CHAPTER FIVE
I turned my face into the chair, trying to get away from the bright light.
The bright light?
Where was my sleep mask?
And my body pillow. Where was my body pillow?
Jerking, I sat up straight.
Morning light flooded the back yard, making the pool sparkle. Seth’s chair was empty, and Starlet had abandoned me.
“Shit,” I whispered, rubbing an aching spot in the back of my neck. How the heck had I managed to sleep the whole night in a lounge chair?
I swung my legs over the side, and the plaid blanket from the front hall closet fell to the concrete. Picking it up, I bundled it in my arms and stretched. A clanking came from inside of the house.
“I don’t know if you’re allowed to have this,” Seth said to someone.
I got up and crept toward the back door, which was cracked open, and peeked through the window. Seth was looking down at something on the floor. I pushed the door open the rest of the way and walked into the kitchen.
Starlet, her begging face on, gazed up at Seth, who held a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs.
“Hi,” I said.
His head jerked up. A smile stretched across his lips. “Hi.”
I smiled back.
And then realized I was staring. I cleared my throat and entered the kitchen. “I can’t believe I fell asleep out there. It’s not even comfortable.”
“Yeah,” he laughed. “You must have been tired.”
Or drunk.
“I made you breakfast,” he said.
“Oh… thanks.”
He placed the plate in his hands on the table in the breakfast nook. Two spots were already set.
“Wow… this is… cool.” I looked back at him. “I can’t say I’m used to this.”
“I didn’t know what you like to drink in the mornings. I saw you had orange juice, but also a lot of coffee.”
“Coffee,” I quickly said. “For sure.”
“Good.” He smiled, making my stomach flip. “I made a pot.”
I quickly turned away and went to the cabinet above the coffee pot. My stomach never flipped, and I definitely didn’t fall asleep talking. I wanted to blame it on the whiskey, but really, maybe alcohol wasn’t the real culprit.
What the hell is going on here?
Seth finished setting the table while I poured us both coffee and fed Starlet her breakfast. The dog crunched on her dry food as Seth and I took our seats.
“Damn,” I breathed, spooning fluffy eggs onto my plate. “I can already tell you’re a good cook.”
He nodded. “I try.”
I smirked over my coffee cup. “No, I’m sure you are. You don’t strike me as the humble type, so stop trying to act like you don’t have talent.”
“You’re not so humble either.”
Deja vu hit. The moment reminded me of the one at the bar, when he was suddenly cocky and unbearable. I could have pointed out that I wasn’t looking for a fight, but what was the point? He was right. So I just shrugged.
“Where did you sleep?” I asked, suddenly and horribly afraid he’d gone upstairs and gone through my closet or something.
“On the couch… with Starlet,” he added, those delicious looking lips curving into a half smile.
I looked over my shoulder at the dog. “Traitor.”
“She snores.”
“Yeah.” I grinned over my cup. “Sometimes I wear ear plugs.”
“You don’t just put her out?”
My cheeks grew warm. “No.”
“That’s sweet.”
I looked down at my plate to avoid his gaze. “I need a fork.” I stood to retrieve one but froze when I caught the time above the stove. “Shit.”
“What?”
“I’m going to be late. I have a client coming into the office in an hour.”
“Don’t you have time to eat?”
I gulped down half of my coffee. It burned my throat but screw it. I needed the caffeine. “No. I have to get dressed and drop Starlet off at daycare. Shit, shit, shit.”
I had to find those folders I’d put somewhere last night. Were they in the car? The office? I had to do my makeup.
Double shit. I probably had mascara smeared across my face. Not only had Seth and I not had sex, he’d seen me in the worst state possible.
I slammed the coffee cup back down.
“Daycare?” Seth asked. “Like, doggy daycare?”
“Yes,” I snapped, hurrying across the room. “Dogs are social. And I’m gone all day.”
“I was just asking. It’s cool...”
I didn’t listen to the rest of what he had to say, instead opted to book it from the room at a break neck speed.
I ran up the stairs, tearing my clothes off as I went. A quick glance in the bedroom mirror told me my makeup from yesterday wasn’t too smeared. And then I remembered. I’d put on waterproof everything, thinking I’d need to prevent eyeliner from smearing while rolling in the sheets.
Hell yeah. Seth had not seen me looking like the bride of Frankenstein, and now I wouldn’t have to do a full face of makeup. I would just touch up my eyes and lips at traffic lights.
I brushed my teeth, grabbed a floral patterned dress from a hanger, snatched up my heels from the day before, then pulled the dress on as I went back down the stairs.
Seth met me in the foyer, a paper towel in his hand. He silently extended it to me, a breakfast sandwich wrapped up in it.
“Wow. Thank you.”
I took the offering, feeling like I needed to do something to thank him, but not quite sure what. I wasn’t used to men doing a damn thing for me. My relationships ran fifty-fifty. I gave him something, he gave me something. In this instance, there seemed to be nothing to give back. Not when I needed to leave the house twenty minutes ago.
“Where’s Starlet’s leash?” Seth asked.
“In the kitchen.”
He went to retrieve it, and I grabbed my purse, slid the heels on my feet. We met on the front stoop, where I locked up the doors.
“I’m sorry,” I explained, scooping Starlet up and going down the steps to the drive. “I don’t mean to run like this. It’s just there’s a lot to do this week and this morning’s client is an important one.”
He waved my apology away. “Don’t worry about it. I had a nice time.” In front of him a blue Jeep waited. I climbed into my car and deposited Starlet in her seat.
“I’ll call you,” he said.
The promise made me pause for a second. “That would be nice.”
“All right.” He smiled. “Have a good day.”
I watched him turn and walk toward his Jeep in the side mirror. After a couple seconds, I shook myself from the reverie long enough to start my engine and tear out of the driveway.