Reckless (Thoughtless, #3)(30)

My stomach and head paling in comparison to my pride, I scrambled to my feet and grabbed a towel lying on the dresser. I opened the bedroom door and found Denny on the other side of it. He was still red, still not looking at me, but holding a glass of water in my direction. “Sorry,” he muttered. “You sounded like you needed help.”

I took the glass, grateful and mortified at the same time. “Thank you.” I inhaled the water, and Denny cautiously peeked over at me. He was still dressed in the clothes I vaguely remembered him wearing last night—nice slacks and a sharp dress shirt. There weren’t a lot of wrinkles in the shirt, so he must have taken it off before climbing into the lumpy futon that was in our spare room.

I handed him the empty glass, wishing I had more. Denny read my mind. “I have to go to work, but I’ll get you another one before I leave. How do you feel?”

I closed my eyes. “Really, really embarrassed.” I cracked one eye open. “I’m so sorry you walked in on that.”

A tiny smile lifted Denny’s lips, and he turned his head away from me. “I meant your stomach.”

The heat in my cheeks flamed a little hotter. Right. Duh. “Oh, um, much better . . . thank you.”

Denny nodded and started heading back downstairs to get some more of the cool, clean water from the fridge. As he walked away, I told him, “Thank you for watching over me last night. I really . . . I really appreciate it.”

Turning his head, Denny gave me his signature grin. “Anytime, mate. I’m sure you would have done the same for me.”

I gave him an enthusiastic nod. “I’d do just about anything for you, Denny.”

The smile on his face fell some, and I immediately knew exactly what he was thinking—anything but remain faithful to me. He didn’t verbalize it, though. Instead, he nodded and turned away to finish taking care of me. Closing my eyes, I laid my head against the door. Someday I would stop feeling guilty for betraying him, right? No, probably not.

I brushed my teeth while Denny returned with more water. Even though I left the bathroom door ajar, he knocked on it. After drinking my second glass, I felt a lot better. Well, I felt like I could shower without slipping or heaving. As Denny turned to leave, I asked him, “How are you getting your car?”

He shrugged. “I called Abby. She should be here in a minute.”

Nodding, I again told him, “Thank you, Denny.”

He told me it was nothing and gave me a small wave before turning to head downstairs. I thought I heard a car honking “goodbye” while I luxuriated in the steaming warm shower. I wasn’t sure what Kellan would think about Denny spending the night with me, but then I remembered that he already knew. The thought made me smile. It felt good to be honest with him, to not have any secrets for once. And as I remembered Kellan singing me to sleep, I felt even better. He hadn’t flown into a rage and hopped the first flight back into town. He’d trusted me, even in my drunken state, to remain faithful to him. And I had.

I felt pretty proud of myself as I washed slime out of my hair. Not for overindulging on free shots—that wasn’t one of my finer moments—but for not letting alcohol sweep me away into a remembered moment of passion with Denny. I felt like I’d been tested, and I’d passed.

Figuring I should check in with Anna, let her know I was alive and well and still coming to her appointment, I ransacked the bed for my cell phone. I found it buried in the covers; the battery was long dead. Kellan must have sung me to sleep until my phone disconnected. I couldn’t remember when I’d dozed off, but I could easily picture Kellan keeping the line open while he listened to me sleeping. Maybe he’d fallen asleep that way, pretending that we were in bed together. God, I hope I hadn’t snored.

When I plugged the phone in, there were several missed calls from Jenny, Kate, and Cheyenne. I let them all know I was fine, then texted Anna and let her know I was on my way.

It took twice as long as usual, but I eventually made it to my old apartment. Anna was bright-eyed and bushytailed when she got in the car. She was excited for the upcoming news—the sex of her baby. She was having an ultrasound today, and if my niece or nephew cooperated, we’d find out whether to decorate the nursery pink or blue. Of course, Anna had “known” it was a girl from the moment she’d accepted the pregnancy, and she’d already loaded up my old closet with dozens of outfits in pale pinks, light purples, and deep reds. It looked like Valentine’s Day had thrown up in there. And that thought did not help my stomach.

Anna smirked when she noticed the color of my face. “Good night?” she asked, in an unaccommodatingly loud voice.

I cringed as I glared at her. “Not really.” Well, that wasn’t exactly true. I’d been having a great time until my liquid friends had decided to leave the party in the most uncomfortable way possible.

Anna laughed as I focused on the road. “I feel a little bad for petering out on you. That’s so unlike me. Jenny get you home okay?”

Remembering the look on Jenny’s face as I’d left the bar with Denny, I frowned and answered my sister without considering just who I was talking to. “No, she didn’t take me home . . . Denny did.”

“What? You went home with Denny?” she snapped.

I mentally smacked myself. I really hadn’t planned on mentioning that to her. “I didn’t ‘go home’ with him. . . . He dropped me off at the house, made sure I was okay.” I stopped myself from telling her that he’d spent the night; I didn’t want to send her into early labor.