Bidding On The Bachelor. Kerri Carpenter

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       Chapter Four

      Bayside Blogger @BSBlogger

      Spotted at the Rusty Keg last night: Carissa Blackwell & Jasper Dumont. Reconciliation? Mayhaps. A better question would be, where did they end the night?

      There were three things that Carissa did not need to open her eyes to know. First, the sun was streaming through a window, making her feel like a vampire being burned at the end of the long, dark night.

      Next, she was fully aware that she’d had too much to drink the night before. Her head was pounding and her mouth was dry and gritty. She’d definitely consumed one tequila shot too many.

      But most importantly, even with her eyes held firmly shut, she knew without a doubt that she wasn’t alone. Someone was watching her.

      “Morning, sunshine.” Jasper’s cool, calm voice rang out with a touch of humor to it from across the room.

      “Hmphhjmelskjk,” she mumbled incoherently as a reply.

      “I thought you might say something like that.” The mattress shifted and the rocking motion did nothing to appease her headache. “I’m going to grab you a bottle of water and some aspirin.”

      “Thanks,” she ground out even as she buried her head further in the pillow.

      But once Jasper was gone, she did finally peek out from her childish hiding spot. The events of the night before came crashing back. The evening had started off innocently enough with a trip to the grocery store. Then she’d ended up at the Rusty Keg with Jasper, where it was possible she’d drunk all of the alcohol in the whole world.

      She searched her fuzzy brain and tried to remember all the particulars, but the details were slow to return. She knew she’d talked to Jasper for hours. She’d told him about her divorce and wanting to start her business. Then they’d flirted and she’d fallen on her face on the dirty bar floor, and then they’d gone outside and...

      Her eyes widened and she shook her head back and forth, which only served to exacerbate her already-throbbing head. “No, no, no,” she said aloud. They’d kissed. No, worse, they’d made out like they were still teenagers in the damn parking lot.

      What had she been thinking? Well, nothing, duh. Thanks to the tequila. And the small part of her brain not coerced by alcohol had succumbed to the power of Jasper’s clever lips. He’d always been an amazing kisser. She touched a finger to her lips now and that’s when she remembered she was in a bed.

      Carissa looked around. She saw her jeans on the dresser on the other side of the room. She flew out of the bed. She still had her tank top and bra on, but other than that, she was in her underwear.

      At least this is a pair of my sexiest underwear. She berated herself. That wasn’t the point. The point was that—

      “You.” She pointed at Jasper as he came back through the door, carrying a tray. “I don’t have any pants on.”

      He grinned, his eyes roaming down her body. “I can see that.”

      “You took my pants off. You...you...”

      “U, v, w, x, y, z.”

      She stared at him, mouth hanging open. “This isn’t the time for jokes. Did we...”

      Tray still in hand, he leaned back against the doorjamb, an amused expression on his face. “Did we what?”

      She pointed at the bed and then at him and then back to herself. “Did we sleep together?” she whispered.

      His face fell. “You were pretty drunk, Carissa. Give me some credit.”

      Immediately, she felt like a fool. Of course, he’d never do something like that. “Ohmigod, Jasper. I’m sorry.”

      “It’s okay,” he said.

      She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly aware that she must look absolutely disgusting. She was sure her hair went beyond a messy bird’s nest. It was probably a whole bird mansion.

      “I bring peace offerings.” He held the tray up. “You look like you need these.” He handed over a couple of aspirin, a plate with two pieces of freshly buttered toast, and a glass of water. “You shouldn’t take those on an empty stomach.”

      She sank back onto the bed. “You brought me home and took care of me?”

      “I didn’t do much. You were out, um, pretty fast.” He said that comment strangely and it had her head tilting. Then he quickly followed up with, “I slept in the guest room.”

      Damn, why did he have to be so nice? His sudden kindness—so different from the teenager she remembered—made her feel...things. A blush crept into her cheeks, and desperate to hide her reaction, she turned to take a moment and admire his place.

      His СКАЧАТЬ