Chapter 3

This is for @atfmsa bc honestly these two books wouldn't be possible without her <3 She is the reason why any of these chapters make sense lol :) Thank you!! 

Four years ago

Daisy hated her birthday.

Mainly because growing up her mother never remembered. When she was in elementary school all the other parents planned weeks in advance to have a classroom celebration. But every year when it was Daisy's turn, all she got was a crappy paper crown and a cheap pencil the teacher picked up at some wholesale market. She would then be brought to the front of the classroom where everyone would sign to her and count her age. It was all very nauseating.

But ever since Daisy met Gia, birthdays weren't so bad. The girls had sleepovers on their birthdays and made pancakes together in the morning. Carla was very supportive of the plans. She made sure the girls had everything they needed from sheet masks to junk food and ice cream tubs to quick mix pancake batter.

Patty never really cared where Daisy was as long as she was left alone to her own matters. Sometimes it felt as if Daisy spent more time at Gia's house then at her own place. Carla joked that if it weren't for Luca, she would have already offered Daisy the extra bedroom in the house.

Luca's unannounced business trips to New York were beginning to irk Daisy more and more. It wasn't bad enough she couldn't leave her things in the extra bedroom but whenever Luca did come over, he always had some event for Gia to attend. Which meant Daisy had to suffer through long weekends without her best friend to bother. But at least they had their birthday sleepovers.

Daisy looked over at the small clock on the nightstand to check the time. She had been awake for hours just staring at the shadows of the passing cars in the street. Gia's gentle breaths followed a steady rhythm as Daisy tapped her fingers over her hand. She tried counting in her mind but after a certain point the numbers started to sound repetitive.

Thinking maybe some tea might help, Daisy quietly pushed back the covers and rolled out of bed. She adjusted her oversize shirt and pulled up her socks before tip-toeing out of the room and closing the door behind her.

The house was too quiet. The only sound was from the passing cars running over the snow outside. The Christmas tree in the living room pulsed with golden lights as Daisy walked past it and entered the kitchen. She quietly made herself tea in the dark before turning on her heels to go sit by the tree. She was proud of the work they had done. Her cold fingers twirled the small ornaments as she sipped her hot tea and kept tabs on the time. As soon as the clock struck midnight, Daisy closed her eyes and made a wish.

To nineteen, she said to herself. I wish....I wish for nothing? Can I do that?

Daisy chuckled as she got off the floor. She never made birthday wishes. As a little girl she was too smart to believe in such nonsense.

"Happy birthday, Dee," Daisy muttered to herself. "Nineteen full circles around the sun. Way to go."

As she talked, from the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of the lamp in the study. Daisy paused, knowing very well Carla was not at home. She was away on a medical conference.

Had Gia left the light on?

Curiously, Daisy made her way to the study. She held the mug of tea tightly in her hands as she walked up to the table and paused.

There, before her on the desk, was a sketch pad. The pencil marks and the brush strokes stunned Daisy as she stepped closer. She reached out with her finger and touched the edge of the page. The wet watercolor immediately stained her finger. Daisy moved the sketch pad carefully and leaned over the table. Her eyes roamed over the beautiful landscape with jealousy.

She loved to paint. But whoever the owner of the sketch pad was clearly had more practice and talent than her. Daisy was tempted to flip through the pages when she heard the floorboard groan behind her.

She stilled and looked down. Her eyes were on the long shadow, inching closer and closer as she carefully picked up the letter opener from the desk. As soon as the shadow stopped moving, she whirled around with her tea and the golden letter opener. The shadow moved too, knocking the mug out of her hand. Daisy yelped in shock as the lukewarm tea fell all over her.

"Who are you?" The figure holding the gun asked as Daisy wiped off the tea from her lashes and pushed her damp hair back.

"Me?" She questioned. "Who are you?"

"What are you doing in my house?"

"What are you doing in this house?" Daisy threw back before realizing what the man had just asked. "Wait, what?"

In the dark room lit solely by the lamp on the table, Daisy peered up at the man before her. She knew those mossy green eyes. But something about them was darker than the ones she was used to. They were set on a face that could have been a sculpture's muse. The man before Daisy was dashing. She had never seen someone more attractive. Instantly a strange feeling of irrationality flickered up inside of her.

