She waved a hand in the air. “Yeah, whatever.”
“I bet you’d forgive him if he tossed you a drumstick tonight.” I’d been lucky enough to catch a guitar pick that Jax threw out into the crowd at one of their concerts I went to as a teenager, but a drumstick would have been much better.
“We’ll see.”
I was about to slide out of the booth when I realized I hadn’t checked in with Hendrix in over an hour.
Me: Brunch is over. I can come get Growler so you can work.
Hendrix: Wrapped up early. We’re back at the hotel.
Me: Perfect. I’ll head that way. How was he?
Hendrix: No trouble at all. What did the gals think about your business idea?
Me: They loved it!
Hendrix: I won’t say I told you so, but…
I laughed out loud as I read his text. Then quickly typed in my response.
Me: I’ll say it… you told me so and you were right.
Hendrix: There’s always a first time. :) Been thinking about you. Can’t wait to hear all about it.
Even though there was no way my pet store would ever become reality, thinking about him thinking about me put a huge smile on my face.
“Who’s responsible for that?” Luna asked.
“What?” I looked around, assuming she’d seen something while I had my nose buried in my phone.
“For putting that giddy look on your face.” Luna gave me a wide smile. “Have you got a guy in your life you haven’t told us about yet?”
“Of course not. You know I’m no good at keeping secrets. If there was a guy in my life, you’d know about it.” There was no denying Hendrix was a guy. I’d felt the proof of that against my leg when I woke up this morning. And, technically, he was in my life… at least since last night. But he wasn’t really a “guy in my life.” That label came with expectations… expectations neither one of us were in a position to entertain.
“If you say so…” Luna arched a brow.
“I do say so.” There was no guy and there wouldn’t be unless I agreed to start dating the kind of men who had my parents’ stamp of approval… men like the junior partner my parents were expecting me to meet on Sunday. “Hey, I’m going to head back to my hotel and get ready. I’ll meet up with you in a few hours, okay?”
I hugged each one of my besties before leaving the restaurant and heading back to the hotel where Hendrix and Growler waited.
The elevator was broken, so I took the stairs all the way up to the ninth floor. When I finally reached the room, I was out of breath and fumbled with the keycard before I finally got the green light to appear.
Eager to see Growler, I flung open the door. “How’s my favorite boy?”
Hendrix stood just inside the room with his back to me. He was naked. That’s right… N.A.K.E.D. The shock of seeing his bare ass—a very, very, very fine bare ass—completely paralyzed me. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t look away. I couldn’t even blink.
“Jesus, Daisy. I didn’t know you took a key.”
Don’t turn around, I begged.Whatever you do, please don’t turn around.
He turned around.
My gaze met his. Heat rushed over my chest like a fast-moving flow of lava, then moved up my neck and onto my cheeks.
He grabbed something off the bed and held it over his crotch, but it was too late. The image had been seared into my memory.
“Sorry, sweetheart. That wasn’t supposed to happen.”
