A Secret Love (new chapter every weekend)

Chapter 7

Daisy was sitting at the kitchen table, working on her laptop, when she heard the front door open and close. Frowning, she pushed back her chair and went to investigate.

In the spacious entrance hall, she found a tall blond man, dropping his luggage by the door. Something told her she was looking at her husband's friend and the owner of the house they were staying in.

"Grant?" she said hesitantly.

He turned toward her, his brown eyes sweeping over her. "You must be Daisy," he said, smiling.

"I am." She returned his smile. "You're home early. I thought you were going to be away for the month."

"Circumstances have changed." He sighed heavily, shoving a hand through his hair. "I need a drink."

Daisy felt bad for him. He looked exhausted and frustrated. She glanced at her watch. "How about lunch instead? I imagine it's probably been awhile since you've had a home cooked meal."

"It has been," Grant said. "And I will take you up on your offer, if you will join me."

Twenty minutes later, Daisy and Grant settled at the table with plates of food in front of them.

"So, tell me how you and Jason met," Daisy said, cutting into her meat.

"It was at a silent auction charity event," Grant said. "He won an antique gramophone I bidded on. I introduced myself after the auction was over. We talked for a short while and discovered we had some things in common. That was four years ago."

As Daisy chewed a bite of meat, she wondered if Jason still had the gramophone. She made a mental note to ask him.

"How did you and Jason meet?" Grant inquired.

Daisy smiled, reaching for her water glass. "It was through my brother Shawn. He and Jason are best friends."

Grant swallowed a bite of potato and said, "You married your brother's best friend. That was gutsy of Jason."

"My husband is a brave man," Daisy said. "Have you ever been married? If you're not comfortable answering the question, I will understand. It is rather personal."

"It's fine," Grant assured her. "I was married briefly, two years ago. Amanda, bless her heart, didn't realize she was marrying a workaholic. She got tired of being alone all the time and tired of me canceling our plans. She filed for divorce on our one year anniversary."

"I'm sorry it didn't work out," Daisy said.

"I'm not," Grant said. "Some people just aren't cut out for marriage. I'm not ashamed to admit I'm one of them. Besides, Amanda found the one for her. She's happy and has a baby on the way."

"You keep in touch?" Daisy said surprised.

"We do," Grant said, smiling crookedly. "She forgave me for being a crappy husband and putting my career before her. We're friends now."

"She sounds like a lovely person."

"She is," Grant said. "And so are you. Jason is a lucky man."

Daisy was coming to realize she was the lucky one.

"Your wife is on line one, sir," Lauren announced by way of the intercom system.

Smiling, Jason grabbed the receiver and pressed one. "Hello, Mrs. Cooper."

"You enjoy saying that a little too much," Daisy said.

Jason laughed softly. "Everything okay?"

"Everything is fine," she responded. "I wanted to let you know that Grant has returned from his trip. I packed our bags and headed out. I'm on my way to the grocery store before going home."

"Good, because there's not much food in the refrigerator." Jason sat back, his chair letting out a squeak. "The spare house key is under-"

"the frog statue on your porch," Daisy finished for him. "I was with Shawn once when he stopped by to check on your house while you were out of town on business."

"Keep the key," Jason told her. "I'll have another spare made from mine."

"All right," Daisy said. "Grant told me how you two met. Do you still have the gramophone?"

"I do," Jason replied. "It's in the office at home. Kimber keeps trying to talk me into giving it to her. I'm not budging. It's on my top five list of possessions I'll never let go of."

"Am I on your top five list?" Daisy wanted to know.

"Sweetheart, you are not a possession," Jason stated. "However, you are number one on my top five list of favorite people."

"You're so sweet," Daisy said. "I'm going to bake you an apple pie."

Apple pie was Jason's favorite dessert. "With vanilla ice cream?"

"If that's how you want it," Daisy said.

"It is," Jason said. "Thank you, sweetheart."

"You're welcome," Daisy said. "I'll see you tonight."

"See you tonight, Mrs. Cooper." Jason ended the call and dialed Grant's number.

"Hello," Grant said, answering on the second ring.

"Hey, man," Jason said. "I understand you're back."

"Yeah," Grant said. "I came back to find a beautiful woman in my house. She even made me lunch. I would have asked her to stay, if she hadn't been spoken for."

"Oh, she's definitely taken," Jason said.

"You're a lucky man," Grant said. "Hold on to her."

"I plan to," Jason said. "I was surprised to hear you were back. What happened?"

"The deal fell through," Grant said. "The man, whose land I was interested in purchasing, changed his mind. He's going to hold on to it."

"What are you going to do?"

"Wait for him to die and then buy it from his son," Grant answered. "The man is in his mid 90s. I won't have to wait long."

"What makes you think the son is going to sell to you?" Jason said.

"He told me he would," Grant said. "The land holds no sentimental value to him. I'll just bide my time."

"I'll get your key back to you in a few days," Jason said, changing the subject.

"Why don't you keep it?" Grant said. "I trust you to have it."

"I'll put it in a safe place," Jason promised. "I have to go, man. I have a meeting in five minutes. Don't be a stranger. Daisy and I would love to have you over for dinner soon."

"You got it," Grant said.

Jason ended the call and then shifted his focus back to work. 

A/N: Thank you all for your support. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and that you have a great weekend. :)