by Hart, Emma
“Oh, God.”
There was a lot of that going on this morning, wasn’t there? “So you came in fine. Almost tripped over the door, but you were fine. Then you began your love affair with Poosh. She licked you all over your face, you scratched her belly until she needed to pee, then she came in and licked your ankles until you realized you were asking her to go to bed with you.”
Reagan dropped her head back and looked up at the ceiling, then muttered something under her breath. “Okay. Wow. So now you know why I don’t drink straight tequila.”
I gave her a sympathetic smile and nodded slowly. “It all adds up.”
“All I can do is say that I’m sorry you had to witness that.”
“I’m not. It was the most fun I’ve had in ages.”
“You thought that was fun?”
“Reagan, you set up a betting pool in a bar, tried to do the Coyote Ugly dance on the bar, and spent thirty minutes telling my dog you love her so much you want to sleep with her in my bed. It was hilarious.”
She pressed her hands over her face and shook her head. “Oh, my God.”
I leaned back on my hands, grinning. The shame rolled off her in waves. Clearly, tequila-drunk Reagan was a little secret she was hoping to keep for a bit longer.
I, however, was fucking delighted to have discovered it.
“No more tequila. Ever.” She dropped her hands and looked at me. “Do you mind if I take a shower?”
I shook my head. “Go ahead. I need to take Poosh out for a walk anyway—do you want me to get anything while I’m out?”
“A time machine, maybe? I’d like a do-over of last night.”
“No way.”
“How did I end up in your shirt, by the way?” she asked when I stood up.
“Oh, that.” I looked down at her. “When you realized Poosh wasn’t interested in sleeping with you, you tried to talk me into having sex. I told you I really wanted to fuck you in that t-shirt, so you pulled off all your clothes and put it on. Then I told you to lie down and I’d be right back. When I came back, you were asleep. Or passed out, really.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, meeting my eyes. “Again, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t worry. I doubt it’ll be the last time I see you drunk.”
“Oh, I will. I’m never drinking again.”
“Yeah, okay.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
* * *
REAGAN
Fifty Shades of Shame
I couldn’t believe I’d let myself get talked into tequila.
This was what happened when guys infiltrated girls’ night. One of the three of us got depressed and headed straight for the deadly liquor. Last night, it’d been Ava.
She had it in her head that I was going to marry Noah and have all the babies, and since Halley was marrying my brother—far more likely, if you ask me—which meant that Ava was all alone.
That was code for ‘shots.’
I grabbed a fresh bottle of water from the fridge and leaned against the kitchen island. I couldn’t believe I’d actually called Noah last night and that he’d reacted the way he had.
He just did it. Helped me and the girls home with my brother’s help. Didn’t laugh—all right, he laughed, but in an amused way. He didn’t think we were stupid or idiots, even though we were both of those things.
God, he was perfect, wasn’t he?
He was something else. We’d only ‘met’ around three weeks ago, yet I was standing here in his kitchen, thinking that I wasn’t sure there was anywhere else I’d rather be.
I just didn’t know what to do now.
Maybe it was my hangover clouding my mind. Not that it was as bad as it should have been, given the amount of tequila I’d consumed, but I was completely exhausted and definitely not thinking one hundred percent clearly.
The only thing that was clear was that I wanted to keep this man in my life.
I wasn’t sure how to go about doing that. At this point, his life was far more put together than mine was. I mean, I was back living with my parents, my insurance company was being a dick about paying out, and I was getting tequila-drunk like I was illegally drinking at a frat party.
And, apparently, hitting on his dog.
The only things I had going for me right now was that I had a good job that I loved, a business I’d one day inherit half of, and I was damn good in bed.
Actually, as far as pros and cons went, I was doing all right.
Still, I knew I wanted to find out where this would go. It’d been such a long time since I’d met someone who I felt like this about. Sure, I’d dated and fooled around and casually spent time with people, but a relationship…
No. It’d been forever.
I didn’t know what to do with these feelings. I didn’t know exactly how he felt. I knew we had this amazing connection and that he made me laugh and feel comfortable. I hoped he felt the same way I did.
And, let’s face it: one of the biggest hurdles in any relationship was sharing the television remote.
We already knew we were compatible in that regard, given our conversations about the worst characters ever. We hadn’t even gotten started on the best ones.
I pursed my lips and pulled myself to sit on the island. My legs swung against the gray cupboard beneath me, and I tugged the bottom hem of Noah’s shirt down over my thighs. I’d showered since he’d left to take Poosh out, but I didn’t want to put my jeans back on, so…
Here I was.
Wearing his shirt.
Like it was totally normal for me to be sitting here in one of his old t-shirts, drinking his water, on his kitchen counter.
Maybe it was normal—or it would be. One day.
I could hope, right? I could hope that one day this might be totally normal.
The front door opened, and I peered over my shoulder at the doorway.
“Get in, Poosh. No, the stick is too big. You can’t take it—damn it, Poosh!”
What the hell was going on?
I jumped off the counter and set my water down, then headed toward the front door. I stopped dead in the hallway when I saw why Poosh was stuck.
