A knock on the door is what pulled me from a deep, dreamless sleep. Then I felt the warm body next to mine, felt the silky hair beneath my fingertips, and felt the lips kiss my chest, and I caught the scent that was distinctly Laurel.

“Morning,” I whispered, my voice gruff with sleep.

“Mmmm, morning,” came her reply.

That’s when the knocking registered and I realized someone was at the door.

“Breakfast,” I said, remembering that when I called concierge about the wine last night, I’d also put in a breakfast order.

I untangled myself from Laurel, and the covers, and crossed to my still-open suitcase to pull on a pair basketball shorts.

“Coming,” I called out to the persistent knocker, then opened the door with a grin and said, “Sorry about that. You can just put it right over there.”

I looked over my shoulder as the server crossed the room to put the breakfast tray on the table, to find Laurel hiding in the bed with the blankets over her head. I bit back a chuckle as I turned back to the server and thanked him for dropping the tray and clearing the glasses from the night before.

I signed the check, leaving him a generous tip for his wait and hopefully his discretion, then closed the door behind him.

“All clear,” I told Laurel, smiling as she peeked over the top of the comforter.

She looked amazing.

Rumpled from sleep but grinning sheepishly, a sexy pink tinge to her cheeks, indicating she was embarrassed about being in bed naked with a stranger in the room. Or, maybe she was feeling unsure about being naked under those covers with me standing half-dressed and watching her.

Thinking that might be it, I asked, “Are you shy? ‘Cause I don’t mind getting naked if it’ll make you feel better.”

That said, I dropped my shorts and stepped out of them, then walked over to the bed and sat on her side.

“Good morning, Laurel,” I said again, leaning down to kiss her softly on the lips, before pulling back and asking, “Are you hungry?”

“Starved,” she admitted, but still didn’t make a move to get out of bed.

“Do you want one of my shirts?” I offered.

“Yes, please.”

Nodding, I dropped one more kiss on her lips, got up and picked my shorts up off of the floor. I rifled through my bag until I found my favorite green T-shirt and tossed it on the bed. Then, figuring Laurel needed some privacy, I went to the bathroom to take care of my morning business.

Once I came back out, once again in my shorts, I found Laurel pouring us coffee, wearing only my t-shirt.

In all honesty, her wearing my shirt and nothing else, was almost sexier than her being naked. I could see the outline of her breasts, her puckered nipples, and a hint of her bare cheeks peeking out from beneath the shirt.

It was sensual, yet taunting, and unbelievable hot.

I accepted the coffee gratefully and took a sip, then we both sat in the chairs and uncovered the food. The mingled smell of bacon, eggs, and buttery toast wafted out, causing Laurel’s stomach to grumble.

She blushed prettily, but I ignored the grumble and said, “Let’s eat.”

We both piled up our plates and dug in to our breakfast.

“I’d like to leave in an hour, if that’s enough time,” I began, my mind shifting to the reason we were here, the convention. There were a few contacts that I needed to make, and booths I wanted to hit straight away.

“That works for me,” Laurel replied. “What time is the dinner tonight?”

“Drinks at six, dinner at seven, and the ballet at eight. I figured we’d head back here around four-thirty to get ready, if that works for you.”

Throwing on my tux would take no time at all, but having grown up with Jazzy, I knew women tended to like a little more time to prepare when going to an event like we’d be attending that night.

“Sounds good,” Laurel said agreeably, digging into her eggs with a gusto.

I felt a niggle of pride at the memory of last night, and hoped her energy needed to be restored, in part, because of me.

I finished my breakfast and made a mental note to check with the hotel about having flowers delivered to Laurel’s room today. I wanted her to know how much I appreciated her being here with me, and how much I was enjoying spending this time with her. It was crazy, but I hadn’t thought about how she’d always bothered me when we were younger, or even thought about the old Laurel at all.

I was fully enjoying Laurel now, and couldn’t wait to see what else the weekend would hold.

I pushed back from the table and said, “I’m going to grab a shower, feel free to get ready here, if you’d like.”

“I think I’ll get ready in my room, since that’s where all my stuff is.”

Acting on impulse, I suggested, “Why not move your things in here and we can cancel your room. If we’re going to spend the weekend together, there’s no point in having two rooms.”

Laurel looked up at me in surprise, then a beautiful smile filled her face.

“Okay,” she said softly. “I’ll get ready down there, then pack and be back here within the hour.”

I reached out to brush the hair off of her forehead and said, “No need to rush, we can take the extra time. The convention isn’t going anywhere.” Then, I leaned down and kissed her upturned lips.

I walked to the shower with a spring in my step, excited about what was to come.