they called my work pedestrian and unflattering and worst of all, safe.”
Daisy and Bri both winced.
Safety wasn’t a bad thing, but none of her friends wanted to be safe when it came to the things they were passionate about. They came from families of spies and military operatives and bestselling authors, and extremely fierce people. Being called safe hurt worst of all.