Arvil took a seat, slipping his arm from Daisy’s, but not before smiling at her. All he needed to done was pretend the other man wasn’t present. He could do that.
“Mr. and Mrs. Riley,” Arvil looked at the doctors. “How are you? It’s been a while since we last saw each other.”
group
“We’re doing fine, Arvil. And please, call me Thomas,” Daisy’s father insisted with a polite smile at the other man.
“Oh, yes. And call me Annalise. I’m sure we insisted on that the last time you were here, didn’t we?” the older woman mused with a shrug as she glanced at her husband. Her gaze shifted to her daughter as she sat down beside her fiancé, settling herself in her seat. “How are you? And how’s the company?”
"Ah, it's a force of habit," Arvil chuckled, taking Daisy's hand and playing with her fingers. There was a soft smile on his features as he did so, though it was like he was not conscious of his own actions. "Daisy's been taking care of me, so I'm doing fairly well. The company is doing fine as well. We're working on a new project, and though it's going smoothly, it prevents me from seeing Daisy often."
"That's unfortunate," Gavril said, though his voice was slightly mocking. "It must be hard meeting up due to your work."
"Definitely not," Arvil answered smoothly. "Daisy visits me often. I make sure to leave room for her in my schedule. My day is rather sad without the glow of my fiancee. So, Thomas, Annalise, you both look a little tired. Work must be exhausting."
group
Daisy’s parents nodded along as Arvil spoke, watching him curiously. Who knew what was going on inside their heads? Even Daisy had no idea at this point.
“Well, I’m certainly glad you’ve both made time to see each other,” Thomas said with a smile. “And yes, work is exhausting. There is no shortage of people needing medical assistance, that’s for sure.”
“Why don’t we all dish up? I made ratatouille, and we have wine or water that you can have with it,” Annalise declared, standing and taking the cover off of the dish in the center of the table. “What would you care for?”
Daisy was still slightly surprised by Arvil taking her hand, but she didn’t pull away. When her mother asked the question, she glanced up at her. “I’ll take a glass of wine, please. But then water. I drove here, remember? As did these two,” she reminded her, nodding toward Arvil and Gavril.
"I would just like water, thank you," Arvil replied, nodding back at Daisy. "How many times do you get patients with preventable injuries?"
"I would prefer a glass of wine," Gavril answered Annalise, his voice seemingly polite. "Daisy, how is your work going?"
Though Arvil had told himself to be calm, he couldn't stop the spark of annoyance he felt when Gavril addressed Daisy. He really didn't want that other man to be here, but there wasn't anything he could do for that.
group
Annalise nodded and stepped into the kitchen to get drinks, calling her husband to help her. Once they were gone, Daisy turned to Gavril and raised her eyebrows at him.
“Work is fine,” she answered shortly. “Nothing interesting to you, seeing as you don’t think that writing is a real career.”
"Does he?" Arvil chuckled, shaking his head. "Doesn't surprise me, really. A small mind for a small man. It fits, actually."
Gavril shot him a venomous glare. Arvil returned it with a smile.
"You certainly can't live off of the money you earn in writing," he responded, crossing his arms over his chest. "It can't guarantee a successful future. You'll need someone's assistance in finances if you pursue that."
"Ah, did you lose your nose, Gavril?" Arvil leaned forward, a smile on his features. "I just found it where it doesn't belong." His smile hardened. "You aren't really in the position to tell Daisy what she can and can't do. She can make that decision herself. I'm afraid it's none of your concern. And if you're that worried about her living a hard life, don't be. She has her wonderful skills, and me to support her."
group
“Gavril, I get paid plenty. I get enough a month to live off of just fine,” Daisy reminded him with a sharp look. She opened her mouth to say something more, but the man was spared her rage when her parents stepped back into the room.
Annalise set wine in front of Daisy, Gavril, and herself, and Thomas gave himself and Arvil waters, as well as a glass for Daisy.
“So, what were we discussing?” Annalise asked as she sat back down, her husband pushing her chair in for her before doing the same.
"Thank you," Arvil nodded at the glass. "We weren't talking about anything productive. Daisy mentioned you wanted to take her shopping a few days ago. If you need anything, you can let me know."
group
Annalise lit up a little at the mention of shopping. “Oh, yes! Daisy, there’s a wonderful dress shop not too far from here. I’ll set up a date that we can go dress shopping,” she declared. “We can talk about it after lunch.”
