I woke up in the bath.

I was face down in the tub with a blanket pulled over me.

First I struggled to open my eyes, and then my brain felt weird, like someone had been scraping it with one of those steel wool scouring pads.

Why am I in the tub?

God, my head.

Sitting up was a terrible idea because my head felt like it was going to fall off and explode.

I looked around me. The window was wide open, letting in the swishing sound of the wind in the trees. The bright sunlight bounced on the white tiled walls over the sink and created a glare on the mirror.

It looked like it could be around midday, but I couldn’t be certain—I wasn’t certain of anything. I ran my hands through my hair and my fingers got stuck in the matted mess. I dreaded to think what I looked like.

Closing my eyes, I searched my mind for my memories. I remembered the strong desire to forget, but also the strong desire to remember one thing, something important.

It didn’t take long for that thing to pop into my mind.

Kissing Ryan. My eyes sprang open and I gasped, covering my mouth.

Oh my God, what did I do? I looked down at myself and saw I was fully dressed—dressed in the same clothes I’d worn the day before, the same baby blue camisole top, wraparound skirt, and mismatched undies I’d gone on and on about.

Everything I’d said to him flooded my mind, and my skin heated at the memory of the kiss.

He’d kissed me. He’d actually kissed me, and he hadn’t said no.

What should I think that meant? It hadn’t been just any old kiss either, and hell, it wasn’t the sort you could forget either.

I couldn’t even lie to myself and say I didn’t like it, or that I didn’t want him.

Drunk as I’d been, I’d known I wanted him.

I was the kind of drunk who spoke the truth when plastered. That was why I kept drinking to a minimum and only ever had a sex on the beach mixed with a screaming orgasm. Those drinks mostly had fruit with the alcohol to give it a kick.

The previous night, however, I’d drunk serious shit designed to wipe the brain of all one’s problems and make you believe you were someone else—someone else who wanted to devour her hot next-door neighbor.

I really did know how to accelerate my problems.

Damn it.

The memory of kissing Ryan would never leave me, and I had to admit I didn’t want it to.

Unfortunately, the memories of what had driven me to the bar in the first place filled my mind too: Sally and Perry.

I’d been pulled from the assignment. Pulled, as in I wasn’t doing it. Pulled, as in I wouldn’t be writing the exclusive on Sally for the magazine.

Pulled, as in I might only have a few days left here.

Here in the house I’d gotten comfortable in, the house that was next door to the super hot man I’d kissed the night before and his daughter, who I adored.

The tears that should have come the previous day now spilled down my cheeks.

I hated crying, hated it. It reminded me of the desolation I’d felt after Mom left, and worse, when Dad died. On both occasions, I’d known I was helpless to change the situation, just like I was now.

Helpless.

My phone buzzed somewhere. It sounded like it was in the bedroom but on the floor. It would probably be Perry again.

I got out of the bath and padded into the room where my phone was indeed on the wood floor.

Picking it up, I breathed out a sigh of relief when I saw it was Noah.

I answered it quickly. “Noah, God, I’m so glad it’s you.”

“Brooke, where are you? I’ve been calling and messaging all morning.”

All morning? What time is it?

“Oh, Noah, I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.”

“Can you still make it? I thought you would’ve been here already.”

“Where am I going?” I couldn’t remember.

“God, Brooke, what the hell? Lunch with Vanessa at the waterfront, meeting her—I can’t believe you don’t remember. You were supposed to be here at two. Brooke, please don’t tell me this is a ruse to get out of meeting her.”

“No, no.” I shook my head even though I knew he couldn’t see me. I glanced at the clock on the wall and winced when I saw it was a quarter past two. I couldn’t believe I’d slept for so long. “I’ll be there. Give me half an hour. Can you wait half an hour?”

The last thing I needed was for him to be upset with me too or disappointed in any way. I couldn’t bear it if he felt that way about me.

“Okay, just get here.”

“Cool, see you soon.” I hung up and ran back into the bathroom to fix myself up.

A quick shower, a dash of makeup, and some dry shampoo had me in better shape. My face was still puffy, but I looked human.

Perry called, but I didn’t answer. Then he sent me a message, which I dared not look at. I didn’t want to ruin this lunch meeting—not any more than I already had.

I got here in half an hour like I’d said, so it was now two forty-five.

I was forty-five minutes late.

