“You keep watch over her, Puds. Come get me if she needs anything.”
His dog would cuddle her all night.
He turned off the light and headed down the hall to his bedroom.
CHAPTER
five
WHEN ERIN WOKE, she realized three things.
One, she smelled coffee, and she needed a cup desperately.
Two, she was not in her own bed.
And, three, she was nestled up against someone very warm. She peeked one eye open to see Jason’s dog Puddy snuggling against her chest.
Okay, that part was forgivable. She hadn’t forced herself on Jason. Not that she could remember, anyway. And if she had, she would hope that she’d be naked in Jason’s bed and not fully clothed on his sofa.
She sat up and Puddy jumped off the sofa. And then she caught sight of Jason in the kitchen. She rolled her legs over and stood, realizing her mouth tasted like a dry desert and she had the worst headache of her life.
Jason smiled. “There’s two acetaminophen on the table and a glass of water. I put an extra toothbrush and some toothpaste in the guest bathroom.”
“Bless you,” she said, making her way to the table to down the water and the tablets. After downing those, she headed into the bathroom next to take care of business and brush the aftereffects of the overabundance of last night’s champagne from her teeth. She felt much better, other than her hair looking like an absolute train wreck. At least she had a ponytail holder, so she finger-combed her hair into some semblance of order and wound it into a messy bun. Her shirt was wrinkled and she’d really like a shower, but this would have to do for now. The most important thing at the moment was coffee.
She headed out toward the kitchen, where Puddy was busily shoving his face into a bowl of food.
“He stayed on the sofa with you all night,” Jason said.
“No wonder I slept like the dead. He’s very cuddly.”
“Yeah. Even in my huge bed he thinks he owns seventy-five percent of it.”
She smiled and looked down at the pup. “But he’s so cute.”
“Which is why I let him get away with it sometimes. How do you take your coffee?”
“Just a touch of cream, if you have it.”
“I do.” He’d already brewed her a cup, so he pushed the cream toward her. She put a dollop in and lifted the mug to her lips for a sip, followed by another, then leaned against the kitchen island in utter bliss.
“Mmm. I needed this. Thank you. And sorry for passing out in your living room.”
“Not a problem. You were tired.”
“I don’t even remember falling asleep. Or much of anything last night, really. I must have been blitzed.”
“You did have a lot of champagne.”
“Hmm. What else did I do?”
“No naked table dancing, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”
Bits and pieces of last night came floating back to her, kind of like puzzle pieces that didn’t quite fit yet. “Naked . . . Oh, God, I told you about that, didn’t I?”
“Yup. And showed me the picture.”
She wished a black hole would swallow her up right at this moment. “That’s just awesome. Remind me to never have champagne again. What else did I do?”
He leaned against the counter and sipped his coffee, a perfect specimen of the male species with his low-slung relaxed jeans and a T-shirt that hugged his nicely sculpted chest and shoulders.
“You also propositioned me for sex. Twice. Maybe three times?”
She winced. “I did?”
“Yeah.”
“And you turned me down?” Hopefully.
“I did.”
“I don’t know whether to be grateful or insulted.”
“Trust me, I didn’t want to turn you down.”
“You didn’t?”
“Come on, Erin. I’m an average guy and you’re a beautiful woman. Hell no I didn’t want to turn you down. But you were drunk and vulnerable. And I don’t take advantage.”
Jason was anything but average. “Thank you. I appreciate that. I would have felt awful if we had sex.”
“Uh, thanks?”
She laughed. “Not that way. I mean, if we’re going to do it, I want to be fully aware so I can enjoy every second of it.”
“Good to know.”
She could not believe she was having this conversation with a guy she’d known her whole life. She and Jason had been friends for as long as she could remember. She’d punched him in the face when they were kids. He was her buddy, her confidant. Owen’s best friend. To think of him in that way was . . .
Not exactly unthinkable, really. As they stood there in his kitchen, she realized how gorgeous he was. Tall and muscular with dark bedroom eyes and a strong jaw and amazing forearms and long legs.
She’d been thrown off the horse, metaphorically speaking. Getting back on was the best thing she could do for herself right now. Easing the pain of rejection by having a revenge fling would make her feel better. And who better to do that with than with Owen’s best friend? Wouldn’t that dig the knife in perfectly?
“So let’s just say that I wanted to have a no-strings fling. Would you be game?”
“No.”
Okay, that was an abrupt answer. She pursed her lips and studied him. “Why? Because you’re Owen’s best friend and concerned about his feelings?”
“His feelings? Trust me, I’m as angry with Owen as you are right now. He’s my friend, but I’m pissed at what he did to you, Erin. But fucking me isn’t going to make you feel better.”
“It might. And I want to do it with someone I trust. Someone I know won’t hurt me.”
He pushed off the counter and came over to her, stopping just inches away from her. “You’d risk losing our lifelong friendship for what? So you can ease some ache that isn’t going to get any better by having sex?”
He had a point. She valued her friendship with Jason and wouldn’t want to do anything to lose that. But at the same time, she wanted to hurt Owen. And doing Jason? That would hurt her ex-fiancé in a major way.
“I’d
