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"Not in the way you think"

"How many ways are there to talk about so," she said "And second of all, you’reout of that conversation that you can get all self-righteous about so you can ignore the real issue"

You knohat? Maybe he didn’t like drunk Bailey so much after all "You’re the one who said you didn’t want a relationship," he said carefully "You’re the one who put it out there"

"Didn’t mean I didn’t want to know you"

"People who are not in a relationship don’t need to know each other’s deep, dark secrets," he said

She stared at hi around and out of proportion," she said with the very purposeful speech of the heavily inebriated "And I think you’re doing it on purpose"

"Why would I do that?"

"So you can do what everyone said you would, push me away For real"

Direct hit "You think you’re in my head," he said "But you’re not"

That apparently stopped her cold She opened her mouth and then shut it And then, dammit, a flash of pain crossed her face "Bailey--"

"I think I’ll go home now," she said, and started to slide out of the bed

"No," he said sharply and she stilled "You stay," he said "I’ll go" He hesitated but she didn’t try to stop hiot what you wanted You pushed her away

Chapter 26

Bailey had never experienced a hangover, so it took her by surprise Actually, it took her head by stor off her te ot lucky, she thought with a groan, if she got very, very lucky, her head would just blow right off her shoulders

She didn’t get lucky

Instead she opened her eyes and realized it wasn’t even dawn yet She lay on soft sheets in a bed that wasn’t hers

Alone

She sat up, having to hold her head to do it Solass of water and a bottle of ibuprofen on the nightstand She made liberal use of both and took stock

Hud’s bedrooht’s activities was strewn about the roo haphazardly off a lamp

And then there was the fact that she was in Hud’s bed She lifted the covers and stared down at herself She was in a very large black T-shirt and her panties One sock

But the most troublesome was Hud’s absence She’d never scared a man off before Another first…

She slid out of bed and pulled her bra off the la to do a sexy striptease for Hud and nearly knocking his face into next ith her boot

And then another She re for you because you’re everything I want in afrom the inside out, steady, calm, smart… sweet