I walked into the restaurant and went out onto the dock where tables were placed outside. It wasn’t very busy. I found Noah right away, and the dark-haired woman who sat opposite him gazed at him with a sparkle in her eyes I could see from here.

I made my way over and they both noticed me.

My nerves prickled when Vanessa looked at me and smiled. The fear of the past loomed over me, and I waited for that tense moment that always came whenever I was introduced to any of Noah’s girlfriends.

But, it didn’t happen. The smile looked sincere like she was actually happy to see me.

“You made it.” Noah stood up and hugged me.

Vanessa stood too and put out her hand to shake mine. She was striking with her hazel eyes and shiny, brown locks.

“Hi Brooke, I’m Vanessa. It’s so good to finally meet you.”

“Really? And hi.” My mind was still reeling from the incoherency of intoxication.

Vanessa laughed.

“Forgive her, she’s weird at this time of day.” Noah gave me a sharp look.

Vanessa lowered herself back into the seat, and I sat in the chair Noah pulled out for me.

“I’ve been dying to meet you for months now,” she confessed. “Apparently you’re the gateway to my man’s heart, so I have to win you over before he even thinks about getting serious with me.” She laughed.

I looked to Noah, who was already looking at me with a bright smile on his face. I couldn’t believe he’d told her that.

She seemed cool.

“Oh gosh.” I returned my focus to her. “I don’t know what to say.” That must have made her feel awkward.

“It’s a good thing.” She nodded. “He had to meet my parents and my four brothers who hate football.”

“Imagine how that panned out.” Noah laughed.

He hadn’t told me that, but then I didn’t expect him to tell me everything.

“It went extremely well,” Vanessa chided, reaching out to smack his hand playfully. “So, Brooke, I had to meet you. Noah says you love shopping, like seriously love it. Do you think we could go together since I’m a shopping freak too?”

“I would love that. It sounds amazing.” I thought I’d try, and maybe throw in some fashion talk for good measure. “What brands do you like? We could go big and head to the city.”

“Let’s go big.” She nodded quickly. “You must have seen the new Dior summer collection, right?”

Oh I certainly had. “There’s a peach blazer I want.”

“Oh my gosh, the one with the silver trim on the cuffs that Gabriella Deluca modeled at Fashion Week?”

My eyes widened. She wasn’t kidding when she said she was a fashion freak. The only other person I knew like that was me.

“Yes, that one. Did you go to Fashion Week?”

“I went in Milan. I’m a fashion editor at Runway Magazine.”

Now I definitely loved her. I looked over at Noah and nodded.

“She passes, a hundred percent.” I told him.

They both laughed. Then they glanced at each other, and what I saw warmed my heart. It was the way they looked at each other. The look could only be described as love.

Anyone who could look at my Noah like that was definitely a keeper, and I would do everything to support him, which probably meant staying away, or at the very least taking a back seat.

The way they looked at each other got me thinking it would be nice to have someone look at me like that, just to see what it felt like.

No one had actually looked at me like that. Like I was special.

The thought reminded me of the damn kiss with Ryan from the night before, the same man who had the ability to shift my mood from one end of the spectrum to the other, and in such a short space of time.

God, I must have been really losing my mind to start thinking about him. Somewhere along the way I’d lost my grip, my grasp on reality, and I didn’t know how to get it back.

The afternoon was spent talking and laughing. I definitely liked Vanessa a lot, and we planned that shopping trip.

I didn’t mention anything to Noah about what was going on with me. Again, I didn’t want to ruin the meet-up.

It was time to face the music, and this time by myself.

When I got back home, I went to the beach, taking the opportunity to explore it.

I loved the scenic view the sea added to the landscape, but it didn’t change the way I felt about swimming or going in the sea. The water did look quite inviting, though, and I didn’t mind getting my feet wet.

I ended up sitting on one of the large rocks at the edge of the beach, watching the sailboats drifting into the harbor. I’d purposely left my phone at home because I didn’t want to speak to anyone. I just wanted to be by myself with the brain space to figure things out.

However, it seemed like only one person could change my mind. Someone wolf-whistled at me, and when I turned to see who it was, my mouth watered and I had to try not to drool.

It was a shirtless Ryan walking towards me. With his muscles and tats on display and dark blue jeans hung low on his hips, the man looked like he’d stepped straight off the billboard of a Levi’s ad.

He was that and so much more.

