Page 48 of All In Good Time

“I’ll be downstairs,” Becca’s mother said the words so fast that, by the time Becca could interpret them, she was already gone from the room and the door closed.

The bang of it shutting snapped Becca out of her stupor and she fell back against the pillows, her hands rising to cover her face. “Oh my god.” Mortification flooded her blood like lava.

Snickering made her eyes shoot up and land on Derek, whose lips curled up into an amused smirk, his damn hand still wrapped around her.

She glared and shoved him off, and he finally sat up all the way.

“How the hell are you laughing right now?” she snapped at him.

That only amused him more. “Oh, sweetheart, I’ve been walked in on doing much, much worse than this.”

Becca shook her head and grimaced at the sudden images running through her mind. “That’s disgusting.”

He chuckled and stood up, stretching his arms over his head and making his shirt raise slightly to reveal the sun-tanned skin underneath. Her eyes remained purposefully on his face as he spoke. “Why are you so freaked out anyway?” He stepped forward and leaned in, his eyes scanning from her forehead down to her chin. “Your face is really fucking red.”

Instinctively, her hands rose again to her cheeks, and she rested the cool backs of her knuckles against the heat, hoping to help with the rosiness. “You may be used to this sort of thing, but I am not. She probably thinks we were—” She stopped before she could go further, because, from the look on Derek’s face and the giddiness in his eyes, he wouldn’t let it go if she finished that sentence. She exhaled sharply. “Whatever. I’m going to go do damage control. You stay here for five minutes before you come down. Got it?”

The right side of his lips rose higher than the other, and he gave a single nod. “Yes, ma’am.”

Taking one deep breath for courage, Becca steeled herself and left Derek in her room alone.

The house smelled amazing. Bacon, eggs, and toast. One of the best things to wake up to in the morning, and one that was rare for her.

Just as rare as the sound of her mother doing dishes. Her mother stood at the sink with her back turned. She knew her mom had heard her arrival, because her shoulders tensed up as she scrubbed away at a single cup for much longer than was needed.

“Smells good, Mom.” It was the best sentence she could pick to ease into the situation. And it worked, because her mother shut off the water and turned to Becca with a smile on her face.

“Thank you, B.” She dried her hands on a towel and walked over to the tray she had been carrying when she walked into the bedroom.

“I didn’t realize you were coming home,” Becca said, wincing at how awkward it sounded. She might as well screamIf I had known you were going to be home I would have made sure a boy wasn’t in my room.

“It’s Valentine’s Day.”

Becca’s lips formed an “O” as it all made sense. That was why she didn’t pick up the phone. Her mother set the tray down in front of her on the table and Becca saw the heart-shaped eggs and toast right next to four slices of bacon.

Despite her mother’s travel and constant absence, she never missed Valentine’s Day. More than any other holiday, Valentine’s Day was her favorite, so she made more of an effort to be home for it than even Christmas. And every year her mother “surprised” her with a love-themed breakfast in bed.

Clearly, that plan had been foiled this year.

There was a nervous spark in her mom’s eyes as she gauged Becca’s reaction. “But I figured you must already know it’s Valentine’s Day since—”

“No!” Becca yelled it much louder than she meant to. “No, Mom. God, no. It’s not like that.”

“Uh, huh.” Her mom nodded but didn’t look remotely convinced.

Becca slid a hand over her cheek. “Really. We’re just friends. We were just sleeping. I promise, nothing else. Just sleeping.”

She hummed and studied Becca closely. “You sleep in the same bed as your friend?”

“I…” How did one explain the situation? Derek showed up to comfort her and then carried her to her room, then she asked him to stay so he did. She wasn’t sure if that made it sound better. “We’re just really close friends.”

“Do you sleep in the same bed as Marty too?”

“Mom.”

“Fine, fine. But for being such a close friend, I don’t even know his name.”

“Derek. His name is Derek.”

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