Free The Keeneston Roses by Kathleen Brooks Page A

blue eyes. His navy suit was pressed, and he held a bouquet of daisies in his hands. When he saw her coming down the stairs, a smile stretched across his face and went straight into her heart.
    “Hi, Robert.”
    “You look lovely, Daisy. I know it’s kind of cheesy, but I brought you some daisies.”
    Daisy reached out and took the flowers with a smile. It was the first time a boy had gotten them for her. “Thank you; they’re lovely.”
    “Here, dear, I’ll put them in water, and they’ll be in your room when you get back. Remember, curfew is ten o’clock,” Mrs. Fitzsimmons, a widow who had lived in the house for the past ten years, said with a smile.
    “Thank you, and I’ll have her back at the house, safe and sound, by curfew.” Robert sent her a wink as Mrs. Fitzsimmons took the flowers and headed for the kitchen.
    “I thought we could go to the drive-in movie tonight. I have a basket packed in the car, and we could make a night of it.” Robert held open the door for her as they left the sorority house.
    “That sounds wonderful.” All Daisy could think about was the dark drive-in and the semi-privacy the car afforded them.
    Robert closed her car door after she settled herself on the leather seat. She glanced into the back and saw a large picnic basket sitting on the seat. Daisy had always been overshadowed by her other sisters, but now a man was courting her. A man wanted to spend time with her, not the curvy Violet or the saucy Lily. She felt more alive than ever before.
    The two years she had been in college had been life-changing. Daisy loved being a third of the perfect Rose triplets, but being in the middle, she always felt as if she were the invisible one. She missed her sisters—missed seeing Violet and missed having Lily across the hall from her—but she had grown. Daisy had discovered she loved business courses, and someday maybe she could manage her husband’s business. One of her sorority sisters left after her first year of college and was now keeping books at her husband’s furniture store. Another one of her friends had gotten pregnant and eloped. Now she was at home with their baby while her husband finished school.
    Lily looked at Robert as he paid for the tickets and drove to an open speaker. He was handsome and already a senior. Could she be leaving school to get married and work with him by next year? The thought warmed her, but she also felt a pang of discontent. She wanted her own business. She didn’t want her husband to have to open a credit card for her. She didn’t want her husband dictating what she did with the money from her business. Would Robert do that? Maybe he’d want her to have a job outside of the home.
    “So, are you excited about graduation?” Daisy asked when he put the car in park.
    “I am. These past four years have been the best of my life. It’s hard to believe graduation is just in three weeks.”
    Daisy felt the pitter-patter of her heart as Robert slid his arm along the back of the bench seat and rested his hand on her shoulder. “What do you plan to do after graduation?”
    “My father owns RB Advertising. I’m going to join the family company.”
    “That’s so nice. My sister Lily works with my father and loves it.”
    “That’s nice of your sister to help out. I’m sure her husband wants her home, though.”
    “Oh, she’s not married,” Daisy said, trying to hide her grimace. After what happened with Frank, she worried her sister would never trust a man enough to get married.
    “Wow, that’s so progressive. Do you plan to do that, too?”
    “What, work?”
    “Yes.”
    Daisy shrugged as the pitter-patter of her heart slowed. “I don’t know. Right now I just want to graduate college.”
    Robert smiled down at her, and her heart sped back up, especially when he pulled her close to his side. “I would be proud of a wife with a college degree. Not many men can say that.”
    Daisy gulped at the feel of her body pressed against his,