“I didn’t realize you were awake.” Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. Did he know my bare boob had been smashed into his chest?
“You looked so peaceful. I didn’t want to disturb you.” He propped himself up on one elbow. “Sorry about the pillows. I’m not sure what happened.”
“Where’s Growler?” I lifted the covers, looking for the little guy. He usually slept right under my chin. The walls of my chest squeezed tight. What if I’d squished him when I rolled into Hendrix?
“He’s right here.” Hendrix glanced down at his hip. My traitorous dog laid on his back, little legs splayed in the air, right next to Hendrix’s side.
I was so relieved to see him that I crawled back across the bed and leaned over the muscled man next to me to reach my dog.
“You’ve gotta stop touching me, Daisy.” Hendrix got up from the bed and immediately headed toward the bathroom.
The bulge. I’d rubbed my knee all over the bulge in his boxer briefs. I closed my eyes for a long blink, wishing I could start the day over.
He came out of the bathroom fully dressed. “I’m going to run down to get coffee before I come back up and shower. You want me to take the beast outside to do his business?”
At the word “outside,” Growler hopped off the bed and ran over to Hendrix. I stayed on the bed, the covers pulled up to my chin. “Thank you, that would be great.”
“Be back in a few.” He clipped the leash onto my dog’s collar and the two of them disappeared through the doorway.
I flung the covers off, committed to being fully dressed by the time they returned. Locating the bra I’d discarded last night, I grabbed a pair of jeans, and a loose shirt then went into the bathroom to change.
Hendrix returned with two cups of coffee and a bag full of something that instantly made my stomach grumble.
“Brought you a kolache from the bakery down the street.” He set the bag down on the desk and handed me a steaming cup.
“Thank you. Did Growler do his business?” I patted the bed. Hendrix unclipped the leash and set my dog down next to me.
“Yeah. Two doodles and a nice, long whizz. I’m going to go wash my hands real quick before I dig into one of those buns.” He disappeared into the bathroom while I got up to see what exactly he’d brought back in that bag.
My mouth watered. The spicy scent of sausage mixed with the sweet smell of fresh baked bread. I usually didn’t eat breakfast and when I did, I steered clear of carbs. I’d already ruined my diet with the burger from last night. May as well enjoy myself over the weekend as part of my farewell to fun private pity party.
I pulled one of the kolaches out of the bag. The ends of the sausage inside stuck out from both sides of the fluffy roll. I could already taste it and it wasn’t anywhere near my mouth yet. Growler hopped down off the bed and barked at my feet.
“Let me try it first before I decide if you can have any or not.” I tried not to give him too much people food, but it was hard to deny him when he looked up at me with those chocolatey brown puppy dog eyes.
“How is it?” Hendrix came out of the bathroom just as I stuffed half a kolache into my mouth.
“Mmm.” I gave him a thumbs up since I could talk around the big bite of sausage and bun.
His mouth curled up on one side. “That’s what I thought. There’s something about this place.”
“The sausage is soooooo good.” I tore a small piece of bun off and tossed it to Growler. “And these buns—they’re light and fluffy and delicious.”
His smile turned from sweet to naughty. “Who would’ve thought slipping a sausage into some buns would be so enjoyable.”
I coughed, almost choking on the bite in my mouth. The heat between us hadn’t dissipated. Spending the night with him next to me—sharing a bed and breathing the same air—had only added to the attraction. But now he was turning up the flirt factor. Thank goodness we wouldn’t have to spend another night together. Resisting him might be too hard.
“Sorry. I’m a sucker for sausage jokes. Probably comes from growing up in a house full of brothers.” He shook his head as he popped another kolache in his mouth.
“How many brothers do you have?” He hadn’t shared much about himself, and I was curious about his past.
“Too many to name. Dozens. We’re foster brothers all raised by an angel. How about you? Any siblings?”
“No, just me. I wish I had a brother or sister. Maybe then I wouldn’t feel solely responsible for making my parents happy.” I bit down on my lip, not used to saying anything even remotely negative about my parents. If he didn’t already assume I was a spoiled only child, I’d just given him no reason not to.
“That must be rough.” His eyes softened at the edges. “Sounds like they’re not so happy with you coming to Dallas this weekend?”
That was an understatement. “They haven’t been happy with anything I’ve been doing lately. The more they push, the more I want to push back. They have certain expectations.”