This tiny chihuahua had a really, really long stick in her mouth.
And she was desperately trying to get it into the house, but she couldn’t. It was longer than the door was wide, and she was never getting it inside.
“How is she even carrying that?” I dragged my gaze up to meet Noah’s. “The stick is literally bigger than she is.”
“It’s just long,” he said, exasperation in his tone. “It’s not a log or anything, but it’s strong enough that it won’t snap and let her inside.”
“Why won’t she drop it?”
“I didn’t think of that.” He stared at me. “She’s attached to it. She’s been carrying it since the park.”
“How?”
“I don’t know.” He sighed. “Did you shower?”
“My hair didn’t wash itself,” I replied dryly. “I showered. Why?”
“You’re still wearing my shirt, that’s all.”
“I didn’t want to put my jeans on.”
“Is it a problem?”
“If you’re in my jeans, yeah.”
I frowned at him, then paused. Right. I dropped my gaze to his groin and bit the inside of my cheek to hide a smile. “I see.”
“Mhmm.” He stared at me intently. “Since you two are best friends now, you wanna help me out here?”
Sighing, I got down on one knee in front of Poosh. “Poosh, give me the stick. Please.”
She eyed me with her big, dark eyes for a second before she took two steps back and dropped the stick on the ground between us.
“Who’s a good girl?” I cooed, patting my knee.
She launched herself toward me, dragging her leash out of Noah’s hand. I caught her tiny body in my arms and fell onto my butt. She licked my chin as I laughed, trying to pull her away from me.
“Jesus,” Noah muttered, stepping into t
he hallway. The door clicked shut. “Hey, Reagan, what type of underwear are you wearing?”
I cough-laughed, finally pushing Poosh off me. “What?”
“Never mind. I’ll just buy you another gift card.” He unclipped the leash from Poosh’s collar and hung it on a hook then walked right past me.
I scrambled to my feet and ran after him. “Did I just flash your neighborhood?”
“No. You flashed me.” He grinned lopsidedly and hit the button on the coffee machine. “And I didn’t mind at all.”
I pursed my lips. “So you’re buying me a gift card to buy the underwear you like so you can see it.”
“No. I’m buying you another gift card so you can buy the underwear you like. I just happen to also like it.”
I couldn’t really argue with that, could I? “What if I don’t want you to buy me underwear?”
“Then you’ll run out when your new best friend ultimately eats every pair you leave here.”
I eyed Poosh. “She won’t eat my underwear anymore. I think we’ve reached an understanding.”
“Unless she suddenly hates you, that isn’t going to happen. She eats it because she loves you.”
“Dogs are disgusting, do you know that?”
“So are the tops of bars in sports bars, but that didn’t stop you trying to climb barefoot onto one last night.”
“I’m not going to live that down, am I?”
“No. It’s going right up there with the fact I saved your life. I’ll remind you of it forever.” He walked over to me and trapped me against the island. He flattened his hands on top of the counter and leaned forward, his gaze flicking over my face before it came to rest on my lips. “You’re annoyingly hot in that shirt.”
“It wasn’t intentional.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t, but it doesn’t change the fact that you are.”
“You’re just trying to get into my panties.”
“Damn straight.”
I reached up and patted his cheek. “Not tonight, dear. I’m hungover.”
He snapped his gaze up to mine and laughed. “I don’t think you could stomach an orgasm right now. I’d tip you over the edge.”
“Wow. You’re humble today.”
“I’ve been your hero twice. Three times if we count the sex.”
“We’re not counting the sex.”
“I’m counting the sex.”
I rolled my eyes. Of course he was counting the sex. Why wouldn’t he count the sex? Men did feel like heroes if they successfully squeezed an orgasm out of those elusive G-spots, mind you.
I wonder what that made me. I’d never failed to give myself an orgasm.
“Your phone is flashing.” Noah reached behind me and handed it to me. “Want a coffee?”
I shook my head and opened the unread messages in our group thread.
AVA: Tell Noah I’m sorry.
AVA: Like, really sorry.
HALLEY: Seconded. A lot.
AVA: I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life.
HALLEY: It was pretty good dancing, and we were the ones who bet you’d fall off the table so we’re rich now.
AVA: I want a cut of that money. It’ll match the one on my knee.
“Halley and Ava said they’re sorry,” I told Noah. “Ava’s also embarrassed, Halley is rich, and I think I need better friends.”
He laughed, carrying his cup back over to me. “Tell them not to worry about it. I told you it wasn’t all that bad. Plus your brother likes me.”
“That’s never a plus,” I muttered, hitting the reply button.
ME: Noah said don’t worry. And I want my share of that money. I’m told I hustled hard for it.
HALLEY: You’ll get it. Don’t worry. Did you know Preston and Noah struck up a bromance?
ME: So I’m hearing.
AVA: I can’t think of anything worse than your brother and your boyfriend having a bromance.
ME: Noah isn’t my boyfriend.
AVA: Looked like it last night.
ME: And you looked like an idiot on that table, but here we are.
