Thirty-Seven: Kitchen Countertops

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ONE-NIGHT STAND?

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ONE-NIGHT STAND?

I wanted very badly to reject her assessment of the situation. After everything that happened last night, she only wanted one night? Bullshit. No fucking way. Our chemistry went beyond logic. Why would she walk away from that?

"Look, Beau," she started, and I cringed at the tone she continued to use. "I had a good time last night, but—"

I cut her off with a humorless laugh. "A good time?"

Baby girl screamed my goddamn name more times than I could count, and she wanted to classify that as a good time?

Collins closed her eyes for a brief moment. "Okay, it was great. But I'm not looking for anything more right now."

"We can take it slow, Collins. I just want the chance to see you again, ya know?"

She started shaking her head, and my stomach sank even lower.

"Beau, we live two hours away from each other. I don't leave Fresno much. I—"

Collins wrapped her blanket tighter, and I couldn't help but reach out to her, hooking an arm around her middle to bring her back onto the bed with me.

"I don't mind the drive," I whispered against her neck after moving those curly strands out of the way.

She sucked in, and her voice was as quiet as mine. "I do, though." Pressing my lips to her skin, I heard my name on an exhale before she continued. "I just can't have any more complications in my life right now. I'm sorry."

Grabbing her chin, I brought her around to face me.

"Does this feel complicated to you?" I asked before kissing her with everything I fucking had.



The pop of the champagne bottle woke Collins the next morning. A flying cork hit the window in my bedroom, thankfully not breaking it, before it clattered to the floor. Collins barely stirred. Baby girl was out cold. But when I began pouring the bubbly into champagne glasses filled with orange juice, she began to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"What's going on?" Blinking up at me, she half-laughed, half-groaned when she realized. "You are so extra...you know that?"

"It's all relative," I said, waving a hand.

Collins sat up in bed, eyes widening as she realized that there was a whole tray of food at the foot of it. It wasn't exactly what I'd ordered from room service that morning at the Cardairel Hotel, but it was pretty damn close. I set down the champagne glasses on the tray, trying not to spill on my bed.

"That looks delicious. This is so sweet of you, Beau," Collins said with a yawn. Her words made my grin turn prideful, at least until I looked up to see a flash of her curls as she slipped into the hall.

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