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Daisy blinked, realizing that she had completely forgotten about it, and she shook her head slowly.
“No… No, I don’t have a dress ready,” she murmured, cursing under her breath. “I need to get that done as soon as possible. Crap. I guess my mom might have to deal with not being invited. I’ll just go alone.”
Arvil quirked an eyebrow. “You should go with somebody,” he tilted his head to the side. “Get a second opinion. Don’t you have friends you could drag along? You do need bridesmaids, right?”
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“Bridesmaids were taken care of the first time around, so I have them already. I just— I don’t want to be held up when getting the dress. It might even be too late right now for it to be altered, so I want to her it as soon as I possibly can,” Daisy sighed, picking up her glass of water and staring down at it.
“We still have a few weeks, so don’t stress about it, okay?” Arvil looked around before setting his eyes back on her. “Ready to order?”
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“I’m already stressing, but thanks,” Daisy muttered under her breath as she picked her menu back up and stared at that instead of her water. “No, I’m not ready. Give me another couple of minutes.”
“My mother said we can visit her tomorrow at the evening, if you’ll be free,” he changed the subject, running a hand through his hair.
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Daisy hummed acknowledgment to his comment. She decided on what she wanted, then set the menu down to look up at him again. Her eyes were, well… She didn’t look quite distant, but she almost seemed to be hiding her emotions.
“Tomorrow evening works. I’ll set up an appointment for a dress fitting the next day, then,” she decided.
Arvil glanced at her before he sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“Daisy… are you okay?” he finally questioned quietly. “You know you don’t have to do this alone, right? I can go with you to the dress fitting if you want. And if you’d rather not have me see you in the dress, I can have my sister go with you.”
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“I’m fine. It’ll be fine. Really,” she assured him, shaking her head.
Gosh, was it really that obvious? Maybe she should just act happy or something… Bur how could she do that when she could very well not get the second most important part of a wedding in time for the actual wedding?
“I’m fine,” she said again, short and quick.
Arvil raised his eyebrow again and took her hand, giving her a reassuring squeeze.
“I think I’m sort of an expert at knowing whenever you’re upset, Daisy,” he said softly. “You need to lean on me a little more. I want you to rely on me. I’m here for you.”
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Daisy’s lips twitched, and she looked down. Why was he so good at this, dang it? He could never let her be upset in peace, could he?
“I— I just…” She let out a heavy sigh and used her free hand — the one he grabbed having gone limp in his, simply from the touch — to bury her face in. “I don’t know, Arvil. I meant to get a dress a while ago, and I had planned to before… You know… But then that happened, and I never made the appointment because the wedding was… postponed. So now it’s my fault that I don’t have a dress, and it’s barely weeks before the wedding, and it normally takes longer than that for them to alter a dress, so yes, I’m stressed out and rather ticked off with myself, thanks.”
Arvil released a breath, squeezing her hand before he stood up and pulled her to her feet. He wrapped his arms around her, tucking her gently in his arms as he buried his face in her neck.
“It’s not your fault,” he told her gently. “I’m supposed to be here for you, too. I thought your mother would help you, so I didn’t do anything. I don’t want you stressing out about it. We can reschedule the dinner with my mother until you can find your dress. I’ll ask my sister to help you, too. I don’t want you to think you’re alone.”
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Daisy let out a surprised huff of breath when she was pulled to her feet, and she froze for a moment when he hugged her. Her face slowly crumpled before she buried it in his chest, wrapping her own arms around him loosely.
“I— Thank you, Arvil, but— but you really don’t have to do so much to help me,” she murmured, her voice muffled by his shirt and choked by tears lodged in her throat. “I mean, it sounds not like— like you’re really, uh… Um…”
Like he was really her fiancé. He wasn’t, but he really acted like that, huh? Of course he did. It wasn’t even an act.
He tightened his hold on her as she choked back her tears, lightly kissing her cheek.
“I’ll never stop wanting to help you,” he murmured in her ear. “We’re going to be together, Daisy. And I can’t let you be upset, or stressed out when I can be there for you.”
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Daisy made a small noise in her throat and pressed closer to him. He was just… so kind. She hoped, desperately, that they would at least be able to stay friends after all this was through.
Even if she knew she wanted more.
But she couldn’t have more. He didn’t like her in that way. At least— No. No, that was just a desire for her, just a lust. Wasn’t it?
“Thank you,” she mumbled, her arms tightening around him slightly.
It was really hard not to confess in this moment.
I like you, Daisy. A lot more than I should. I want to be something more. I want to be your real fiancé, not a fake one.
He kept his mouth shut.
“Anytime, Daisy,” he murmured, breathing her in again. “Always.”
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Just a lust for her. She had to think that, otherwise her mind would run wild with possibilities. And that was not something that could happen.
She slowly, carefully, reluctantly pulled away from him. Rubbing at the spot beneath her eye, she glanced at the floor, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. She was certainly not about to cry in public…
“We should, um, sir back down and figure out what we should get for dessert,” she murmured.
Arvil, though he was disappointed at having to let her go, smiled.
“Yeah, we should,” he hummed as he took his seat. “It’s going to be okay, Daisy. It’s stressful, but it’ll work out in the end.”
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Daisy hummed, still very embarrassed at what had just happened. She was better, though. He’d helped her feel better with even just the hug…
“Thank you,” she mumbled, her gaze searching the menu.
Arvil hummed in response to her thanks, eyes falling to his own menu. Even though he had already decided on what to get while he had been waiting for her.
“You look beautiful, by the way,” he murmured. “As always.”
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Daisy blinked, looking up at cheeks tinted pink again. She shook her head with a small smile, then glanced down at her outfit.
It wasn’t something fancy or anything, but… she had put some thought into it. The gray cardigan over the pale pink T-shirt was actually paired nicely with a pair of skinny jeans and black ballet flats.
“Thanks… You look nice, too,” she said, glancing over him again quickly before setting the menu down to take a sip of water.
Arvil winked at her in response. He would have made an egoistic remark, but he held himself back. He wanted to enjoy the pink on her cheeks a little while longer. “You ready to order? Or do you need more time?”
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“I’m ready. I was just looking at desserts,” Daisy explained, glancing up at him with a small smile. “Are you?”
“Definitely ready,” he nodded before calling over a waiter. They ordered what they needed, plus the drinks, and then waited for their food.
“Did you always need glasses?” Arvil questioned curiously.
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Daisy blinked over at Arvil, raising her eyebrows at the question. She gave him a little smile and shook her head.
“No, I didn’t. Throughout elementary school, I was fine. I started needing them in about eighth grade, and… Well, you know teenagers. They’re little jerks who like to make fun of anyone who’s different,” she said with an indifferent shrug.
“I’m pretty sure you were adorable with glasses as a teenager,” Arvil commented, though he just couldn’t understand why people just couldn’t keep their mouths shut. “Teenagers can be awful.”
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Daisy rolled her eyes, though the comment did make her smile a little more.
“Well, thanks. Not everyone was like that, though. I had a few good friends, only one of which also had glasses, and we were pretty close. They never made fun of me for it,” she explained.
“I’m pretty sure that’s no reason to be made fun of, anyway,” he shrugged, pleased with her smile. “But it’s good that you had friends like that.”
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Daisy hummed her agreement with a nod. She leaned back in her seat, looking around the restaurant.
“So… Was there anything else we needed to discuss?” she asked, turning her eyes back to him.
“No, not really,” Arvil shook his head. “Was there anything else we needed to discuss? We have the music planned, invites sent out, the cake was ordered…”
