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Which wouldn’t be far from the truth, considering Rylie felt a little nuts.
“No, but don’t worry, I’m safe. Just tired.”
“You’re being weird and mysterious. Please tell me you aren’t living in your car.”
“I’m not, I swear. I’m good.”
“All right, I’ll let you be mysterious today, but tomorrow is another story. Get some rest and we’ll talk soon. If you need anything, call okay? Love you.”
“I love you too.”
Rylie ended the call and glanced over her shoulder. The motion activated porch light was off and it was dark outside, which probably meant Dustin had gone to bed.
After making sure the door was locked, she plugged her phone into t
he charger and set it on the nightstand in the bedroom. She’d already hung up her clothes and slipped the rest of them into the dresser against the wall at the end of the king-sized bed. She still had a ton of boxes to unpack, but she didn’t want to get too comfortable. She didn’t plan to be here that long.
Rylie pulled her iPad from the night stand drawer and shut off the light just before she crawled between the soft sheets. She sighed as the smooth fabric caressed her feet; Asher had always preferred flannel sheets, even in the summer. These were cool and smooth and probably cost a small fortune, nothing like the itchy, hot fabric on their old shared bed.
Pushing the bitterness back, she turned on an episode of Who’s the Boss on Hulu and set the tablet on the nightstand, along with her glasses. Curling onto her side, she tried to relax, to just enjoy the show, hoping it would help her fall asleep.
After three episodes, she gave up and turned the device off. As she tossed and turned some more, flashes of Dustin crept into her mind. Hard. Wet. Shirtless.
Flopping onto her stomach with a groan, she mumbled aloud, “Stop thinking about him, idiot.”
It didn’t work, but it was worth a try.
Chapter 6
The high-pitched melody of Rylie’s alarm woke her. She groaned as the sound exacerbated the heavy thud in her head. Reaching for the device to turn off the offending sound, it took her several seconds to remember where she was.
She cracked an eye open. The room was still dark, thanks to the blackout curtains covering the single window in the room. She yawned and stretched, wincing at the sore muscles in her shoulders and arms from all the lifting. As she lay on her back and stared up into the abyss, she swallowed hard.
She was single. She was on her own. And she had no idea what she was going to do.
The first thing I should probably do is shower and get dressed. Then coffee.
But getting out of the warm, comfortable bed she’d had so much trouble falling asleep in proved to be a challenge all on its own. When the sound of knocking on glass woke her once more, she realized she’d fallen back asleep. Pressing the button on her phone to light up the home screen, she cursed. She only had twenty minutes to get ready for work.
After climbing out of the bed, she rushed to the front of the house and found Dustin standing on the other side in the early morning light. He was already dressed in a navy blue suit, blue striped shirt, and gray tie.
If he hadn’t already spotted her, she would have backed up slowly to inspect the damage on her hair.
Discreetly wiping at her mouth to check for any crusted drool trails, Rylie finally opened the door. Her gaze zeroed in on the steaming mug in his hand.
“I was coming to check on you. We’ve got to be out the door in twenty minutes.”
“I know. Sorry, I didn’t sleep well.” She pointed at the beautiful, gorgeous cup of Joe and asked, “Is that for me?”
Dustin chuckled as he held the deliciousness out to her. “Yeah, I usually take mine black, but I added a little half and half and sugar for you.”
She reached out and took the mug from him before sipping the wonderful elixir of life with a sigh. “This is perfect. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, his blue eyes twinkling with amusement.
Rylie realized he was giving her the once over, his grin widening even more, and figured she must look worse off than she suspected.
“I should go get cleaned up,” she said.