HALLEY: Can you two stop bickering for five minutes? This is important. We need to stop Preston and Noah’s bromance in their tracks.
AVA: It’s not my problem.
“Hey,” Noah said, tapping my knee. “Does Ava have a brother?”
I peered up at him through my lashes. “Yes. Why?”
“I swear Preston said something about him coming back to Creek Falls soon. Doesn’t he live here?”
“I think he’s in Charlotte with his best friend. They keep moving around and I don’t know. I didn’t know they were coming back.”
“Preston said he wasn’t sure when, but it was in the plans.”
“Huh. I wonder if Ethan’s coming back, too.”
“Who’s Ethan?”
“Leo’s best friend. Leo’s Ava’s brother.”
“Right. Does it matter?”
I grinned slyly. “Yeah, it does. Ava’s in love with him.”
“With her brother’s best friend?”
“My best friend is dating my brother.”
Noah tilted his head to the side. “Huh. Yeah. You’re right. So Ava’s in love with her brother’s best friend, and I’m guessing he doesn’t know.”
“She won’t even admit it,” I scoffed. “But if they’re coming back to town, I am going to be her worst nightmare.”
“You’re a great friend, aren’t you?”
“I’m just keeping it real.” I turned my attention back to my phone.
ME: Actually, it might be your problem.
HALLEY: Why?
AVA: Why?
ME: Noah just told me that Preston said that Leo is coming back soon. He already has a bromance with Preston which means he’ll have one with Noah if we get together.
HALLEY: Shut up, you’re already together.
AVA: I don’t care if Leo has a bromance with the President. He can bromance who he likes.
ME: You’re forgetting something.
HALLEY: Aaaahahahahahaahahahaha
AVA: What?
ME: If Leo’s coming back, so is Ethan.
AVA: OH BALLS
I burst out laughing.
“What?” Noah craned his neck to see my phone.
I turned it around. “Ava.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Halley thinks we’re together?”
“Seriously? Her dream world is the part of that conversation you want to focus on?”
“Yeah. What did you say before that?”
I tried to move my phone out of his reach, but not only was I backed against the island, he was taller than me. Which meant he had arms that were a lot longer than mine. Which meant he grabbed my phone.
He scrolled, his eyebrows shooting up again.
“Your eyebrows are going to end up stuck to your hairline if you keep raising them like that.” I snatched my phone back before he could stop me.
“It’s you. You make me raise my eyebrows.” He tapped me on the nose. “You think about the possibility of us being together?”
Oh, God.
This was The Talk, wasn’t it? The one that two people with a mutual attraction had when they were getting ready to define their relationship.
“Well, I’m standing in your kitchen in one of your old t-shirts after spending two nights in a row with you, so I’m hardly thinking about how to murder you, am I?” I paused. “Actually, hold that thought. I might need to do that if you keep looking at me like that.”
“Looking at you like what?”
“Like you want to have The Talk.”
He gripped the edge of the counter again and leaned forward so that his eyes were eye-level with mine. “Maybe I do want to have The Talk, Reagan. Maybe I have feelings for you, and I want to tell you so we can decide how to move forward.”
Oh, boy.
I swallowed. This was it, wasn’t it? The moment I’d imagined. The one where he told me he felt the same as I did and we could
decide what to do about it.
“Well, let’s get this straight right now.” I held up one finger, leaning back. “I’m not walking out of this conversation as your girlfriend. We haven’t known each other long enough to be boyfriend and girlfriend.”
“Completely agree,” Noah said, surprising me. “As far as it goes, we haven’t spent a ton of time together, either. We’ve talked a lot, which counts for something, but we do need to spend more actual person time together.”
“You’re kidding me, right?”
“Why would I be?”
“Are you reading my mind?”
Noah shook his head. “Reagan, I like you. I really, really fucking like you, and I want to see where things go between us. That doesn’t mean I want to rush into putting a label on anything until we know each other better.”
Well, shit.
A decent guy who agreed with me and didn’t want to rush anything.
“Oh.” I cleared my throat. “Okay. Then in the interest of full disclosure, I happen to really, really fucking like you, too.”
“You say it so romantically.”
“I said it the exact same way you did.”
Noah winked. He straightened, taking a step closer to me, and wrapped one arm around my waist. “We’ve only known each other for, what? A couple of weeks?”
I curled my lips to one side. “Why don’t you check the data on that pretty dick pic you sent me? That’ll tell you.”
He slowly shook his head. “Be serious.”
“I can’t. It’s not in my nature.”
“Reagan…”
“Fine.” I met his eyes. “I really like you, okay? But I’m not going to label anything with you right now. We don’t even know if we’ll fit into each other’s lives. I’m living with my parents right now, I’m fighting every other day with my insurance company, and you haven’t been in town long.”
“You’re right.” He reached up and cupped my face. His thumbs brushed across my cheeks, and he smiled. “I’m still settling into living here. I don’t know many people outside of the station because my job can be demanding. Until I met you, my only friends were the guys I work with. Your life just got flipped upside down and you’re dealing with that. But that doesn’t mean we can’t spend time together and make it so that we fit into each other’s lives.”
