The MacAllisters of Rivers End Collection Books 1-4

Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

Nothing like letting your ex-fiancé believe that you just slept with someone else to convince him you were done for real.

She was ninety-nine-point-nine-percent sure that whatever she’d done last night hadn’t included s*x. Yes, she’d been tipsy. But she would have remembered that. Right?

At that thought, she felt hollow, and a bit sick. Shaky, too. She needed caffeine. Maybe a little grease. And anything at all that could distract her from how badly she felt.

She also needed to be less naked. And somewhere other than the hallway.

Shannon ducked back into her neighbour’s apartment.

The knock came seconds later.

Dammit. What else could Jackson possibly have to say?

Shannon whipped open the door. “What do you want?”

Oh. No. Oh-no-oh-no-oh-no.

“I thought you could probably use some coffee to take the edge off. It’s prescription strength.” Lucas held out the coffee with a twinkle in his eye. “Was that Jackson who just left?”

“Yes.” Lucas? Seriously? If this is what tequila did to her judgement, she was never, ever going to touch the stuff again.

Shannon thought about refusing the coffee on principle, but desperate times called for desperate measures. She reached out and grabbed the cup, took a gulp, and tried to make eye contact again.

Instead she closed her eyes in ecstasy. It was the most perfect cup of coffee. Ever.

“You didn’t get this from the gas station.” The stuff from the gas station could be used to repave roads.

“Nope. Made it myself.”

She watched over the rim of her cup as he took a healthy swig of his own, mesmerized by his lips, his mouth, as he swallowed. And she could feel his lips on hers, clear as day. Could feel her body responding just from the memory. Oh, boy.

“Um… where?” She definitely hadn’t smelled any coffee brewing in the apartment. Maybe he lived nearby. Maybe he was just coming to check on her at her brother’s request. Maybe he was just passing through and happened to have an extra cup of coffee prepared exactly the way she liked it.

Or maybe she’d gone home with the one person she swore she would never sleep with.

Double crap.

“Downstairs. In what will be my new coffee shop as soon as I get everything up and running.”

A man who really liked his coffee. Oh, boy.

“I’ve always loved that shirt. But it looks way better on you than it ever did on me.” There was no mistaking that grin. Or the look in his eyes.

Well, s**t. She’d really done it this time.

He wasn’t sure she was still paying attention. Her eyes had glazed over, and she looked like she was going to run—or throw up. But he kept talking, trying to gauge her mood.

“It’s so great that Jenna was able to rent me the apartment as well as the space. It’s going to be a ton of work to get everything finished in time to launch on February first, but I can’t wait till the doors are open.”

Still nothing from Shannon. Rambling was better than the awkward silence that cropped up every time he stopped talking.

“I’ve been working away on permits and stuff for weeks. I’m so glad Jenna was able to salvage the building after things went sideways with the original owner. I had my heart set on this spot.”

Shannon murmured something noncommittal and bolted for the bathroom.

Lucas sighed. She looked like she was about to be sick again.

A couple of long minutes passed while he absorbed the caffeine and listened for retching sounds. Nothing. Then she was moving around a bit, and he heard water running. She’d be fine. Probably just putting her pants on.

Too bad. He enjoyed the view. The woman had some legs on her. His T-shirt fell to her thighs, but he’d been up close and personal with her red satin and lace the night before. To be honest, he’d hoped that since they were sober now, they could pick up this morning where they’d left off last night.

The kiss under the streetlights had escalated, and before he knew it, they were on his couch, Shannon straddling his lap, her mouth fused to his. The beers had dulled his reflexes—hell, it was New Year’s Eve—and she’d peeled her shirt off before he realized what she was doing.

He’d almost swallowed his tongue. The question of whether or not she’d worn a bra had been answered. And she was living up to every fantasy he’d ever had of seeing her naked.

He didn’t resist when she reached out and pulled his hands towards her. The feel of her breasts fitting perfectly in his palms was up there on his personal highlights reel. But as badly as he had wanted her, he wasn’t like that guy in the bar—an asshole. No way. When they finally did the deed, she would be wide awake, stone cold sober, and damn sure that she wanted him. Specifically. Not anyone, but him.

He was trying to drag his head out of his lap and put the brakes on when she’d gone green, jumped up, and bolted for the bathroom.

Kneeling in front of the toilet seemed eerily familiar. Oh, man. The day just kept getting better. Memories danced across her eyelids from the night before—including running half-naked from the living room and humiliating herself as her body loudly rejected the last few tequila shots. There were reasons she avoided hard liquor. Now she had a couple more doozies to add to the list.

He’d been so sweet. Just handed her a glass of water, a couple of ibuprofen, and pulled a T-shirt over her head to replace the towel she had clutched to her chest, both of them pretending she had some modesty left to protect.

She wished she had a clearer memory of what happened after that. But she was pretty sure that he tucked her into his bed, at which point she promptly fell asleep. Which may have occurred shortly after she asked him to get naked with her again, and he turned her down. Again.

Shannon splashed some more cold water on her pale face.

Oh, man. Whatever he’d thought of her before, she’d certainly shown her true colours last night when she’d thrown herself at him. Twice.

Now, she planned to do what any self-respecting woman would do with that particular series of events behind her.

She was going to flee, like the coward she was.

Priority one was to get her keys and her jacket back from Tracy, and then she’d work on priority two: avoid Lucas for the rest of eternity.