Daisy Does It All (Clover Park, Book 2) Contemporary Romance (The Clover Park Series) (4 page)

And her favorite: “My husband thanks you!”

Her blog was doing phenomenally well. Her post on “Valentine’s Day with Baby” had the most comments she’d ever gotten from a blog post (more than a hundred), and her stats showed more than 100,000 hits that day. Apparently, a lot of people searched the Internet for Valentine’s Day with baby ideas. Her post on bedroom shenanigans had an astonishing 200,000 hits. Her new focus on love and sex after baby was striking a chord. Sex sells.

Too bad she wasn’t getting any.

She exhaled sharply and focused again on the screen. What to post today, the day after Valentine’s? How to top that? Her stomach growled. She hadn’t eaten anything since that turkey wrap she’d had on break at Garner’s more than three hours ago.

She stood, stretched, and headed to the kitchen. She grabbed a bag of potato chips she’d picked up at the health food store in town, Gary’s Greens & More, and chomped on a chip as she walked back to the sofa, feeling good about the fact it said “All-Natural” in big letters on the bag. She liked to buy all of her junk food at the health food store—chocolate crème-filled sandwich cookies that were almost like Oreos, organic peanut butter cups that were sorta like Reese’s. The only exception was Sno-Caps. The health store brand made of carob just couldn’t compare.

She settled back at the laptop. Ooh, maybe she and Darling Husband could plan a fabulous vacation with baby. She glanced toward the bedroom, where Bryce was sleeping. Hard to imagine traveling with him. Still, she had to keep things interesting on the blog. Where could she go with baby in tow? She had mentioned in her Valentine’s post that Darling Husband had a Bermuda travel brochure in the desk. She could say he gave her a trip to Bermuda as a Valentine’s gift and then talk about their plans. She warmed to the idea—sand, surf, sun. Lord, how she missed the sun; the Connecticut winter dragged on and on.

She switched over to another tab and searched for family-friendly resorts in Bermuda. Her mind boggled at all the choices. And it was all so expensive. Oh, what the hell. She was already pretending to live in a beautiful house with a perfect husband and baby. Might as well pretend to be rich too. She’d throw in a bunch of sex on the beach ideas too.

She quickly typed a glowing post about her dream vacation with Darling Husband playing her Romeo at every turn. Flowers, couples massage, tropical island drinks, and lots of handsy action in the ocean while Baby Delight was with the hotel babysitter. Ahh...if only. She added a planned moonlight stroll on the beach, ending with making love on a blanket right there on the soft sand just like they had on their honeymoon in Hawaii. So what if her mysterious Darling Husband looked like Trav in all her fantasies? It was just because she saw him so much because of Bryce.

She hit post and, not for the first time, considered what her life would be like if she and Trav ever did marry. Why was she resisting? It would be a sensible, stable marriage with a sensible, stable guy in a sensible, stable small town. Sensible and stable, two words that had never been applied to her. An unwanted memory pushed in of Max, the man she’d once loved in an open-to-the-soul way that she’d never managed again. They’d had a whirlwind romance in the city, their time together an exciting adventure, until the miscarriage. Max’s relief in the face of her wretched grief had devastated her. And then he dumped her.

She sucked in a breath, the memory still cut deep even after all these years. She hoped Max was fat and bald and living alone in a rat-infested apartment. She smiled to herself. Sometimes having a big imagination made life a little easier to swallow.

Marrying Trav would be good for Bryce. Trav always made that point, and he was right. How much longer could she keep up her grueling pace and still do a good job raising Bryce? She wanted her son to have a good life, a stable life. She
should
marry Trav. It was like her motherly duty or something.

She frowned, not liking the idea of duty and marriage in the same breath. She was about to shut down the laptop and head to bed when her eye caught on the email icon with a red dot indicating one new message.

She clicked on it.

That was strange. The email was from [email protected]. She didn’t know anyone at Rogue TV. Probably some sales pitch for a product they wanted her to buy. She opened the email.
Okay, what’re ya selling?

Dear Daisy,

The producers at
Mornings with Jessica
have read your blog with great interest and would love to interview you at your home at your earliest convenience. Jessica Larsen’s viewers are your target audience and would boost your blog following significantly. Please call at 212-555-5623.

