The Best Man (Alpha Men 2)

“Half day, remember? Mason’s picking me up from here.” Daisy rolled her eyes at Daff’s blank stare before elaborating, “I told you last night, Mason and I are heading to Knysna today for a cake tasting. And we’re choosing our invitations.” She gave an excited little squeal, and Daff couldn’t help but grin at her sister’s enthusiasm. Daisy was enjoying the planning process so much more than Lia had. Every part of it for Daisy was fun and exciting, while for Lia it had been a chore and she’d quickly regressed into a moody, bitchy bridezilla. Now, of course, they all knew that Lia had been stressed because deep down inside, she had known she was making a mistake. Daisy—as she had once told Daff with joyful tears in her eyes—had never felt more positive about anything in her life.

“Wouldn’t eating now spoil the whole cake-tasting experience?” Daff asked.

“It’ll probably improve it. If I’m hungry, any old thing will taste awesome to me and I wouldn’t be making an informed decision. So you can totally share this with me.” Daisy looked uncertain for a moment before adding, “Unless your mystery man will be joining you for lunch?”

“There’s no mystery man,” Daff denied, blushing furiously, and Daisy’s loud, obnoxious snort of laughter told her that her sister wasn’t buying that denial at all.

“Is he a local guy?”

“There’s no guy.”

“So where did this come from?”

“Maybe I made it myself.”

“Please, you’re a terrible cook. There’s no way you made this.”

“I ordered takeout from MJ’s.”

“This has never been, and will never be, on MJ’s menu. So spin another tale.”

Before Daff could respond, her phone, which was resting on the counter between them, rang, and Daisy’s eyes widened when she saw the image and name that popped up on the screen.

Daff grabbed up the phone guiltily and jabbed the screen before lifting it to her ear and turning her back on Daisy. How could the man have such awesome sexual timing and such terrible timing everywhere else?

“Hey,” she greeted furtively, and then her eyes slid shut involuntarily when his rough, no-nonsense voice echoed the greeting.

“How’s lunch?” he asked.

“Haven’t had a chance to sample it yet,” she said in a near whisper, painfully aware of Daisy’s flapping ears.

“Make sure you eat it.”

“I will,” she promised him, an involuntary smile coming to her lips. With anybody else she would have taken exception to the bossiness, but on Spencer it was kind of endearing, maybe because she knew his gruffness stemmed from a genuine place of concern. And she just didn’t have the heart or will to be indignant.

“How was your meeting?” she asked.

“Still going. I took a quick break to call you.” He’d interrupted work for her? For her? That made her feel way too special.

“That’s—that’s . . . I honestly don’t know what that is.” He chuckled at the candid statement.

“It is what it is. See you later?”

“Definitely,” she promised him huskily. He disconnected the call, and Daff turned to face her avidly staring youngest sister nervously.

“Sooooo.” Daisy drew the word out irritatingly, her elbows resting on the counter and her chin cradled in the palms of her hands. “Who’s the Dick and does he really look like a cartoon penis in a top hat?”

Daff was grateful that she had so impulsively changed Spencer’s name and pic on her phone.

“He’s no one you need to concern yourself with.”

“Come on, Daff. A little hint. Where did you meet him?”

“It’s just a passing thing, Deedee. I don’t see the need to discuss the matter with you. If it were serious, it would be different. But it’s not. It’s just . . . sex.” She blushed a little, wondering why she felt like a fraud and a liar. And a traitor. She and Spencer had been clear on the matter. No-strings sex and no need to discuss this thing with family—especially not with nosy siblings.

“Fine, keep your secrets,” Daisy said with a put-out little huff, and Daff exhaled in frustration.

“Come on, Deedee, it’s still very new. I don’t feel comfortable talking about it. Especially when I know it’s not going anywhere.”

“You’ll let me know if anything changes? If it becomes serious?”

“It won’t.”

“I don’t know about that; you didn’t see your face when I first walked in here. You looked smitten.” Such a dated word. Quintessentially Daisy. It struck Daff that both her sisters were a lot more suited to Spencer than she was. Sweet and innocent and exactly the type of woman a decent, old-fashioned guy like Spencer needed in his life. Daff wasn’t sweet and she wasn’t innocent. She was much too cynical. Still, she wasn’t looking to settle down with the guy, so it didn’t matter if they weren’t compatible in any way other than sexually.

“I’m not smitten. He has a great body, a big dick, and can work wonders with his tongue,” she said, being deliberately crude, knowing her sister—who had been a freaking virgin before Mason—would be silenced by that. “That’s all I need from him.”