I see the three dots indicating that the fellas are crafting their replies, but before those replies pop up, a sharp screech cuts through the room. I jerk to my feet, phone landing on the faded emerald carpet with a muffled thud. My hands are outstretched as I bounce on the balls of my feet, ready to strike and neutralize whatever threat has presented itself.
But just as quickly as my body readied for an attack, it deflates with relief. There’s no threat. There’s only Lindsay, her hair mussed and eyes wild as she stands on the bed, pointing her phone at me as if it were a sword she plans to shove through my chest.
“W-Who the fuck are you?” she shouts, her voice scratchy from sleep. “Where am I? Did you kidnap me?”
Shame is what I should be feeling, since this woman is clearly confused and terrified, and no part of me should find the sight amusing. But her tank stop is askew to the point that one bra-covered breast is popping out, and the sheet somehow gottucked into the waist of her jeans. She looks so fucking cute that I have to lower my arms to my sides to keep them from wrapping around her body and tucking her head beneath my chin.
“I’m Dominic. Owner of the bar,” I offer in a soft voice. “Remember? Last night?”
She furrows her thick, dark eyebrows, her eyes darting back and forth as she searches her memory. “Oh. Right. What are you doing here?” Her gaze scans the room. “And where is here?”
“We’re at the Pebblebrook Inn, Mapletown’s B&B. You planned on sleeping in your car, but I offered to get you a room here instead. I–I…I slept in the chair the entire night. The only time I touched you was to remove your shoes,” I explain, softening my tone even more to something calm and steady.
It’s impressive how quickly she went from fast asleep to poised to attack, as if she’s part lion or something, and memories from that summer, years and years ago, race back to me. She’s always been a fighter, and even when she wasn’t baring her teeth, you could feel her wildness simmering just below the surface, waiting to be unleashed.
When my focus shifts to the phone in her hand, I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from chuckling. “You can lower the, uh, the phone, by the way. I promise I’m not going to hurt you.” I take a step back and gesture to the table. “I have breakfast, if you’re hungry. And coffee.”
It’s then that she realizes she’s not holding a weapon and lowers the phone as bursts of pink paint her cheeks. She steps off the mattress, still keeping her wary gaze trained on me. “You still haven’t explained what you’re doing here.” Grabbing her sweatshirt from the foot of the bed, she pulls it against her chest, looking vulnerable and almost…afraid of me. I despise that look, but I understand it. “Why did you stay the night?”
With a shrug, I offer the truth. “Because you asked me to.”
Her eyes widen, clearly not expecting that.
“I also didn’t want you to wake up alone in a place you’ve never been. That’s happened to me too many times, and I donotrecommend it.” I grab the coffee cups and hold both out to her. “Cream and sugar, or black?”
Lindsay hesitates, but when she licks her lips, I know she’s about to cave. “Cream and sugar, please.”
I pull out a chair for her at the table and take the one opposite her. We settle into a companionable silence as she nibbles on a pastry. I sip my black coffee and decline the bagel she offers me, encouraging her to eat that too.
It’s incredibly difficult to pull my gaze from her mouth as she eats. Those lips create a flurry of filthy images in my mind. I can still remember the way they moved against mine all those years ago, and I envision the ways she could use them all over my body. A shiver rips through me at the thought.
“What are you thinking about?” she asks, pulling me from my indecent thoughts.
Shit. Be cool. Think of something that won’t freak her out.
“Uh, I wanted to apologize for this morning. The way you woke up. If there’d been a better way to go about it, believe me, I would’ve done it. It must’ve been terrifying. For all intense purposes, I’m a stranger to you, and here I am sitting a foot away while you’re passed out cold.”
Her lips quirk as she studies me. “Do you mean, for all intents and purposes?”
I shake my head. It’s a common mistake, so I understand why she needed to clarify. “Nah. I mean intense purposes. As in, this was an intense situation.”
She opens her mouth to say something, then closes it. Eventually, I notice the barest hint of a smile as she takes a sip of coffee. “Right.”
After she finishes eating, we head outside to my truck. When I reach the passenger side, she steps back, looking confused. I open her door, and the tension seems to leave her shoulders.
My forearm prickles with electricity when she brushes past me and her skin meets mine. It was brief, just the back of her hand, but I felt it down to my toes.
“Oh,” she mutters through a sigh. “Thank you.”
Her phone rings as soon as she buckles her seatbelt, and I make a weak attempt to avoid listening in.
“Hey, Isla. Is Jules okay?” Lindsay asks. She giggles at something, then says, “Yeah, I’m heading back now. I’ll pick her up around lunchtime. That okay?”
The call ends, and I see her turn to me out of the corner of my eye.
“My daughter stayed at my sister’s place last night.”
“Right,” I reply. “Jules. Thirteen. Loves Sabrina Carpenter.”
