Page 68 of The Perfect Distraction

Chapter Nineteen

The next morning, she was awakened by a pounding in her brain. Or was someone knocking on the door? Too groggy to open her eyes, she decided it must have been her imagination and snuggled further down in the sheets. But then she heard…

“Beth? Are you in there?”

She bolted upright and felt the pounding in her head again. What happened?

“Beth? If you don’t answer, I’m kicking the door down.”

Colton! She jumped out of bed (big mistake given her aching head), pulled on a robe, and hurried downstairs as fast as she could (which wasn’t saying much).

“I’m coming!” she shouted as she rushed through the living room and into the kitchen.

When she pulled open the door, Colton stood there with a concerned look on his handsome face. But after giving her a thorough perusal, he broke out in an amused grin.

“What’s so funny?” she said, feeling like she was talking in a tunnel.

“Your hair. I’ve never seen it so…”

Placing her hands atop her head, she patted her hair and felt the rat’s nest he was referring to.

“I had a rough night.”

“I guess so. Do you know that it’s after nine o’clock?”

“I do now.”

“What happened?”

Leaning against the kitchen counter for support, she said, “I had trouble falling asleep, so I took a sleep aid. I forgot how potent they are.”

“They?”

“I took two.”

“Ah.”

He looked concerned again, but that was all she willing to divulge. “Sorry I overslept.”

He shook his head. “It’s okay. We were just worried about you. You’re usually right on time. I tried calling first, but when you didn’t answer, I decided to come over and check on you.”

She wanted to weep at his sweetness.

And then Joey appeared, squeezing in through the door to join them. “Are you okay?” he said, eyeing her disheveled hair.

“She overslept,” Colton explained.

“Sorry, Joey. I was up late last night, and I forgot to set an alarm. Will you forgive me?”

“Yeah, but don’t blame me if all the good donuts are gone when you come over!” And with that, he turned and raced out the door.

She and Colton laughed, but it made her head hurt, and she winced.

“Hey. Come here,” he said, holding out his arms to her.

She immediately fell into them, pressing close as he folded her in his embrace.

That time, she wasn’t even worried about Joey seeing them. If he did, he’d see his dad providing her comfort that was greatly needed.