What right did he have to look this damn fine? Daisy wondered.

"I asked you a question," the man said, pushing the gun closer.

"And I believe I asked you three," Daisy said.

The man's eyes narrowed, "What's your name?"

"What's your name?"

"Are you seriously asking me for my name in my house?"

"I have never seen you here before," Daisy argued.

"Neither have I."

"Ddi you break in here?" Daisy asked. "You don't look like a thief."

"Neither do you," the man looked down for a second before his eyes quickly snapped back up. Daisy wondered why his gaze suddenly grew uncomfortable when she realized the whole top half of her t-shirt was wet and clinging to her chest.

"Look away!" Daisy held her hand over her chest as she waved the letter opener in her other hand. "Tell me who you are before I scream bloody murder and every single one of Luca's men come running up here right now."

The man looked baffled, "You can't be serious right now."

"Don't try me," Daisy threatened with her letter opener. "One....two.....thr-"

In one quick motion the man knocked the letter opener out of Daisy's hand and pushed her back against the desk. She barely had time to catch her breath as he spun her around and slammed her down on the desk. His hand gripped the back of her neck as he pressed the gun to her head.

"Who are you?" He demanded. "What are you doing in my house?"

"Oh my god!" Gia yelled from the doorway. "Luca! Let go! That's Daisy!"

"What?" Luca looked over his shoulder to find his sister staring back at him in horror.

"Oh my god, Dee!" Gia ran into the room. "Are you okay? Luca, get that gun away from her!"

".......Ow," Daisy groaned as Luca jumped back.

"Are you out of your mind?" Gia yelled as the blonde slowly straightened up and pulled her shirt down to cover up her pink shorts underneath. "What are you doing here?"

"My flight got canceled because of the snow storm," Luca said, his eyes on Daisy as she scrunched up her nose and shook off the paint on her hands. When she lifted her lashes and glared back at him with her light hazel eyes, Luca felt a fire ignite inside his chest.

She should be dead, he thought to himself. It should have been her in the bus accident and not Stella in that car crash.

"Dee, are you okay?" Gia ignored her brother and turned towards her friend. "Are you hurt?"

"There's a cramp in my neck," Daisy groaned. "I'm making your brother pay for my chiropractor."

"This is not how I envisioned you two meeting for the first time," Gia shook her head. "Luca, put the gun away."

Or I could just shoot her right now, Luca thought, his eyes not leaving Daisy.

As if she could sense his thought, Daisy's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. She used the back of her hand to wipe off the water on her face but the indigo paint on her knuckles left a streak on her cheek like a comet. Luca took notice of how the paint on her face made her skin look like a brand new canvas.

"What is she doing here?" He asked, moving his eyes away from the girl to his sister.

"It's her birthday tomorrow," Gia said. "We're having a sleepover and then breakfast."

"Actually, my birthday is today," Daisy grabbed some tissues out of the box on the desk and wiped off the pain on her cheeks. Her aggressive scrubbing irritated Luca as if she was messing up one of his paintings.

"What a birthday surprise," Gia muttered. "Let's go get you cleaned up."

"Just a second," Daisy said as she bent down to pick up the mug off the rug. Luckily, it didn't break to everyone's surprise.

Luca locked his gun and put it away. He stepped forward to crouched down to pick up the letter opener off the floor at the same time as Daisy. Their hands touched and eyes snapped up towards each other.

Green, Luca noticed. She has some green in her eyes.

"Do you always bend girls over like that, Beckham?"

"What?" Luca's eyes sharpened as Gia gasped in the background.

"Seems like you have a lot of practice," Daisy said, standing up slowly. "With that maneuvering."

"Yes, because he can kill you in under thirty seconds," Gia grabbed her best friend's arm and began to drag her towards the door. "Let's go."

"Nice painting," Daisy said over her shoulder as Luca stared after them.

What the fuck is wrong with her? Luca wondered.

__________________

Despite her tardiness to class and everywhere else in life, Daisy was a morning person.

