Free Falling for Fitz by Katy Regnery Page B

and pulled toward the
garage.
    “ Come on. I think it’s best
if I show you.”

CHAPTER 5

    Daisy had no idea where they were
going, but as soon as they got in Fitz’s car, he took out his phone
and called his mother.
    “ Hello?” Eleanora’s smooth
voice carried over the Bluetooth speaker.
    “ Mom? Don’t wait for us.
We’re headed into town.”
    His car churned up gravel as he sped
away from the house.
    “ Fitzpatrick William
English,” she said in her “mom” voice. “The table is already
set.”
    “ I’m sorry, Mom. I’ll
explain later.”
    After a moment of silence, a dial tone
sounded to indicate his mother had hung up. Daisy cringed, turning
to look at Fitz, who flicked her a quick, uneasy grin, driving down
the long driveway with determination.
    Without looking away from the
windshield, he asked, “You trust me, Daze?”
    Daisy looked askance at
him, raising an eyebrow. It had taken so much strength to stop him
when they almost kissed at the pool. A split second before his lips
had touched hers, she had reminded herself that this was a man who
felt he owed her, who was attracted to her, but who hadn’t loved
her, who hadn’t contacted her in nine years. And that thought had
given her the strength to stop him. Though she’d gotten so jacked
up in the moment, so turned around and emotional, she’d almost
blurted out that she’d been in love with him that summer and even
now, part of her still loved him. Thank God he stopped her. That
declaration would have added a whole new level of inappropriate to
the equation. Inappropriate? No, that was the wrong word. Confusion was far more
accurate.
    Daisy was confused. And she was
starting to wonder if Fitz was feeling it, too.
    For so long she’d convinced herself
Fitz’s feelings for her had extended to a summer fling, followed by
a sense of obligation over her pregnancy. That their chemistry was
just as potent as ever had surprised her last night, but now she
was genuinely starting to question his supposed indifference to
her. The past and the present were blurring wildly and, more and
more, she was excluding friendship from the list of possible
outcomes between them.
    Punching Josh last night had been a
grand gesture, and now here they were, headed somewhere that had to
do with a bakery and Daisy suspected another grand gesture coming.
And grand gestures, from her limited experience, were born of love,
not obligation.
    Then again, he’d been pretty clear at
the pool when he asked about her happiness that he still felt as
though he’d taken something away from her. He wanted to make that
up to her, which sounded less like love and more like
obligation.
    She caught her reflection in the
window—her furrowed brows and pouty lips. Daisy didn’t like feeling
confused, but she couldn’t seem to figure out what was going on. If
she allowed herself to believe that he had feelings for her as both
Emily and Josh had implied, that would leave her heart in a
precarious position. She’d end up falling for Fitz. Again. And
probably getting hurt. Again.
    He cleared his throat, taking her
silence as her answer to his question. “Okay. Fair enough. You
don’t have to trust me. But I promise you that what I lack in love
I make up for in business.”
    It was such a silly, offhanded remark,
and yet Daisy couldn’t ever remember Fitz using the word “love” in
a romantic context at all. Hearing it took her breath away and made
tingles go down her back. Every second she spent with him started
to feel more and more like that summer, right down to him
impulsively taking her hand and driving her into town without an
explanation.
    He didn’t look at her or say anything
else as he drove under the marble and wrought iron gates and turned
left onto Blueberry Lane. Leaning forward, he turned on the radio
and a sweet, old-timey ukulele rift came gently through the
speakers, making Daisy’s eyes close in pleasure for a moment as the
familiar, though long-forgotten,