Page 122 of Made for Mayhem

When the server left, Ty leaned in, forearms braced on the table. “Truth or dare, Daisy.”

I huffed out a breath, forcing a smile like this was nothing. Like my insides weren’t a carefully stacked house of cards. Like I didn’t understand why he was doing this. But I couldn’t do vulnerable—not today.

“Dare.”

Something in his expression eased—not relief, exactly. More like recognition.

“Okay,” he said, glancing around the table. “Easy one.”

He nudged the basket of fries toward me. “I dare you to eat three fries. No distractions. No talking.”

I blinked. “That’s it?”

“I don’t think you’ve eaten today,” he said mildly. “Let’s fix that.”

I scoffed, but my mind came up blank for any rebuttal. “Do you have to notice everything?”

I picked up the first fry. Ate it. The second. The third.

I sat back, crossing my arms. “Better?”

Ty smiled, and it was disarming to see him so happy when I felt like my heart was about to explode. “You did great.”

The softness and sincerity in his words made my chest feel weird, so I jumped in before he could say anything else.

“My turn.” I leaned forward. “Truth or dare?”

His answer came without hesitation. “Truth.”

Of course, he chose truth.

I stared at him for half a second, every real question backing away from the edge of my tongue.

Why does it feel like you see straight through me?

When does all of this become too much, and you’ll decide I’m not worth the trouble?

How do I stay when every part of me wants to run from this pain creeping in?

Nope. Not today.

I waved a fry at him instead. “Why won’t you try mayo on your cheeseburger?”

He blinked, then barked out a laugh. “That’s your truth?”

“Absolutely,” I said. “I need to understand the psychology.”

He shook his head, smiling, but there was affection in it now. “Because it’s unnecessary. The burger is already perfect.”

I gasped. “Have you even tried it before? How do you know it doesn’t make your burger that much better?”

“See, that’s the part you’re missing. I don’t need the burger to be better. I love the burger just as it is.”

I swallowed, staring down at my hands. I was pretty sure we were still talking about burgers, but the softness in his voice said this was something more.

“My turn,” he said quietly. “Truth or dare, Daisy?”

“Dare,” I said quickly. Too quickly.