The Dating Plan(29)
“I’ll hide behind one of the racks.”
Layla laughed. “You should stay and learn a few tricks. My mom taught me everything I know.”
Skills a mother taught her daughter if she wasn’t busy living her dreams on the other side of the country—dreams that didn’t include her children.
After Nira Auntie had pinned the outfit for alterations, and Layla had bargained her down to the point of being disowned from the family, they searched the racks for something for Daisy to wear, both to Layla’s wedding and her own fake ceremony.
“No saris,” Daisy said. “I need to be able to run after you when you come to your senses and see Sam for who he really is.”
Layla chuckled. “I think you guys are too much alike. He’s very logical and practical like you.”
“I wish I wasn’t so logical. Then I could just make up a history with Liam instead of having to go out on pretend dates. I sent him a spreadsheet this morning and told him we’d be discussing the dating plan. I hope he doesn’t want to change anything.”
“You’ve scheduled a date to go over the dating plan.” Layla laughed. “I think you’re marrying the wrong guy. This is Liam we’re talking about. Every time I saw him at school he was in the principal’s office. He spray-painted ‘Anarchy’ on the street. He lounged around your house in ripped jeans, heavy metal T-shirts, and leather jackets, and hung out with a dangerous crowd. I think at one point his hair was longer than mine. He is not a schedule kind of guy. That’s what you liked most about him. He was your opposite when it came to managing life, but you both had that little bit of rebel inside.”
“Or maybe we were just both messed up,” She flipped through a rack of brightly colored salwar suits. “But he has a good job now, and he was even wearing a suit and tie. He wouldn’t have gotten as far as he has if he couldn’t make it to meetings on time.”
“He showed up at your office unannounced and smooth-talked you into a fake marriage.” Layla’s voice rose in exasperation. “That tells me he hasn’t changed, and the part of you that was attracted to his Rebel-Without-a-Cause self is attracted to him now. You didn’t even call me when he proposed.” She whirled around, dropping her hands to her hips. “Since when do you make spur-of-the-moment decisions? It takes you twenty minutes to decide what kind of coffee you want to drink, and yet you decided to marry him in less than ten minutes.”
“Twenty-two minutes, fifty-three seconds.” Daisy pulled out the lone salwar kameez on the rack, an offensively florescent orange number with green and brown embroidery. “And I didn’t call you because it wasn’t real. Besides, it’s only for a year. The company will be saved. I’ll have my space back. My friends will have their jobs. Dad and the aunties will think I’m a lost cause, and they’ll leave me to a peaceful single life.”
“Life isn’t that neat and tidy,” Layla warned. “You have to be prepared for curveballs. Look what happened to me. I came home from New York thinking I’d be single forever and instead I married the man who irritated me most in the world.”
“I have control over this situation,” Daisy said. “You didn’t. Nothing unexpected is going to happen.”
“Ladies.” A deep, loud, familiar voice boomed through the store and Daisy turned to see Liam walking toward her clad in head-to-toe black leather, the only white face in a sea of brown.
“As I was saying . . .” Layla smirked. “You get involved with Liam, you need to be prepared for curveballs.”
“Layla.” Liam inclined his head. “Nice to see you again. It’s been a long time. You look just as pissed at me as I expected you would be, but no less beautiful.”
“That’s exactly how I feel,” she retorted. “It’s funny how, after ten years, my loathing for you has not faded in the least, so you can turn off the charm.”
“This is all me, sweetheart.” He held his arms wide, a motorcycle helmet in one hand. “The charm doesn’t get turned on. It’s just there.” He winked as two young women passed by, sending them into a fit of giggles.
Daisy finally found her tongue. “What are you doing here? You’re twenty-three minutes early.”
Liam pulled out his phone and turned it around to show her the spreadsheet she’d sent him. “I received your draft dating plan and I was so overwhelmed with excitement at the prospect of discussing it with you, I just couldn’t wait. I swung by your office and asked Rochelle if she knew where I could find you.”
“Of course you did,” Daisy muttered under her breath making a mental note to find out how Rochelle knew where she was when she wasn’t at work.
“She’s a very accommodating woman.” He shrugged off his jacket.
Daisy recoiled in horror. “Did you sleep with her?”
“Of course not. I don’t fish in the company pond.” A slow, sensual smile spread across his face. “Not unless the fish bite.”
“How delightfully crass.” Layla slung a few outfits over her arm. “You picked a real winner, Daisy. Congratulations.”
Daisy bristled. “It’s not real.”
“Thank God for that.”
Her muscles tensed, and she bounced a curved knuckle against her mouth. “Is there a problem with the dating plan?”