By the time I wake up the next morning, the sun is already streaming in through the windows. We hadn’t bothered closing the blinds last night, and now the bright light is assaulting my eyes. I bury my face in the pillow and groan. It’s too early for this.

Or … wait. Is it? I fumble for my phone on the nightstand and scrunch my eyes open enough to check the time.

“Fuck!” I sit bolt upright. Wes jumps up, sucking in a breath and scanning the room, already on alert.

“What?”

“I totally forgot we’re supposed to be at this post-wedding brunch thing.”

“When?”

“In ten minutes.”

“Where?”

“Downstairs. In the hotel restaurant.”

“We can do it,” he says, scrubbing his face. “You probably even have time to have a quick shower.”

“Are you saying I smell?” I tease.

“No.” He nuzzles his nose against my shoulder, tickling me with the stubble of his jaw as he breathes in the scent of my skin. “I’m saying you smell like someone who spent the night getting thoroughly fucked.”

I grin, and despite the fact that my body already feels battered — in the best way possible — I can feel myself yearning for him again.

“You know, you could use a shower yourself. And since we only have ten minutes, there’s not enough time for two showers …”

I trail off and watch as Wes clues in to what I’m saying. In about two seconds he leaps up off the bed, the sheet falling away from his hard, toned body.

“Get in there,” he growls. “Because I’m going to soap every inch of you. I’m going to soap places you never even knew existed.”

I squeal as Wes chases me into the bathroom and then even more as he does exactly what he said he was going to do. Never has anyone felt so clean and yet so dirty at the same time.

* * *

We stumble into the restaurant a half hour later. My legs are still shaking, and I look around nervously for Celia, feeling guilty about the fact that we’re late. Except as I scan the crowd, I realize we’re not the only ones. Our group is still sparse and everyone is moving slowly this morning, some hung over and some tired and all of us feeling that post-wedding glow. Or post-shower glow, in my case.

I spot Celia and Jace right away and make a beeline over to their table, dragging Wes behind me.

“Good morning, newlyweds,” I say with a grin. “I suppose there’s no point in asking how you slept last night.”

Celia and Jace exchange a heated look and Celia shrugs, laughing.

“We’ll sleep on the plane later.” She looks up at me and then squints. “Judging by those circles under your eyes, I’m guessing you got about as much sleep as we did.”

My cheeks turn pink. “The mattress was a bit lumpy.”

“Mmhmm.” Celia grins and appraises Wes knowingly. “I love a good … lumpy mattress.”

My flush intensifies. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Me either,” Jace admits, and I can tell by the way the table jostles and the way his eyebrows go up that Celia’s just kicked him under the table.

“Go get some food,” she says to me and Wes, nodding towards the buffet. “Then we’ll catch up.”

We escape to the omelette station, and I’m happy to get away from her knowing eyes. Sometimes it’s great having a best friend who can read you like a book, but other times it’s annoying as hell.

We order ham and cheese omelettes and take them back to the table. I find Celia’s saved me a spot beside her, so I squeeze in while she pours me a cup of coffee. Wes sits on the other side of the table with Jace. They fall into a conversation about the life-giving properties of coffee-spiked beer.

“You guys must be looking forward to getting away, now that the wedding stress is over,” I say to Celia, sawing into my eggs. I’m trying to keep the conversation focused on her and not me.

She nods. “I can’t wait. Neither of us have ever been to Hawaii, so it should be fun.”

I roll my eyes playfully. “Right. Because you’re going to spend so much time sight-seeing.”

“We might,” she says. Jace pauses his conversation long enough to smirk at her. She shrugs. “What? We could.”

I snicker as he leans across the table and kisses her jaw. Celia turns pink and giggles.

“Ok, you guys are just too cute. I’m trying to eat here.” I pretend to roll my eyes as I drink some of my coffee. Oh God, that hits the spot. Wes and Jace turn back to their conversation.

“You’re one to talk,” Celia points out quietly. “I saw you and Wes dancing last night.”

“Yeah — dancing. Everyone was doing it. It was a wedding, after all.” I pretend to roll my eyes.

“Sure. But they weren’t also sneaking up to the twenty-first floor together after.”

Fuck. “You saw that, did you?”

“I see all, Rori. You should know that.” She grins. “I want to know everything. I won’t make you recount all the details with him sitting right across from us, but trust me, as soon as I get back from Hawaii, we’re having a very long catch-up session.”

