the right moment (Sea Breeze: The Next Generation #6)

Chapter 24

Chapter twenty-four

Daisy

A few hours later, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out to see Corey's name flashed on the screen and the huge knot of guilt crawled up my throat. This was Corey's second message today. He'd texted me once this morning asking if I had slept well and if I wanted to grab lunch. I'd declined the offer saying that I had already made plans to eat with my mom. He'd understood and said we'd do it another time. I didn't want to lie to him because I hated lying to anyone. I was never good at it, but I didn't exactly wanted to tell him about the kiss either. Especially, through a text. I swallowed the guilt lump and read the message. It was another invitation, but it was for dinner tomorrow rather than lunch. Tomorrow was Friday and I didn't work Saturday. It was the perfect date night, but a part of me wanted to say no. The part of me that ached for another kiss or touch from Reagan. If I thought hard enough I could relive the events from last night as vividly as if they were happening right now, but then I'd have to excuse myself to ladies' room because my body always managed to respond to anything Reagan-related.

Shaking the thoughts of the sexy detective from my mind, I texted him back a quick reply saying that I didn't know if I had anything planned for tomorrow but that I'd call him when I got home. I pressed the send button and tucked my phone back into my pocket.

"Daisy, someone is here to see you." Haley poked her head into the break room and nodded towards the front of the office. I followed her to the front desk and smiled when I saw my sister-in-law, Amanda Drake standing off to the side. Her crème colored blouse with white shorts and tan wedge heels on her feet made me envious of her impressive figure. When she turned and saw me, her face beamed with kindness and a smile.

"Amanda, hi!" I reached for her over the desk and hugged her petite body. She smelled like vanilla and sunshine. Her blonde hair hung down her back like veil of gold. Even when I was little, I had thought that the woman my oldest brother had fallen madly in love with looked like a princess. I also thought she was saint because back when I was seven years old she had been the only female figure who had ever spent any time with me. I owed her the world for that.

"Hello, Daisy May, I hope this isn't a bad time..."

"Oh no! You're perfectly fine!" I assured her.

"Well, good, I don't want to keep you long. I just have a favor to ask of you."

"Of course, what can I do for you?" She leaned her arms on the surface that separated us. A thick strand of her hair fell over her left ear as she leaned forward, making her green eyes more noticeable in the dim lighting of the room.

"Do you mind coming over to dinner at mine and Preston's house on Saturday? Trisha told me that that was your day off, and I just thought that it has been a while since it was just y'all and us, you know?" I nodded and grinned. A family dinner was exactly what I needed after the shower of events this week.

"I'd love to," I told her. Those green iris' lit up with glee at my response and she pushed off the desk to clasp her hands in excitement.

"Wonderful! Dinner is at eight and we will see you there! Now I need to go find your other brother. Drake boys are hard to find when you need them." I knew that all too well. I hugged her again and kissed her on the cheek before she left. Sarah came up beside me with wide eyes and her mouth slightly parted.

"Sarah?"

"Hm?"

"You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just trying to figure out how your entire family is so damn gorgeous. Like it just seems like everyone's faces were kissed by angels and it's really not fair." I shook my head while smiling and went about my day.

Reagan

Two hours. It has been two fucking hours and I still sat typing up reports. I was about to go insane when long legs stopped in front of my desk. I looked up into a pair of green eyes molded into an angel-like face. The woman that stood before me was beautiful. She was older, but beautiful. My guess would be maybe early forties, but no older than mid-forties. Her blonde hair was tucked behind her ears and she pulled her purse up high on her shoulder as she gave me a friendly smile.

"Hi, I'm looking for Jimmy. Aaron said that you're his new partner, and I was wondering if you knew where he was?" Jimmy didn't seem like the type to mess with women older than him. I opened my mouth and was just about to tell her that I had not a clue where he was, but was interrupted before I could say anything.

"Amanda?" Jimmy's voice rang out through the room. The blonde's smile grew into a grin as she held her arms out for Jimmy to walk into. He kissed her cheek and motioned for her to sit down in the chair that rested in his area.

"Hi you, I've been calling you all day, but the life of a detective keeps you constantly busy so I figured I'd take my chances here," she said. Her voice was soft and music-like.

"Well, you found me. Is everything okay?" Jimmy's eyebrows raised in suspicion. Obviously, Amanda showing up was a rarity.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I was just coming to ask if you'd join me, Preston, and the rest of your family for dinner Saturday night at our house." Jimmy breathed a small sigh of relief and leaned against the surface on his desk. He tilted his head upward as if he were contemplating a thought and then nodded.

"I'll be there. Hey Reagan, is that cool with you if I leave early Saturday?" I shrugged and went back to typing.

"I don't care what you do. I'm your partner, not your damn boss."

"Isn't my partner just a little ray of sunshine, Amanda?" She laughed and glanced back and forth between Jimmy and I.

"Reagan, this is my sister-in-law, Amanda." I held out my hand for the woman to put hers in and shook. I remember Jimmy saying a long time ago that his older brother was married with a kid. Damn, were all the women in his family gorgeous like Daisy and Amanda?

"It's nice to finally meet you in person. Now, I can put a face with the name." I released her hand and she stood up, pulling her keys out from her purse. "I better go. I'm meeting Low, Larissa, and Lily for a late lunch today. Marcus is working late and Low said she needed some girl time. Plus, Larissa says she has a secret for Low, and I'm really eager to be in on this secret." She whispered the last part as if she were trying to keep it between she and Jimmy, too. Her lips turned into a pleased smile as Jimmy shook his head and smirked.

"If it's what I think it is, then that's not a surprise, but it's none of my business at the moment. I'll walk you out." Jimmy put his hand protectively on Amanda's back, glaring at every male that came within a few feet of her. They walked through the room and out the door.

"Fuck, Jimmy's family is hot as hell. Did you see her damn legs?" Aaron perched on the edge of Donovan's desk with a heated gleam in his eyes. Donovan rolled his eyes and stood up.

"Dude, you're just begging for Jimmy to kick your ass, aren't you?" I agreed with Donovan on that one. Aaron did hit on every woman that came in here, though. He was like a damn vulture.

"What? You don't think Amanda Drake is hot?" Donovan glared at him and shoved a file into his chest harshly.

"Yeah, I think she's hot, but she's also married and is our friend's sister-in-law for Christ's sake, Aaron. Fuck, could you be any more of a dick?" With that sentence, Donovan stalked off towards the back. Aaron turned to me with the file in his hand, a grin spreading across his smug face.

"Stick around, Swallows. Jimmy has even hotter relatives than the ones you've already seen." Now it was my turn to get up. That sentence was not only a reference to Amanda, but to Daisy as well. And it pissed me the fuck off. Closing what distance there was between Aaron and I, I stepped toward him to where my face was inches from his.

"You say another word, and I swear to fucking God that I will knock your fucking ass into that wall." I saw surprise and a little bit of fear flash through Aaron's eyes at that point. He nodded and walked away like I'd kicked him. Good. He should walk away and never open his mouth about Daisy again because if he did, I'd put his ass in the fucking morgue.