Jerking my arm out of his hand, I went back inside and finished up the muffins.
At some point, he came back inside and headed for the bedroom, only stopping to check on Krista on his way.
I slid the muffin batter into the oven just as the bedroom door closed. Wiping off my hands, I tossed the towel on the counter and sighed. That was not how I planned on spending my night.
There was no way I was getting any sleep, and with the gigantic mess in front of me, I had numerous reasons not to join him in bed.
The complex aromaof smoky nuts and earthy warmth filled my nostrils, jerking me upright.
Black and white lettering flitted in front of my eyeball as the page of the newspaper stuck to my face slowly peeled away. “Hmm?”
“Coffee?”
Liam’s rich voice sent shivers down my spine, though I couldn’t see him yet.
Tearing the paper from my cheek, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, finally getting my first glimpse at daylight. The sun was low in the sky and the haze of early morning fog settled low on the grass.
“It’s too early,” I mumbled, knowing I had only fallen asleep an hour ago.
“Well, I figured you either needed coffee or bed.”
“Bed,” I mumbled. “Definitely bed.”
Though he was standing beside me, I avoided his gaze like a champion. I wasn’t too proud to admit that I may have been a little too angry last night over something so stupid. But I was alsoholding out for that apology that deep down I knew was never coming.
“Why did you sleep out here?”
Snatching his coffee, I took my first sip, grimacing at the bitter taste. “I fell asleep reading the paper.”
“You mean, avoiding me. Cream?”
“And sugar,” I muttered, needing the good stuff if I was going to make it through the day.
Instead of me taking care of him, he quickly grabbed creamer from the fridge and poured a decent amount into my coffee, turning it a delicious tan color instead of the muddy brown he liked so much. I waited patiently for the sugar, raising my eyebrow when he only put in one teaspoon.
“Another?”
“Does it look like it’s a one-teaspoon morning?”
“You know, you’re usually much perkier than this, and I’m usually the grouchy one,” he said as he added another spoonful.
I snatched the coffee and took a sip, then set it back down and motioned for another.
Chuckling, he added another teaspoon of sugar, but didn’t dare say a word about my sugar fix.
“You know, at this point, it’s not really coffee.”
Ignoring him, I sat there sipping my coffee until I felt like I could deal with another human.
“Where’s Krista?”
“Still sleeping on the couch. Can’t you hear the snoring?”
Not really. I felt like I was hungover. I didn’t do well on so little sleep. But as I really listened for something other than the sound of my own thoughts, I finally heard the long snarl that seemed to come from his sister.
“I’m not sure that’s snoring.”
He grinned at me before turning to snatch his own cup. I took the opportunity to quickly scan his body, telling myself I was looking for any signs he was in pain.
