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There was a pronounced silence. “I appreciate that, and I’m sorry, too,” he said, still in that strange voice. “For the things I said.”
“I forgive you. Can we be friends again? Beyond the truce, I mean.” Olivia’s lower lip wobbled. “I miss you a lot.” She’d missed him for years. It wasn’t something she would ever admit during the day, but under the cover of darkness, she couldn’t have held back the truth if she tried.
Sammy had been her rock, her best friend, her cheerleader, and her partner in crime. He’d been the love of her life, and his absence had left a huge, gaping hole in her chest. Even in the moments when she despised him, she’d missed him with an intensity that frightened her.
His breathing sounded unsteady, or maybe that was her heart beating a drumbeat she hadn’t heard in a long, long time.
“I’m right here.” Sammy moved her leg so he could drape the blanket over her.
Olivia may be drunk, but it didn’t escape her notice that he’d avoided answering her question about being friends again.Realfriends, not friendly acquaintances the way they were now.
She opened her eyes, her gaze tracing over the strong lines of Sammy’s profile. The lights were off and she couldn’t see his face clearly, but she’d memorized every feature—the deep chocolate eyes, the broad cheekbones, the firm, full lips and square jaw.
“That’s not what I meant.”
Sammy muttered something that sounded like “God help me.” He exhaled a long breath and adjusted the blanket so it was tucked securely around her. “Let’s discuss this in the morning when you’re sober.”
“I’m sober.” Olivia hiccupped. “Well, I’m theteensiestbit tipsy. Margaritas will do that to ya, ya know?” She flung her arms open dramatically. “Sammy.”
“Olivia.” A faint note of teasing entered his voice.
She pouted. “I don’t like it when you call me that.”
“That’s your name.” More amusement.
She shook her head. “You should call me Liv. That’s what all my friends call me.”
The intensity of his stare warmed her already flushed skin. It was scorching in here, and all she wanted was to rip off her clothes and burrow herself into Sammy’s delicious warmth. Which made no sense, because she’d be trading heat for more heat, but Sammy’s kind of heat sounded way better than suffocating beneath her comforter.
“Is that what you really want? For us to be friends?” His hand lingered near her shoulder, and Olivia instinctively reached up and clasped it to her chest. He made a strangled noise but didn’t move away.
“Yes,” she said dreamily. If she said it, it’d come true.#Manifestation
Was it normal to want to have hot, sweaty sex with your friends? Well, one friend in particular whose name rhymed with Tammy, who—hey! Tammy was a new friend. Friends were great. Olivia loved friends, especially her new book club ones. Now that she thought about it, perhaps the book club discussion was what had gotten her all hot and bothered. Sammy’s current shirtless state only amplified her hot-and-bothered-ness.
She shifted in her bed, wishing she was naked.Why was it so freakin’ hot?
Olivia lifted Sammy’s hand so she could throw off her covers. “Turn up the A/C. I mean, turn down the A/C.” Her brow knit in puzzlement. “Make it colder,” she clarified. “I’m burning up.”
Concern sharpened in his eyes. “It’s sixty-eight degrees.”
“Then why aren’t you cold?”
“Because I was under my covers—until someone knocked down a coat rack and woke me up.”
She didn’t dignify that with a response. “It’s not. I’m hot.” She giggled. “That rhymes.”
Sammy rested his free hand on her forehead, and she sighed with contentment at his cool touch. “Jesus, youareburning up. How much did you drink?”
“Like...threeeeedrinks?” Olivia squinted one eye as she tried to remember. “Four? Five? Ten?”
“You could be sick. This feels like more than an alcohol flush. How do you feel? Nauseous? Fatigued? Any abdominal pain?” He fired off the questions like he was a doctor.
She thought about it. “Horny.”
He went still, so still she couldn’t hear him breathe. “What?” There went that strangled noise again.
Golden warmth—the good kind, not the kind burning her skin—melted and trickled throughout her body, sensitizing each nerve ending as it flowed past.
