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She rolled, not daring to open her eyes, dreading the spinning room rollercoaster—a hangover guaranteed. Pressing her lips together, she swallowed the invisible ball of cotton in her mouth and cringed, the deep beat of a bass drum beating in her brain. She drew in a deep breath and heaved out a sigh, quelling the urge to immediately vomit.
A muffled moan met her ear, and she chanced a one-eyed glance at the mound of covers beside her. Austin unburied his body. His eyes popped open as a grin spread across his lips.
“Coffee. I’m gonna go make coffee.” His fingers threaded through her hair as his lips pecked her forehead. He rolled away, bouncing to his feet before snagging a pair of sweatpants from his dresser and walking out of the room.
Casey rammed her eyes closed again, cowering beneath the covers.How the fuck are you even moving right now?But ready to move or not, her stomach lurched, and she raced to the bathroom, upending the last moments of their Go Fish game. She frowned and wiped the sweat from her brow. “Fucking disgusting,” she murmured and squirted toothpaste on Austin’s toothbrush.
Her tongue tingled with spearmint as she returned to bed, tugging the covers back up and over her face in a makeshift cave. The fresh scent of coffee reached her nose before the bed jiggled with the weight of Austin’s body. His voice infiltrated her darkened hole of safety. “How’re you feeling, Casey girl?”
She inhaled. “Like I just lost the game in the bottom of the ninth inning.” She unburied her face, sweeping her gaze over Austin.
He lounged at her side, his left elbow propping his body up on the pillow. A steaming cup of coffee rested in his hand and a smile pulled at his lips. “Always baseball with you.” He shifted the cup to his other hand as his warm palm caressed her cheek, brushing a curl behind her ear. “Fun night, huh?” He raised a brow and blew out a breath.
“I’m not even sure how you’re awake right now. You boys had a shitshow in progress when I got back here.”
He snorted and dropped his head to the pillow. “I don’t remember you coming home.” His fingers kneaded his forehead. “The kitchen is a fucking disaster.” He grinned again and a giggle tumbled from his lips. “I have no idea what the hell happened down there.”
“Go Fishy,” she muttered, scooting her body upward to mimic his position. Casey reached for the coffee, and Austin handed it off to her with his eyebrows squished together.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“You don’t remember playing Go Fish with Josh and Mitch last night?” She snickered and sipped the coffee. “Well, I mean, you at least called it Go Fish...”
Austin smiled and tilted his head. “Memory solidly unaccounted for, Cinderella.” He scratched his forearm and reached forward, tugging her body into his bare torso. Lifting the cup from her hands, he set it on the nightstand.
Casey dropped her head into the crook of his arm and inhaled, breathing in the scent of his body amidst the lingering smell of alcohol. Sandalwood penetrated her nose, the scent always intoxicating with comfort. She sighed. “Well, sir, what memories are accounted for? What did you boys do last night?” Her eyes closed, settling into the moment as Austin’s face snuggled into her messy hair, his warm breath colliding with the top of her head.
“It wasn’t supposed to be wild. We reserved the private room at Highside, had a few drinks, grabbed some pizza, and headed back here.” He snickered. “Sounds really lame when you spell it out like that.”
“Yeah, but it’s probably exactly what Josh wanted. I bet he missed you.”
Austin snorted and tugged the covers over his legs. “I will admit it’s nice that he’s speaking to me again.”
“Well, it’s like you said from the start... Moving to Chicago was a good idea. It gave you—and him—some dis—”
Austin’s lips pressed into hers, tasting of coffee and fueled with urgency. Burrowing his hand beneath the covers, he squeezed her hips as a groan escaped his mouth. His fingers dipped below the waistline of her panties, his touch a guarantee of pleasure, but something scratched her instead.
His mouth pulled from hers as his hands uncovered the business card she’d tucked away hours before. He snorted. “Tell me I didn’t just find a man’s business card in your underwear, Casey McDaniels.” Austin twirled the card between his fingers with amusement.
“Oh! Umm, yeah, I ahh, snagged it from the table last night.” She wrinkled her nose and yanked the covers up to her face. “Mitch had it.”
Austin frowned, his eyes flashing to the tiny card again. “Asshole,” he muttered, crumpling it in his hand.
“The divorce attorney or Mitch?”
His brow furrowed. “Both.” He smacked the card against his palm as his eyes sought the door of the bedroom. “You grabbed this last night?”
“Yeah. Mitch had it in his pocket.”
He nodded. “Can we keep this between us for now?”
“Yeah, of course.” Casey squeezed his forearm. “You’re not surprised by it though. Why?”
He shook his head but smiled as his gaze connected with hers. “Lauren mentioned it when she came to visit. I guess I just didn’t really believe her, but this...” His voice trailed away as his fingers ran along the stubble on his chin. “How was she last night?”
Casey shrugged. “She seemed fine. We had a great time. Lauren even saved me from your mom.” She smirked as his eyes widened.
“Oh, God, my mom was there?” He bit his bottom lip.