Sincerely,

Kate Shaw

Talent Booker

Daisy slapped a hand over her mouth and silently squealed in delight.
Amazing!
She did a little happy dance in her seat, stomping her slippered feet on the floor. She couldn’t believe it. A national talk show? That meant major press. She might even start making money doing what she loved! Sponsors for her blog! TV appearances!

She could pay off her debt!

She’d show everyone she could stand on her own two feet!

She grabbed her cell and dialed the number. It went to voicemail. It
was
ten o’clock at night. Who cared? She grinned into the phone, waiting for the beep.

“Hi, it’s Daisy Garner. I’d love to do your show! I’m so excited. Call me!” She nearly hung up before remembering to leave her phone number. She hit end and jumped around her living room.

“Bryce, this could mean the start of something great!” she said aloud, though not too loud, since he was sleeping. She hugged herself, her smile stretching ear to ear.

Slowly, she lost her smile and sank to the sofa as a feeling of dread came over her. Problem. She didn’t
exactly
live in a charming Victorian home.

Or have a sweet Baby Delight (more like a Red-Faced Screamer).

Or have a Darling Husband.

Or any husband at all.

Trav!

He could play her Darling Husband. He’d do it for sure. And she could borrow Maggie’s Victorian home. That had been her inspiration anyway. Hopefully Bryce would nap through the interview. He did look angelic and sweet when he slept.

It could work. Right?

She felt a little shaky as a greater terror took hold. Omigod, she could be exposed as a fraud, ruining her reputation and all future career prospects. No one would ever take her seriously. She’d be doomed to work for her parents forever while they quietly judged her for her mess of a life.

She grabbed her cell and hit redial. She had to cancel immediately.

WAAAAHHHH!!!!! WAAAAHHHHH!!!!!!

She hung up and raced to Bryce before he could work himself into a state that forecast a long period of wakefulness. She scooped him up and settled into the glider. Her head dropped back in exhaustion on the sweaters thrown over the back of the glider. She’d worry about that talk show business tomorrow.

She yawned. A short while later, she tucked Bryce into his crib and climbed into bed.

She woke to the sound of the phone ringing the next morning, still exhausted from her night with Bryce. She grabbed her cell before it woke him. The last time she’d gotten him back to sleep was at six, and he was going on three hours sleep now. Her shift at Garner’s didn’t start until four, and she’d hoped to get a little more sleep before she had to deal with her day.

“Hello?” she whispered.

“Hello, Daisy, this is Kate Shaw from
Mornings with Jessica
. We’re so happy to have you on board. I’ve moved some things around so we can do a location shoot this Friday. We want to get you on while your blog is at its peak. Does that work for you?”

Daisy looked wildly around her messy apartment as if someone else would jump in with the right thing to say. But it was just her. She should call it off. Right? Before things got out of hand, and she was outed as a complete fraud.

“I think so,” she said slowly, “but—”

“Great! We’ll be there by eight a.m. with our crew to set up for a ten a.m. interview. I’ll email you our standard release and some tips for being your best self on camera. Look for it. Thanks!”

“Wait! I have a question.”

“Shoot.”

“Is the interview just me? The baby probably wouldn’t do well on camera, and my husband…he has to work.”

“We want the whole family. Jessica is looking forward to meeting you on Friday. Buh-bye.”

Rewind! I have to cancel this whole crazy thing! What was I thinking?

“Me too,” she said weakly to the dial tone.

Chapter Four

Daisy’s stomach churned with anxiety as she drove to Trav’s grandmother’s house with a sleeping Bryce in the back seat. She was grateful for the quiet, but she would’ve liked it better if he napped when she wasn’t driving too; then she might actually get a break. She pulled into the driveway and fetched Bryce. He woke instantly from the movement and the cold wind hitting his face. She tucked him close, shielding him from the gusting wind, and hurried to Maggie’s door. She rang the bell and bounced her fussy boy.

The door sprang open a moment later. Maggie stood there smiling in an off-the-shoulder orange and white polka-dotted shirt with leopard print leggings and bunny slippers. A diamond tiara was perched on her head. “Come in, come in!”

Daisy stepped into the cozy living room, where a fire was crackling in the fireplace. Maggie’s laptop sat on the coffee table. The older woman loved being online and spent a good amount of time searching for new knitting patterns on Ravelry, planning weekend trips for her and Jorge, and updating Facebook with her adventures, which included snorkeling, go-kart racing, and ziplining.