He walked up to me and stopped. I’d been so focused on the look of him that I’d missed the backpack over his shoulder and what seemed to be a folded fishing net in his hands.

“Looks like I missed today’s lesson.” He spoke, but I was too focused on the full sensual lips I’d kissed less than twenty-four hours before to really hear him.

“What?” What was he talking about?

“Brooke goes to the beach all by herself, same way she went to the bar last night to get wasted all by herself. Today, she looks like she’s lost everything, I just don’t know why.” His lips curved, revealing dimples.

The shadow of the bruise over his eye was still there and slightly puffy, but what caught my attention more was the interest that twinkled in his eyes.

“How’s your eye?”

“Well I can see you, so it must be working.”

I pressed my lips together to keep from smiling. “I’m glad your eye works. Thanks for last night.”

“Which part?” Mischief now swallowed up that twinkle.

I’d known I was going to have to see him at some point and that I’d die of embarrassment from the way I behaved; it was just that actually going through it was so much harder than what I’d played out in my head.

“The part where you saved me from being that meathead’s love slave.”

“Just that part?”

“Yes.” I answered too quickly.

“Did you remember that thing you wanted to remember?” He smirked with a wicked grin I hadn’t seen before.

The sinful seduction that rippled from it did funny things to my insides and twisted my stomach into knots. My cheeks flushed with heat so intense I knew my whole face would be red within the next few seconds.

I wasn’t likely to forget the way he’d kissed me like he wanted to devour me, and God the way he’d tasted. He’d tasted like something I had to have, and now that I’d had some, I wanted more.

“Yes.” Nervously, I tucked a lock of my hair behind my ear and tried for all I was worth not to show just how much he affected me.

“And did you remember to do all that other stuff you forgot yesterday, like take your pill and make sure your underwear matched? Not that I would have minded.” He gave me a stern look then chuckled.

Black hole, please swallow me up right now.

That was it—I was about to wither away.

“Do you think we could maybe forget certain parts of last night?”

“Hmmm.” His brows drew down while he pretended to think. “I’m not sure I can. Depends on the parts I’m supposed to forget. There I was thinking I was about to excel in this Brooke 101 course, and now I have to forget what I learned? It’s a hard ask, don’t you think?”

“Why must you be such an ass?”

“Oh, sorry, I totally forgot you think I’m sexier when I’m not in cop mode or dad mode. Assuming normal mode now.” He made a stupid show of shaking his head and blinking several times.

I really wanted to remain neutral and not laugh, but I couldn’t control the giggle that spilled from my lips. It almost made me forget my dire job situation.

“You are so silly.”

“Silly, yes, but how about sexy?” His eyes searched mine.

I looked him over, taking in everything about him from head to toe. I could have gotten lost in just the tattoos alone, the unusual design of eyes over his left pec and the whole Colosseum with a Roman gladiator covering the majority of his left arm. It was so unlike the general run-of-the-mill designs everyone else had. They showed the hardness in the man he was.

I couldn’t even lie to him and say he wasn’t sexy, because he was sexy as hell, and the devil he was knew it.

Still, that didn’t mean I was going to make his head swell any bigger than it already was.

“Maybe,” I cooed.

His eyes dropped to my mouth and lingered there. When his gaze climbed back up to meet mine, his smile widened.

“How about you come with me and tell me what got you so upset yesterday? Then I’ll let you know what parts about last night I’ll decide to forget.”

“What are you doing?”

“Someone told me I needed to get a life, or possibly a dog.”

I laughed again. “Really? How rude to imply you didn’t have a life.” Looking back, I knew I probably shouldn’t have said that to him. It was kind of rude.

“Yeah. This super-hot girl said it to me, so I listened.”

“Because she was hot?”

“Yeah, it was enough. Now the next time I see her I can say I did something today other than go to work.”

“And what is that something?”

“Catching shrimp.” He looked so proud of himself.

“Catching shrimp? That is so lame.”

“Hey.” He pouted. “In Wilmington, we have shrimp you can’t get anywhere else. They sell for twenty bucks each.”

“Wow.” Maybe I should do that—swap my writing career and become a fisherwoman. “Is that what you’ll do? Sell them?”

“Nope, some things are meant to enjoy. I’ll catch them and cook them on the beach. You coming?”

Again, I looked at him. His gaze held me in place, beckoning me to go.

“Okay.”