Daisy’s best friend J.T. stood at the register ringing up a woman buying bread. I caught his eye and tilted my head toward the door to the kitchens. J.T. got my silent message and called in a singsong tone, “Daze. I have a surprise for you.”
A minute later, Daisy came through the swinging door to the kitchens, her poof of chin-length curls bright red, eyes shining as she caught sight of me and my new look. Brushing her hands clean on her apron—a futile effort—she came around the end of the counter and pulled me into a hug, rocking me from side to side before she exclaimed, “Oh, shoot!” and jumped back, brushing streaks of flour off my new suit.
Grabbing my hands in hers, she jumped up and down. “Oh, my God! Oh, my God! You look amazing!” She dropped my hands and turned me around, smacking my butt. “Who knew Hope Daniels had an ass like that?”
Behind us, J.T. murmured, “I did.” He winked at me and heat hit my cheeks even though I knew he wasn’t really flirting. Despite Daisy acting like J.T. was her boyfriend, I was pretty sure if J.T. had a shot at seeing me or Griffen naked, he wouldn’t pick me.
Daisy tugged a lock of my hair. “Fantastic cut. Where did you get this done? The highlights are perfect.”
“Atlanta.” That one word wasn’t adequate to cover my adventure in Atlanta, but I didn’t have time to tell her the whole story. I hadn’t had time to do anything but try to keep up with all the changes in my life. Trying to deflect, I took a good look at Daisy’s red hair. “You look great, too. I love the red, but what happened to the yellow? I thought you were going around the color wheel with your hair. Yellow, then orange, then red. Did I miss the orange?”
Daisy lifted a hand to her red hair, ignoring J.T.’s laugh behind us. Before she could answer, he called out, “Daze got tired of looking like a dandelion. Yellow is not a good look on poofy hair.”
Behind her back, Daisy gave him the finger. J.T. had been her BFF since middle school and was immune to insult. Ignoring J.T., she said to me, “He’s not wrong. You were just too nice to tell me.”
I bit my lip and looked at the ceiling in exaggerated innocence. Not even Daisy’s pretty features could make up for dandelion hair. A better friend might have told her—J.T. sure had—but Daisy was a smart woman, and she had a mirror. If she wanted bright yellow hair, who was I to tell her to change it?
“So, did I miss the orange?”
“Only kind of. I did it for a few days last week to give the red a good base, but—”
“Orange wasn’t much better than the yellow,” J.T. added honestly. At Daisy’s glare, he said, “Sorry, babe. You know I love you, but I’m not gonna lie to Hope.”
Daisy sighed. “The orange wasn’t great. I’m not in love with this red, but I think one more layer and I’ll have a nice cherry cola color.” She brushed her hair back, leaving a streak of flour on her cheek. “So, who’s this? And why do you have those rocks on your finger? What have you been up to?”
Uhh... I’d been planning to tell Daisy about Griffen and I getting married, I wouldn’t have stopped in if I didn’t want to, but now that the moment was here, my tongue was tied in knots.
Griffen saved me the trouble. Stepping closer, he wrapped his arm around my waist and held out his other hand. “We haven’t met. I’m Griffen Sawyer. Hope’s husband.”
Daisy shook his hand, her brown eyes dazed. “I’m sorry, what? Hope’s husband?” Those familiar eyes sharpened and turned to me. “How do you have a husband? I literally saw you two and a half weeks ago, and not only did you not have a husband, you didn’t even have a boyfriend.”
Griffen squeezed his arm around me and gave Daisy his best charming smile. “It’s a long story, and we’re on our way to see West. We thought we’d stop in and bring him a coffee.”
Daisy got what he was saying and finally recovered, returning his handshake. “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Griffen Sawyer. It’s good to have you back in town.” She said the last with a question in her voice, sending a raised eyebrow in my direction as if asking, Is it? Really?
“It’s very good to have him back,” I confirmed.
“And you’re okay? This is good?”
“It’s complicated,” I admitted with a sideways glance at Griffen, “but good. I’m sorry I haven’t told you before this. Things are kind of rushed and it’s been absolutely crazy.”
From behind Daisy, J.T. rolled his eyes. “You have to ask if she’s good? Just look at the hottie standing next to her and the smile on her face. I’ve never seen Hope look so good. I have to go get Grams.”