“I thought the smell of coffee might wake you,” he says.
“Phoebe thought it was time I got up.”
“She’s raring to go. I took her outside real quick when I got up, but I wasn’t going to leave you long enough to take her for our usual walk.”
“I wouldn’t have minded.”
“I know you, Kitty,” he says. “You would have freaked out when I was gone and thought I was trying to get away from you.”
“Well, you have hidden in my apartment before to get away from a few girls.”
“True, but this is now.” He sets the tray on my lap and then gets back into bed with me. “I told her we’d go for a long walk later. Don’t forget, you’re supposed to meet Hayley for brunch this morning.”
“Oh shit. What time is it?”
“Nine. You aren’t meeting until eleven, right?”
I let out a sigh of relief. “Yes, that’s right.”
“And we worked up an appetite last night. So, eat.”
I can’t help but smile. “Yes, we did.”
We relax in bed, lazily eating. Drinking our coffees, chatting about nothing but the weather. I’m acting all calm and cool, but I am internally trying to decide how to get out of brunch.
I can’t go to brunch.
Not now. Not when I finally got to sleep with Matt.
Not after he told me he’s pretty sure that he loves me.
Because I don’t ever want to spin that stupid wheel again.
“I’m not feeling great,” I lie. “I think it was the champagne. I’m going to call Hayley and cancel.”
Matt suggestively slides his hand up my inner thigh. “Are you sure it’s not just because you want to stay here in bed with me all day?”
Oh. That’s an even better idea than pretending to be sick.
I grin at him. “That’s exactly what I want. I just need an excuse.”
“Tell her where you are. Right now. That you’re naked. She’ll understand,” he says with a smirk.
I sigh. “I know she would, but I’m not sure I want to tell her just yet.”
“She’s your best friend. You tell her everything.”
“It’s new, Matt. This. Us. I’m just not ready to tell her.” Or admit that it’s really real. I’m afraid if I say it out loud, I might break the spell.
“Do you think she’ll be surprised?”
“Probably not. It’s just that … I’m supposed to spin the wheel.”
“Oh, that,” he says, nodding his head.
“Yes, that,” I reply, waiting on bated breath to hear his reaction. To have him tell me he doesn’t ever want me to spin that thing again.
“Then, you definitely have to go.”
“Wait. What? You’re okay with me dating someone else?”
“Let’s cross that bridge when we get there,” he says, patting my butt and shooing me out of his bed. “I’m sure we can work something out.”
Work something out?
“Since it’s for your job and all.”
And I’m a little troubled by this. Because if I can date, so can he.
CHAPTER TWO
There’s got to be some sort of award coming my way. Like a Nobel Prize or something. Whatever they give to people who somehow manage to drag themselves out of bed, away from an incredibly sexy man—the man they have been drooling over forever—to have brunch with a friend.
I go over to my apartment and tousle my hair, and I’m totally surprised by how good I look. How happy. I get dressed and am ready in no time because I know that the sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can get home and back into bed with Matt.
Like, if he wants to hang out with me some more.
Now that I think about it, he didn’t say anything about later.
Oh well. Don’t care. I’m going over there and offering myself up for another night of sexual fun.
As I enter the restaurant, Hayley waves at me from a booth against the wall.
I get a quick look-over and a low whistle. “Wow. You look great.”
She knows. Does she know?
I slide into the booth, settle in, and wonder why she chose this diner instead of her preferred fancy brunch place. Although, based on the aroma, I can probably guess why. It smells amazing.
“This is why we are friends,” I tell her. “You always make me feel good.”
“Or was it Matt?” she asks, cutting straight to the point.
“Um, uh,” I stutter. Come on, Kitty. Tell her. You’re dying to. “What makes you say that?”
“You were dancing pretty close at the wedding,” she says, studying me. “You looked like a couple in love. I hoped that might transition into the bedroom.”
I’m trying to decide what to say when our waiter asks if we are ready to order.
“Coffee?” I ask Hayley.
“Hair of the dog is what the doctor ordered. Turns out, I overindulged a little last night. Thus, our brunch spot for this morning.” She turns to the waiter and holds up two fingers. “Bloody Marys, please.”
“You don’t look hungover,” I say, noting her sparkling eyes. “You just look in love.”
“I’m not actually hungover. Just hungry. Starving actually.” She gives the waiter a toss of her hair and says, “We’ll figure out our order while you grab our drinks.”
He leaves, and we peruse the menu in silence for a moment.
When she sets her menu down, she says to me, “I am in love. Very in love. Isn’t it so fun that we’re in love at the same time?”
“Have I actually admitted to being in love with Matt?”
“You don’t have to. I already know.”
Our drinks are set in front of us, and let me tell you, they are huge.
“This is like brunch in a drink. Do we even need to order?” I say with a laugh as I take in all the things skewered on a stick.
“It’s supposed to be the biggest Bloody Mary in town. I suppose I could let you read about it, but it’s more fun to tell you. This delightful drink in front of you,” she says, mimicking a salesperson, “has organic vodka, Bloody Mary mix, a jumbo shrimp, a slice of bacon, a beef stick, some peppers and olives, and two cream cheese–filled celery sticks.”
“You want to order?” our waiter asks, causing us to realize he’s still there.
As per usual, Hayley doesn’t miss a beat. “I’ll have the lobster grilled cheese and sweet potato fries.”
“And I’ll have the cheeseburger and rosemary truffle hash browns.”
The second he’s gone, Hayley holds her drink up in the air. “A toast,” she says. “To friends, great loves, and of course, books.”
“Books?”
She takes a sip of her drink and a bite of bacon before nodding her head and saying, “Yes, books. Don’t forget, today’s the day. We have to spin. You have a call with Maggie tomorrow still, right?”
“Right,” I say, my stomach sinking. Is Matt really going to be cool with me dating someone else, even in the name of research? The thought distresses me. “You surprise me, Hayley.”