“Fine,” I say, sighing and laughing at the same time. There’s no point arguing with Celia — I know she’ll get it out of me eventually. “Now tell me what you guys have planned for Hawaii. I want to hear all about it.”

Celia’s face breaks into a grin and she launches into a long list of sight-seeing activities and spa treatments they have lined up for their time on the islands. I lose myself in her excited chatter and try to put my feelings for Wes far, far from my mind. Which isn’t exactly easy, given that he’s sitting right across from me and keeps flashing me devastatingly gorgeous grins every time he catches my eye.

We’ve finished eating and are finishing up our third round of coffees when there’s a commotion near the entrance of the restaurant. Trent and Luke, Jace’s brothers, stumble in wearing rumpled shirts and looking even more hungover than I feel. They make their way over to our table while Jace laughs.

“The princesses are finally up,” he jokes.

“Stop shouting,” Trent says, rubbing his eyes. We all laugh, which only makes him wince.

“You guys hit the scotch hard,” Jace chuckles.

“Oh yeah. We hit it real hard.” Luke runs his hand through his hair, which somehow seems to fall back in a way that looks perfectly disheveled. How the hell do guys do that?

“We’re going to grab some food to hopefully soak up some of the leftover alcohol in our stomachs,” Trent adds. “Can you ask the waitress to bring another pot of coffee if she comes over?”

“Make it two,” Luke groans.

As soon as they make their way over to the omelette station, Wes catches my eye.

“We should think about heading out soon,” he says.

“Oh,” I say, surprised. His mouth is in a firm line and there’s something serious in his expression that wasn’t there before. “Is everything okay?”

“Fine,” he says brusquely. “I just have a lot of work to get done today. I’d like to get back to the city before it gets too late.”

“Oh, okay. Sure.” I exchange a glance with Celia and she shrugs. I have no idea what’s going on with him either.

“We’re heading out soon anyway, and everyone else is already starting to roll out” she says, smoothing things over. “If you guys have to head back, that’s no problem at all.”

“Okay,” I say reluctantly. “Give me a hug, then.”

I say my goodbyes, and Wes shakes everyone’s hand. He’s polite and gracious but he keeps looking around the room nervously. I’m still wondering what the hell has gotten into him.

Five minutes later, we’re making our way to the door. Wes’s hand is on my lower back, and even though his touch feels gentle, I can’t shake the feeling that he’s trying to usher me out of there as fast as possible.

We step out of the restaurant and into the lobby. Wes lets out what almost sounds like a sigh of relief, when we hear someone running up behind us.

“Rori, Wes, hold up.” We turn around and find Trent standing there, still holding his empty plate from the buffet line. “Are you guys taking off already?”

“Yeah. Wes has to get back to the city. For work.”

Wes shifts his weight from one foot to the other. I can sense the tension that comes over him. I’m more confused than ever. Does he not like Trent? I hadn’t even seen them talking together last night, so I don’t see how he could have an opinion either way. And the guy is happily married, so it can’t be jealousy. Not that Wes has ever seemed the jealous type, anyway.

“Right, yeah, I’m sure you’re a busy man,” Trent says, scrubbing his face. “I should probably be getting some work done today too, but fuck it, it’s my brother’s wedding weekend, right?”

Wes smiles, but it’s strained. Trent seems oblivious. I look back and forth between them, completely flummoxed.

“Well, it was nice meeting you,” Wes says. His hand is back on my lower back and I can feel the no-longer-so-gentle prod as he pushes me towards the elevator bank.

“Likewise. Like I said, I’m definitely going to be in touch.”

“Sure.” Wes starts walking faster.

“Hey, Rori — put in a good word for me with your boyfriend, okay?”

I stop. Never mind the fact that he just referred to Wes as my boyfriend — why does he need me to put in a good word?

“About what?” I say, smiling. Still oblivious.

“The Elmwood Gables development project. They haven’t filled the flagship retail spot and I want it. So do whatever you have to do to butter him up for me. And I do mean whatever,” he adds with a wink.

“Sure.” My mind is turning a hundred miles an hour, and this time when Wes prods me, I follow him along wordlessly to the elevators.

The Elmwood Gables development project? Elmwood Gables is city land. It’s where the community center is, where Maria lives.

We ride the elevator in silence. My mind is still churning. Next to me, Wes is a live wire. I can practically feel him vibrating.

The elevator doors slide open on the twenty-first floor. Neither of us moves.