Page 28 of Heart of The Night

I snuggled closer to him, eyes closing as I tuned into the rhythmic tapping of rain against the windows. I was seconds away from drifting off again when the doorbell blasted through the quiet, yanking me back to reality. William’s eyes flew open as he shot upright, lifting his wrist to squint at his watch.

‘Bloody hell,’ he muttered, eyes going wide. ‘It’s one o’clock.’

Confused, I blinked up at him. ‘Are you expecting somebody?’

His gaze flicked to me, scanning my naked body. Then his face pinched with regret. ‘Alex and Andy.’

My breath hitched. ‘What?’

‘Lunch,’ he explained, clambering off the sofa. ‘I’m sorry, I must’ve passed out before I could give you the heads-up.’ He gripped his hip, fingers tangling in his hair.

Panic swarmed my mind. I glanced down at my body, a mess of our spent passions.

‘William – shit! I’m naked, I smell like a brothel, and I don’t even want to imagine the state my hair is in! I can’t meet them like this! Alex doesn’t even know me! This can’t be his first impression!’

William let out a long huff as he sized me up. ‘I don’t see how we can avoid this, love. They’re already downstairs. You’re bound to cross paths.’

I looked away, pondering whether hiding somewhere until the coast was clear was a feasible plan.

‘Distract them,’ I said. ‘Let them in while I hide in your room, then bring them up here, and I’ll do a runner.’

His eyebrows rose. ‘Are you having a laugh?’

I stared back blankly.

‘They won’t care, Cara. They already know about us. Besides, Alex has been itching to meet you for months. I’m not about to stuff you away like you’re something to be ashamed of. I’m not.’ He cast a glance at the stairs. ‘Go on, have a shower, freshen up. You can borrow some of my clothes – whatever you need. I’ll keep them busy for now.’

‘William, seriously! What?’

He held my gaze, his eyes twinkling as a slow smile stretched across his face. He gave a casual shrug of his shoulders, as if this were all just part of an ordinary day.

‘Have lunch with us.’

My mouth fell open. ‘Will, I can’t meet one of your best mates looking like I’ve just finished filming a set of some porno. Andy won’t let me live it down ever. You know that. I’ll be hearing about this till the day that I die.’

William pressed his lips together, his shoulders shaking as he desperately tried to contain his laughter. It was a losing battle; his mirth erupted, his laughter bouncing off the high ceiling.

‘See! You know it’s true!’ I flapped my hands in frustration.

‘So what? It’ll just make for a cheeky story to pull out at parties when we’re old and wrinkly.’

The doorbell chimed again before I could whip up a retort. Fuck.

‘Cara,’ William said, his gaze soft on me, as if trying to soothe my nerves. ‘Just stay. Please. I’ll give you a lift home later, and I’ll tell Andy not to tease you about this – that I practically trapped you in this situation.’

Give me a lift home? He had a car?

The relentless doorbell echoed through the flat again, derailing my train of thought. No time to think, no time to keep squabbling.

‘Oh, fuck it,’ I said, shooting off the sofa toward the stairs. If I had to meet Alex looking like the aftermath of a wild night, I would at least make sure I smelled nice. ‘I can’t believe you didn’t warn me!’ I hollered over my shoulder, the echo of my outrage trailing me as I sprinted down the stairs.

‘Blame yourself!’ he yelled back. ‘You’ve fucked my brains out!’

I dashed into the en-suite off William’s bedroom and quickly twisted the knobs of the shower. An involuntary gasp escaped me as an icy jet of water assaulted my skin. I gritted my teeth, willing my body to adjust to the initial shock of cold as I reached for the shampoo.

By the time I had lathered my hair into a froth of bubbles, the water had mercifully warmed up to a comfortable temperature. Just then, William breezed in, clad in nothing but a pair of white boxers. His eyes met mine and he flashed me a wide, warm smile, a chuckle slipping from his lips at the sight of my shampoo-laden hair. Without a word, he swiftly discarded his boxers and joined me in the shower.

‘Where are they?’ I asked, stepping into the cascading water to rinse the suds from my locks.

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