Arvil chuckled and winked at Daisy.
"Any chances I could see her in the dress you choose before our wedding?" he asked hopefully. "Just a small peek would work."
group
“No, it’s bad luck,” Daisy declared, turning to raise her eyebrows at him with a half-smirk. “Didn’t you know that?”
Arvil pouted, feeling disappointed. “Couldn’t have hurt to ask. I’ll have to wait until the wedding. It’s torturous, don’t you know that?”
group
Daisy rolled her eyes, her lips twitching up into a small smile. Her mother watched the exchange with a curious look on her face before she smiled and raised her glass.
“I propose a toast: to Arvil and Daisy,” she said, looking around the table. Her husband raised his at the same Daisy did, though the latter was blushing slightly.
Arvil grinned. “To me and Daisy,” he said, raising his own glass. Gavril did the same, though rather quietly, choosing to observe. Or perhaps he had enough of getting insulted. Whatever it was, Arvil wasn’t complaining.
group
Daisy set down her fork and glanced around the table. It seemed like everyone else was just finishing up, too, so she waited for them to finish.
“Thank you, mom, that was really good,” she said, giving her mother another’s polite smile.
Arvil finished the water he was drinking and set down the glass, humming at Daisy’s statement.
“It really was,” he agreed. “But I never had any doubt.”
“I agree,” Gavril smiled. “It was wonderful, Annalise.”
group
“Well, thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it,” Annalise said with a grin. “Daisy, would you mind helping me clean up while the men go sit in the living room?”
“Sure,” Daisy agreed with a nod, standing and picking up her plate and Arvil’s.
“Is there anything I can do to help?” Arvil questioned as he stood up. “I’d feel bad having you both clean up all by yourselves.”
That, and he couldn’t stand being in Gavril’s presence. He was afraid his control was slipping.
group
“No, I think we’ve got it,” Annalise said, shaking her head as she collected plates.
Daisy shot her mom a look and turned back to Arvil. “That would be nice, actually. Thank you.”
Arvil shot her a smile.
“Perfect,” he began to pick up the plates, carrying them to the sink. As he passed by Daisy, he whispered, “Thank you,” for her ears to hear only.
group
Daisy smiled at his words and followed him and her mother into the kitchen.
“You can just put things in the dishwasher after you rinse them off,” Annalise directed them, already doing so.
“All right,” Arvil smiled before turning to Daisy. “I can rinse them and had them to you. You can put them in the dishwasher.”
group
“Sounds good,” Daisy agreed, nodding as she handed him plates to rinse off.
Annalise put her plates away, watched them for a moment, then stepped out. She had probably decided that they had it under control, and she may or may not have wanted to see what they would do alone.
Arvil set those plates in the sink as well, turning on the tap. He pulled his sleeves back and took one plate, rinsing it and handing it over to Daisy. When she took it and put it in the dishwasher, he smirked mischievously.
And flicked water at her.
group
Daisy jumped as something wet hit the side of her face. She turned to Arvil, staring at him in surprise.
“Really?” she questioned as she set the last dish in the dishwasher. She stuck her hand under the running water and flicked it back at him.
Arvil tried ducking, but the droplets still hit him. He chuckled, wetting his hand again and flicking water at her again, this time a little more.
“Yes, really,” he winked at her. “Why can’t we have some fun?”
group
“My parents are expecting us back out there any minute now,” Daisy reminded him, closing the dishwasher and setting her hand once more. She flung water at him, aiming lower in case he ducked again.
Arvil winked at her. She was smart—aiming low like that. He dipped his hand in the water again, grabbed her wrist with his dry hand, pulled her to him and smeared the water over her cheek.
“A few minutes won—“ he froze once he realized just how close they were to each other. With her wrist in his hold, their chests pressing, his hand on her cheek.
Well. Good job, Arvil.
group
He pulled her so close, their chest brushing together, and Daisy’s breath caught in her throat. She looked up at him, cheeks burning, and realized that she wanted to kiss him again. So badly.
So she stretched up on her toes, her lips almost meeting his. Then a voice called from the living room, tearing her attention away. She pushed away from him, gently pulling her hand from his hold.
“Everything going okay in there?” Thomas called.
Daisy cleared her throat before she answered, her voice shaking slightly. “Y-yeah. Yeah, everything is fine. We were just finishing up.”
