“The hotel phone rang?”
I’m dumbfounded.
“And you slept right through it.”
“When I still hadn’t heard from you, I couldn’t take it anymore. I asked Jesse to drive me back to the hotel so I could check up on you to make sure you were still alive. I told Mom not to expect me at the office until I figured out where the hell you were.”
I’ve never heard Ainsley raise her voice this much. And I’ve never seen her eyes bulge like this.
“You’re actually worried?”
“Of course I am. I left you here alone with Hot Guy so you could get some. When I didn’t hear from you, I started panicking. You always turn down my hints—”
“For the record, they’re more than hints. It’s like you’re shouting at me.”
“Granted. No matter how many times I’ve pushed you to have a one-night stand, you’ve always said no way. The one time you get laid, you go MIA on me.”
I grab her arm. “Come inside. This is not the kind of conversation we should be having in the hallway,” I scold gently.
“Is Hot Guy still sleeping?” she whispers as she steps inside the room. She even covers her mouth with her hands when she says that.
“No. Holt left at about 4 o’clock in the morning. I crashed after that. My phone is still off, hence, why I’m MIA.”
“He rammed and ran?”
Leave it to my cousin to come up with something like that.
I shake my head. “No, Miss Judgmental. He’s a gentleman all the way. He promised his daughter he’d be there when she woke up, so he left to get a few hours’ sleep before picking her up at her nanny’s place. He apologized at least three times for not being able to stay the night.”
“Aaaawwww.” That’s way too many letters.
“It’s pretty endearing how much he cares about his daughter. He said he’s never broken a promise to her. He wants her to grow up to know a man should keep his word—unless he’s facing death… even then. Dad used to say the same thing. He still does.”
“With all his faults, Dad never breaks a promise either,” Ainsley says.
Uncle Blaize may have an overwhelming drive to dominate and be the best at what he does, but his word is golden.
“I’ll admit, Holt’s devotion makes me want to have babies all of a sudden,” I laugh.
“This guy shook up your ovaries. Job well done, Hot Guy.”
I roll my eyes.
“Come on, let’s go into the living room.”
“Oh, by the way, those selfies of you two were hilarious.”
“I know. Holt is so much fun to be around—”
“Wow,” she exclaims as she takes in the state of the suite. “Someone had a great time last night.” She drops her designer handbag on the coffee table, her eyes still scouring the room. “Did you guys spend more time eating than fucking?”
“Balance in everything, dear cousin.” I grin.
“Ooohhh!” Her eyes widen with excitement.
“After round one—”
“Round one?”
“Yup! As I was saying, after round one we sat in bed and talked. Holt was curious about my relationship with Dalton since I made it clear my ex wasn’t adventurous in bed, hence my lack of experience. I started sharing and all of a sudden, I choked. I thought for sure I could share more––it’s been two and a half years after all––but having to relive that period of my life… it’s still so hard.”
Ainsley wraps me in her arms. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry it still hurts.”
“Me too,” I say in a broken voice. “Holt was great about it. In no time he had me laughing again and I was able to put the past behind me.” Where it belongs. “At eleven forty-five, Holt declared he was starved. That’s when I remembered the dessert table was to be displayed. Being around Holt makes me lose track of time—”
“I don’t blame you. The man is fine with a capital F.”
She doesn’t know the half of it.
“We both jumped into our clothes and raced downstairs. Holt was dead set on getting his hands on a few of my donuts. I was beaming with pride at his determination. Since they were also serving savory snacks, he enlisted the help of a hotel staff member to roll up a cart weighed down with food, sweets and booze to the suite. We ate, drank, laughed, and then we moved on to rounds two, three and four.”
“No way.”
I nod with a cocky grin stretched across my face.
“Who the hell comes four times the first time they sleep with a man?” she asks. “No one.”
“Well, technically, I do. I nearly blacked out each time.”
She fans herself. “Lord have mercy.”
“I never thought I’d survive.”
Ainsley drops to the floor at my feet and folds over.
“What the hell are you doing?” I ask.
“Worshiping you, my queen,” she says, bowing.
I grab her arm and attempt to pull her back up. “Oh, stop it. You’re being ridiculous. It was just sex.”
Her head jerks back up and she gives me an incredulous look.
“Okay, okay, it was the best freaking sex of my life. Not that anyone could be worse than Dalton, but Holt set the bar so high, he’s going to be a tough act to follow.”
“I’m so happy for you, Everly,” she says, getting back to her feet.
“I’m so happy for me too!”
“All this talk about the best sex ever is great and all, but you still have to deal with one pissed off cousin.”
“Callum?”
“Mister precision himself. He must’ve called me eight times this morning to find out when you were going to haul your ass to the bakery.”
“He needs to take a chill pill. It’s still early. Not to mention, he’s rolled into the bakery late a few times after some of his wild nights.”
Granted, he isn’t on the payroll, but still.
“Everly, it’s eight thirty.”
“What?” I yell.
“Yeah. It’s late. You overslept big time.”
“Oh, my God. Nothing like this has ever happened to me before.”
“Because you usually set four alarms to get up in the morning.”
She’s not lying.
“This is so embarrassing.” I hang my head low.
“Take it in your stride. You’re late for a very good reason. And, have I not always told you post-coital sleep is the best ever.”
I feel like I’ve slept for days. I can’t remember the last time I felt this rejuvenated.
“I doubt that’ll be of any comfort to your brother. He doesn’t care about my sex life.”
“Not true. He’s as concerned as I am about your extended celibate state.”
“Ainsley,” I warn.
“I digress. In any case, you have another problem on your hands––although a good problem, but a problem nonetheless.”
I love my cousin, but sometimes she can be long-winded. Like now.
“Ainsley, stop talking in riddles. What do you mean?”
“According to the last text message my baby brother sent me,” she’s the eldest of the twins by six minutes, “there’s already a lineup around the corner in front of your bakery.”