I blame it on shock; last night I didn’t have the wherewithal to assert myself in any way.Too numb to care, I simply tapped out.When Hugo showed me to his bedroom and offered me its use, I didn’t object.In fact, I don’t think I would’ve said a word, even if he had crawled into bed with me and the box of comfort food I was clutching.He didn’t stay, but he gave me one of his shirts to wear.
Where he ended up, I don’t know, but now I can hear him downstairs talking to Carson, putzing around the house, and I’m too much of a chicken to crawl out of my cocoon.
I must’ve fallen back asleep because the next thing I know, I feel someone sit down on the edge of the bed, pulling the covers off my face.I squint at the bright light of day, and am able to make out Hugo’s smiling eyes.
He reaches over and peels off a plastic wrapper stuck to my cheek.
Wonderful.
I should be embarrassed I stuffed my face with Twinkies in his bed last night, but at this point it almost doesn’t matter.It’s not like he hasn’t had a front-row seat to the absolute disaster my life turned into in these last twenty-four hours.
“It’s noon,” he shares.“I’ve held off the troops as long as I could, but Savvy was already here once this morning with a few things from your apartment, and she said she’d be back to talk to you.”
He points to the bag by the bathroom door, and I silently thank my bestie for thinking ahead.
“Also, Lola and Emmet called, and I told them you’d call them back.”
I reach over to the nightstand to grab my phone, but all my fingers find are more wrappers.
“I took it,” Hugo explains.
“What?Why would you do that?”
“Because when I checked in on you this morning and saw you’d finally dozed off, I wanted you to get some sleep and took it with me.It was almost out of juice too, so it’s charging in the kitchen.”
I hold my breath when he leans over and brushes my lips with his, and don’t release it again until he gets to his feet and moves to the door.
“I put some towels on the counter in the bathroom.Go grab a shower and get cleaned up before Savvy comes back, and I’ll go put on a fresh pot of coffee.”
The moment the door closes, I’m out of bed and heading for the bathroom, grabbing the bag with my stuff on the way.One glimpse in the mirror has me groan out loud.Between the giant bags under my eyes, one side of my hair sticking up, and the dried smear of pastry filling across my cheek, I’m not exactly looking my best.
Not smelling my best either; a combination of smoke, restless night, and morning breath.I can’t believe he voluntarily put his lips on me.I’m disgusting.
I strip in two seconds flat and step into the walk-in shower.
Twenty minutes later, I walk down the stairs feeling—and smelling—a hundred times better.Savvy is already sitting at the large kitchen island, a bottle of water in front of her.
“Good afternoon, Rip Van Winkle,” she says in greeting.
“Hey,” I return, taking a seat beside her.
Hugo immediately sets a cup of coffee in front of me.I don’t clue in until I take my first sip it was already doctored to perfection; generous on the cream with just a hint of sweet.
“Mmm.This is delicious.Just what I needed,” I mention, rewarding him with a smile.
“Don’t rub it in,” Savvy grumbles beside me.“I’m going to be stuck inhaling the fumes while drinking water and herbal tea for the foreseeable future.”
I should probably feel more sympathetic than I do, but if I am to deal with this day, I deserve this coffee.
“Where did Carson go?”I ask when I notice he’s not around.
“At my house,” Savvy answers, “helping Tatum paint the nursery.”
I smile at her.“You’ve got colors picked out?”
“Not me,” she scoffs.“That’s Nate’s project.He’s got a vision and I’m not about to mess with it.He wants it to be a surprise.”
She feigns annoyance, but I can tell she secretly loves it.
