Page 82 of The Cupcake Standard

I rolled over onto my stomach, swinging my feet in the air. “Hey, that reminds me of the reason I called. There’s a guy in my bed. Wanted you to know that I’m already moving on.”

“Har har. It’s Liam, isn’t it?” Then his voice lowered a delicious octave. “Does that mean you’re sleeping in my bed?”

My pout could probably be heard through the phone. “Yes.”

“Good. It’ll make it easier to picture you that way.” His voice went even lower, taking on a husky timbre.

“Picture me doing what?” I let out a loud yawn.

His laughter was loud. “Cupcake, do me a favor?”

My eyelids were getting really heavy. “What?”

“Go to the bathroom.” He paused, waiting for me to acknowledge I’d done it before giving me the next step. “Get the cup, fill it full of water, and drink all of it. Now go to bed and pretend I’m tucking you in.”

I climbed into bed, warmth spreading through me. He’s taking care of me, even though he’s not here. “Good night, Derek,” I said softly.

“Good night, Avery.”

Chapter Sixteen

“No, she’s glaring at me.” Liam’s loud voice made me groan. “Well, you told me to go check on her.” He threw his hand up in frustration. “Make up your mind.”

“Go away.” I hid under a pillow.

“Ave, Derek wants to know—” He sighed. “Yes, I called her Ave. No, I don’t know if she likes it. Dude, let me talk to her!”

I peered at him from the edge of the pillow.

“He wants to know if you need anything.” Liam held the phone to his chest, and I could still hear Derek speaking.

“Sleep.” My mouth was dry, my tongue thick and my head hurt.

“I tried to tell him that. So to recount, no coffee, no flowers, no breakfast?”

My glare might have brought the Pentagon up to DefCon 2, and I leveled my voice. “Liam, if you don’t get your ass out of the room, so help me!”

He yelped, darting out of the open door. “Your girlfriend is scary.” A pause. “No, I’m not going back in there. No!”

Sleeping through that wouldn’t work either. “For fuck’s sake, Liam, what is it?”

His crazy bed head peeked around the corner. “I’m supposed to ask if you still want to have Sunday night football.”

Oh. I thought about it for a minute, then nodded. The idea of having loud obnoxious guys here to obliterate the stifling silence of the apartment was appealing. Assuming I get enough sleep and caffeine to cure this hangover.

He grinned. “I’ll get the pizza.”

I shooed him away with my hand, falling back asleep with a smile on my face.

It was mid-afternoon when I called Derek. The coffee shop had given me the weekend off after the double I’d pulled, so I had way too much time on my hands. Good for my hangover, bad for my unoccupied mind that kept wandering to the guy I was missing with much more fervor than I’d like to admit. The apartment sparkled. The fridge was stocked, and the guys would eat like kings tonight.

Derek answered on the first ring. “Cupcake! How are you feeling?”

I grinned. “Better than I was when you made Liam interrogate me this morning.” I couldn’t help teasing him.

“Sorry about that.”

“Plus, I’m a little sore from someone missing their flight…” My body ached in odd ways, giving me a twinge every so often. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world because it reminded me of all our fun.

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