The streets of New York were covered in snow, the biggest storm of the year. Daisy sat on Gia's window bench and watched the snow plow go through while managing to bury every parked car under seven feet of snow off the road. She was thankful she didn't need to be out there shoveling like Luca's men. Speaking of...

Beneath the naked tree on the sidewalk, Luca stood speaking to Manny with his hands in his pocket and the collars of his coat pulled up to provide extra warmth. Daisy's eyes followed the breath that escaped Luca's lips and hung in the air. His nose was red and the tips of his ears were beginning to match. Daisy laughed when she realized he was most definitely not a winter man.

Since their meeting the night before, Daisy had been itching to look through the sketch book in the study. She was curious to see what Luca was drawing. The painter in her burned with jealousy at the thought of those beautiful brush strokes and delicate details. He obviously spent a great deal of time perfecting his skills. Daisy didn't have that patience for such things but she craved it.

Seeing how Luca was occupied with supervising the shoveling of the sidewalk, Daisy hopped down from the window bench and sneaked out of the room. She tugged on the sleeves of her sweater as she made her way over to the study and peeked her head inside. Due to the snow, all the sound in the world was swallowed up. Daisy couldn't hear a thing as she hurried forward to the desk.

Her eyes searched high and low but she could not find the sketch book. The paint spill from the night before had been cleaned off the desk and even the tea stain on the rug was gone. Daisy stood by the edge of the desk wondering where the sketch book could be.

Would it be too much to go check the spare bedroom? How much time before Luca came upstairs-

"Thinking about being bent over on that desk again?"

Daisy looked over her shoulder to where Luca stood by the door. His green eyes were hooded and deep set. The stubble on his jaw looked sharper than it did the night before and for some reason, in the white glow of the snow from the outside world, his marble like features suddenly seemed dangerous. Without the shadows of the night to soften him up, Daisy realized Luca looked more like Cabanel's fallen angel than the golden boy Gia had described.

"It's not as thrilling when you're not holding a gun to my head," Daisy sighed as she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the desk.

You have got to remember to wear a bar around this house, Daisy scolded herself.

Luca did not look impressed by her quick remark, "Are you always such a joy to speak to?"

"Yes, sunshine," Daisy smiled.

"What are you doing here?"

"Snooping around," Daisy laughed. "I bet you weren't expecting me to admit that, were you?"

"What are you looking for?"

"The sketch book that was here last night."

"Why?" Luca asked.

"Do you always ask so many questions?" Daisy tilted her head.

"Do you always snoop around other people's houses?"

"Another question?"

"Why are you here?" Luca's voice climbed as his features hardened. "You're not wanted here, Ms. Clements. As soon as the roads clear, Manny will be driving you back to your mother's apartment."

"How do you know that?" Daisy's brows furrowed curiously. "How do you know I live with my mother and that we have an apartment and that the distance from here to my house requires a vehicle?"

"I don't like strangers in my house," Luca said.

"Technically, I've spent more nights in this house than you have," Daisy reminded him.

"So?" Luca arched his brow. "And that's not true. I've been visiting and part time living at this place since my birth."

"And when is that?" Daisy asked. "Your birthday."

"Why does it matter?"

"I'm just trying to figure out what your star sign is," Daisy moved her hand in a circle. "Are you a scorpio?"

"Do you have a few unscrewed nuts and bolts in your head?"

Daisy's hand suddenly flew to her mouth as she tried to muffle a laugh. Luca stared at her as if she was the bane of his existence.

"I'm sorry," Daisy held up her hand. "My brain just came up with some very inappropriate comments about being screwed that I most definitely should not share with you."

"Go pack your things," Luca ordered. "Manny will be dropping you off."

"But we haven't made pancakes yet."

"No pancakes."

"No pancakes?" Daisy gasped. "But it's tradition. And you seem like the kind of guy who honors traditions."

"Go get your things," Luca spoke each word slowly, making sure they were dripping with venom.

"No," Daisy said. 

"No?" Luca narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean no?"

"It's my birthday," Daisy said. "I'm making pancakes." 

And they met lol What do you think?