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Stay focused. Your start does not determine how you’re going to finish.
–Herm Edwards
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BETHANY
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I WAKE UP IN A STRANGE bed with an arm around my waist.
Not this again.
It’s a nice arm. Solid. Muscular. Strong, clean fingers.
I’ve done worse.
It may not be the first time I’ve woken up in someone else’s bed, but it’s the first time I don’t remember who someone else is.
Disappointment wraps its cold fingers around my neck while my mind rifles through memories of the night before and my body absorbs the heat of the man cuddled around me like he belongs there.
I don’t deserve the comforting heat at my back or the soothing sounds of breathing. Whoever he is, he’s good. I’m an expert cuddler and this guy isn’t even trying to press his morning boner in my back. That’s like tenth level snuggling.
Reality blinks to life and slaps me in the face.
I went to bed last night alone. At Marc and Gwen’s. I’ve been checking in on their apartment occasionally ever since they left the country weeks ago.
So who’s the hottie draped over my midsection like he’s got the right?
Muted grey light filters into the room as the sun forces its way through the concrete jungle outside. I turn my head to get a close up look at my bedfellow and my heart stops.
I know him.
Well, I know of him.
Brent Crawford.
I’m snuggling with the tight end for the New York Sharks? The famous athlete? The gossip rag favorite? New York’s sexiest bachelor?
Technically, this is his bed. He’s Marc’s brother and he does live here but he’s been MIA for months. Where did he come from? And why the hell is he spooning me?
For a few long seconds I don’t move, I just watch him breathe and take in his nearness and slumbering good looks. My eyes linger over the defined angle of his jaw, and the criminally long lashes that women pay hundreds to emulate. I turn my head forward and take in the corded muscles of the arms around me, apparent even in a relaxed state.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that any man in possession of such attractions is acutely aware of his own appeal and will use it to his advantage. Over and over and over again. With many, many women.
I used to be one of those women who didn’t mind the game. Hell I loved the game, but I’ve grown up. Men like this . . . they never really do.
I gotta get out of here before I do something dumb.
Oh so carefully, I wiggle to gauge his wakefulness. His grip tightens and he murmurs something unintelligible. Heart pounding, I shift and twist, taking my time and doing moves a contortionist would envy. Eventually I disentangle myself from his arms and slide from the bed. He’s still breathing softly.
I am the queen of escape. A regular Houdini.
My half naked victory dance is halted when I turn back toward the bed and find him sitting up and watching me, his expression a sleepy combination of confusion and interest.
His dark hair is rumpled and sexy and his eyes are a bright shade of blue so mesmerizing I almost rip all my clothes off and jump back into the bed.
Plus, he’s not wearing a shirt. The sheet is covering him only from the waist down, exposing a chiseled chest and arms and . . . is that an eight pack?
“Who are you and why are you in my bed?” His voice is rough with sleep and a zing shoots straight to my lady bits.
Down girl.
“I’m not in your bed,” I point out.
He rubs a hand through his sexy, tousled hair and frowns. “You were.” Those vivid eyes narrow momentarily and then lighten. “You’re Gwen’s friend. Aren’t you living at her apartment? Why are you here?”
My brain shuffles through possible excuses.
Watering the plants got really exhausting and I needed a nap.
Too lame.
I fell asleep while smelling your sheets.
Too creepy.
There’s a ghost in my apartment and I can’t sleep there.
Too unbelievable, even if it happens to be true.
“Oh, would you look at the time?” I glance down at my wrist. There’s no watch there. “I . . . I have to go.” I grab my overnight bag from the chair and bolt for the door.
I slept in only a tank top and panties.
He’s totally getting an eyeful of my ass and cellulite and, ugh.
Doesn’t matter.
“Wait.” He shuffles behind me, pulling on his own clothes but no one can get dressed and undressed as quickly as I can.
It’s an art.
Before he’s even made it out of the bedroom, I’ve pulled my pants out of my bag and I’m out the front door, buttoning as I race down the hall in the direction of the elevator.
The shiny metal doors close me into solitude and I take a deep breath, watching my panicked face in the mirrored walls.
As the elevator descends, laughter bubbles out of my reflection.
I can’t believe I just ran away from the hottest man in the city. I mean, I knew there was a chance I would run into him. Gwen told me he would come back to New York eventually, but no one knew exactly when. I didn’t think I would wake up with him in bed, though. That was definitely a surprise.
How did he not notice someone else sleeping when he got there? Sure, I have a tendency to huddle up into a ball. My friend Lucy would probably tell me it’s because of some kind of internal psychosis or trauma, and she’s probably right, but you’d think he would have turned on a light or something.
I guess I should be thankful he didn’t bring someone home with him. That would have been even more awkward than this morning. Three-way no way.
I wipe a hand down my face with a groan.
Once I reach the bottom floor I ask the doorman to get me a cab to Park Avenue. Might as well go straight to work instead of booking it all the way to Morningside Heights and back. At least I’m close enough to forgo the subway and I have my overnight bag with work clothes still stuffed inside.
As the car pulls away from the curb I consider what I’m going to do now. Since Brent’s here, I guess I won’t have to check the mail and water the plants anymore.
I sink down into the seat of the cab.
But this means I’m going to have a much bigger problem.
How will I ever sleep?
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