Page 184 of No Headlines Please

Right now, the shirt was somewhere on the floor. I could slip out of bed and check it out, but that would involve letting go of Delaney.

Uh, yeah. Not gonna happen.

Instead, I tightened my arm just a fraction. And when she gave a contented little sigh, something squeezed in my chest.

Yeah, I could definitely get used to this.

My eyelids were just starting to drift shut when the sound of knocking made me tense.

Fuck.

It wasn't coming from my bedroom door.

The way it sounded, it was coming from the door to Delaney's bedroom.

I looked toward the connecting bathroom. The door on my side was open, but from this angle, I couldn't tell whether the bathroom door on Delaney's side was open or shut. If it was open, and someone barged into Delaney's bedroom, they'd get a good eyeful if they wandered too far.

Damn it.

Whoever it was, maybe they'd go away.

They didn't.

And it didn't take a genius to know who it was.

Not Ryder, that's for sure.

When the knock sounded again, Delaney shifted in my arms. In a sleepy voice, she murmured, "Whatever you're selling, we don't want any."

Yeah, no kidding.

But then, she suddenly bolted upright and turned to look toward the sound. She gave a little groan. "Oh, no. That must be Tessa."

69

Bedhead, Backwards and Busted

Delaney

From the open doorway to my bedroom, Tessa gave me a perplexed look. "So…you need more time?"

I'd been awake for barely a minute. I'd used that minute to scramble out of bed, pluck up my oversized T-shirt, and frantically put it on while bolting through the connecting bathroom.

By the time I answered the knocking at my bedroom door, I'd been nearly breathless even as I tried to look casual.

And now, here I was, staring stupidly at my sister while my brain tried to catch up. I rubbed at my eyes. "More time for what?"

She gave me a funny look. "To get ready." She glanced down, taking in my oversized shirt, bare legs, and bare feet. "I mean…you're not going for coffee like that?" She looked up, eyeing my hair like I had a serious case of bedhead. "Are you?"

Oh, crap. As I reached up to smooth my hair, a rush of guilt flooded through me.

Coffee at ten.

We'd made those plans just before retiring to our separate bedrooms.

And now, Tessa was looking past me, eyeing the bathroom door, like she expected Maddox to pop out naked.

I knew he wouldn't. I'd asked him – no, begged him – to stay in bed while I dealt with Tessa.