Free The Opposite of Wild by Kylie Gilmore Page B

He was so close she could see the golden flecks in his hazel eyes framed by those long lashes.
    He grinned. “So you do know how to have fun.”
    She stiffened at his teasing tone, whirled around, and grabbed the doorknob. He placed a hand over hers on the knob. She looked at his large hand covering her smaller one, and her heart seemed to stop and lurch painfully forward. “I’m not a puzzle,” she told him quietly. “I’m not fire and ice. You just don’t know me.”
    “I think I do.”
    She could feel the heat of his body on her back. If she turned around, she’d be in his arms.
    “If you hand-deliver my next paycheck”—she scrambled to think of a suitable threat—“I’ll-I’ll—”
    “You’ll what?” His breath was hot on her ear.
    “I’ll dump ice on you!” She slipped inside and shut the door. Again she heard his low laugh as he walked away. She wanted to rip open the door and yell at him some more, but stopped herself because she didn’t want Daisy to see the insanity he provoked in her.
    “Who was that?” Daisy asked.
    “Ryan just dropped off my paycheck,” Liz said, heading straight to the kitchen for the movie snacks. She needed to give her cheeks a chance to lose their permanent blush from whenever Ryan was around. She did some deep breathing until she felt calm again. At least one thing was going well—she and Daisy had gotten used to living together over these last two weeks. As soon as the movie was over, she’d enter her paycheck into QuickBooks and they could see how much of a dent they’d made into Daisy’s debt so far.
    “I made some guacamole to go with the chips and salsa,” she called to Daisy. “Do you want anything else?” Daisy’s appetite was never-ending now that she was eating for two.
    “That’s plenty, thanks,” Daisy said.
    Daisy had picked a comedy, Bridesmaids . Her pregnancy had made her too sensitive to the high-octane scenes of her usual thrillers and horror flicks. It was a relief for Liz. Daisy’s type of movie would’ve kept her up all night. She loved romantic comedies and relationshipy dramas.
    Liz carried in the healthy snacks—she’d even bought the baked tortilla chips—then went back for their water and napkins. Finally, she settled on the sofa next to her sister and smiled. “Ready.”
    Daisy hit play on the remote. Liz munched on chips and guacamole while the opening credits scrolled down the screen.
    “Mmm, you should try some of this guacamole,” Liz said. “Avocados have folic acid, which is good for the baby’s nervous system and brain, plus vitamin B6, which is also good for their brain and tissue growth.” She’d read about it in the What to Expect When You’re Expecting book that had become her baby bible. Daisy had yet to crack open any of the pregnancy, birth, or child development books Liz had picked up at Book It for her.
    Daisy nodded absently and watched the screen, looking serious as Kristen Wiig did her best to escape what looked like a regular booty call with some dignity. Liz laughed as she got caught on top of the locked gate that now swung open.
    She glanced over at Daisy, who still hadn’t cracked a smile or touched any food. “Is something wrong?”
    Daisy hit pause and stared straight ahead. “I’m going to New Mexico on Sunday.”
    Liz dropped the chip in her hand as a terrible, sinking feeling washed over her. Daisy was a runner. She always had been, at the first sign of trouble. Like when she’d dropped out of college after one bad grade in precalculus and disappeared to a kibbutz in Israel for two years. And they weren’t even Jewish. Or the time she’d told off her boss at the pet grooming salon, lost her job, took off for who knew where, and showed up six months later, broke and begging her parents for her old waitress job back. But Daisy was going to be a mother. She’d said she was turning over a new leaf. Surely, she’d put the baby first.
    “For how long?” Liz asked, fighting the