Worth it.
“Can I—stay?” she gasps.
I slide my tired arms around her back and squeeze.
Let her stay in bed with me tonight?
That’s the least I’ll do for her.
The very, very least.
25
Ziggy
I wake up to a growl.
Is that my stomach?
Wait. I’m not alone.
Holt.
Oh god.
Holt.
I’m in bed with Holt.
I pry my eyes open, registering bright sunlight and soft gray sheets and dark blue walls and a warm body beside me.
A warm body whose arm I’m drooling on.
I suck the drool back into my mouth and hear the growl again.
Is that his stomach?
He jerks in bed. “Ow. Stop it, asshole,” he mutters.
I lift a sleepy head.
He swings himself up to sitting and swats at something at the edge of the bed.
The growl—Jessica.
Jessica’s growling at both of us.
I leap to my feet, trip on a bag next to the bed, catch myself, realize I’m completely and totally naked, and start to laugh.
Jessica’s jumping at the end of the bed, trying to bite Holt’s boot, which is hanging off the edge. Holt’s staring at me like he doesn’t know who I am or where I came from.
And I’m naked.
Just naked.
“Stop,” I tell the dog.
She grunts, but she also plops her stout body down to sit beside the bed, scowling at me.