“Let me see my great-grandbaby,” Maggie cooed as she lifted Bryce from Daisy’s arms. “How’s my boy?”

Bryce squirmed and looked to Daisy.

“He’s cranky,” Daisy said. “Let me nurse him, and then he’s all yours.”

“Can I get you some tea?”

“No, thanks.” Daisy settled with Bryce on a red velvet chair. Maggie sat across from her on a floral loveseat. “I like your tiara.”

Maggie reached up, seeming surprised to find it there. “Oh! I forgot it was there from a little game of queen and servant this morning with Jorge.” She giggled and set it on the table.

Daisy worked to push that image from her mind. Maggie and Jorge had been inseparable since Maggie signed up for her first ballroom dance lesson at Jorge’s dance studio. They’d married only two months after their first date. But at Maggie’s age, she’d seen no reason for a long engagement. The woman was seventy-two going on fifty, which was good because Jorge was twenty years her junior. The handsome Mexican-American man was a total sweetheart with a dancer’s body. Quite the catch. Still, the less she knew on the senior citizen nooky front, the better.

Daisy went back to the reason for her visit. “I never told you this, but I started a blog about being a mom.”

Maggie leaned forward, her blue eyes sparkling with curiosity. “Do tell.”

Daisy gave her a small smile. “It started out just as a way to sort of fantasize about…a more perfect motherhood than my own.”

“Bah! No such thing as a perfect mother. You’re doing great with Bryce!”

“Thank you.” She looked down and put her finger on Bryce’s little hand. He immediately wrapped his fingers tightly around her finger, and her heart squeezed. “I don’t feel like such a great mom most of the time.” She looked up. “But I wanted to feel that way, so I wrote the blog.” She bit her lip. “Then I started getting creative.
Really
creative.”

Maggie smiled. “I like creative.”

“I described my home as a beautiful Victorian. Basically yours. I mentioned my Darling Husband.”

“You could have a darling husband. Trav—”

“Yes. I definitely want him as Darling Husband and—”

Maggie clapped her hands. “I knew it! I bet Jorge you two would marry before Bryce turned one.” She beamed.

Daisy forced a smile. She had to let Maggie believe they were getting married. The fewer people who knew it was a fake marriage, the better.

Daisy continued. “I also said I had a Baby Delight. You know, a sweet, not screaming kind of baby that smiles a lot and makes you feel like the best mom ever just by existing.”

Maggie grinned. “So not Bryce.”

“Not Bryce.”

Maggie spread her arms wide. “So you embellished a bit. Nothing wrong with that. Creative license, I say.”

Daisy grimaced. “Just one problem.
Mornings with Jessica
is coming to interview me at my fake house with my fake family on Friday.”

“
Mornings with Jessica!
I love that show. Jessica has the most fascinating people on. Yesterday she did a segment with Daniel Craig for his new movie. He is so dreamy. Have you seen him as James Bond?” She raised a brow and fixed her with a smoldering look. “Bond. James Bond.”

Maggie’s completely missing the point here.

“Uh, no. I—”

“I wonder if Jorge has a tux.” She tapped her finger on her chin. “We’d have to rent an Aston Martin.”

Daisy had more urgent concerns than role-playing; well, actually, that was her main concern. The role of a lifetime.

“I have to ask you something really important,” Daisy said. “Can I borrow your house for the show on Friday morning?”

“Absolutely! How fun! This is so exciting!”

“It is exciting, but…” Daisy took a deep breath. “Do you think maybe it’s wrong to pretend?”

“Nah. You have a baby and Trav already. Who cares if you’re just visiting my house for the interview? It’s no different than being on a TV set. Those backdrops are all fake too, you know.”

“I guess,” Daisy said slowly.

“Go big or go home, that’s what I say. Can I stay and meet Jessica?”

“Of course. Actually I was hoping you and Jorge might babysit Bryce upstairs while I’m being interviewed. I sorta made him sound like a sweet baby on the blog, and, well, you know how he can be.”

“The boy loves motion, that’s all. Once he’s walking, he’ll be much happier, mark my words.”

Daisy suddenly realized parenting him when he was mobile would require a whole new level of vigilance. “This parenting thing doesn’t get any easier, does it?”