Page 92 of Possess

He groaned. “Yeah, I bet.”

“I’m late for work.” Allyson started to scramble out of bed.

“Take it easy,” Dani said. “I called your boss and explained you were too sick to call in.”

Allyson glanced down at the floor. Damn, now Dani was lying to her boss for her. “Thanks, Dani.” Oh hell, she was in her underwear. Zeke had seen her in less, though right now, she felt more vulnerable than she ever had. She was sure she’d lost any chance of Zeke sticking around. This time, instead of being unwanted, she’d pushed him away. Allyson wanted to curl into a ball and cry.

“No problem.” Dani backed out of the room.

Zeke tipped her head up with his finger. “It’s all right, honey. We have to talk, but for now, we need to breathe. Both of us.”

Was he throwing her a safety net until she could put last night well behind her, or did he mean it? Zeke had never hedged with her before. She looked into his eyes, saw the honesty there, and nodded. It didn’t mean he wasn’t leaving her, but a thread of hope settled into her heart, and Allyson clung to it like a lifeline.

“Good girl. I’ll use the bathroom off the kitchen and check who is texting me. Meet you in the kitchen.”

Before she could say anything, he walked out of the room. Was he angry? She didn’t think so, but then what did she know? She’d fucked this up royally by going to the party yesterday.

She’d warned Zeke she was bad at relationships.Oh grow up, Young. You’re the one who messed this up.She couldn’t argue with that voice inside her. Now to explain things to Zeke.

A sigh escaped her lips as she walked into the bathroom. Dani left her freshly cleaned jeans and shirt on the counter. There was a package of underwear in her size with a note. “Bought these a while back, take them. D.”

Stripping, Allyson hopped in the shower. Twenty minutes later, she stood in the doorway of the kitchen watching Dani and Zeke together. They could make a cute couple. Allyson’s lips turned up. Dani had a thing for Gabriel, Zeke’s business partner, so she had no worries there. Other worries killed the smile though. There was a lot to sort out, and right now, all she could do was pray that Zeke would listen to her and give her a chance since she messed things up so badly.

“Good morning, again,” Allyson said, a little too brightly.

“Morning.” Dani stood and went to the counter to pour a cup of coffee and held it out to Allyson. “I’ll let you add what you want. You know I can never get it right for you.”

“Thanks.” She added some cream and sugar. Lots of sugar.

“Someone has a sweet tooth,” Zeke said.

“In coffee yes.” She stirred her coffee, then carried it over to the table and sat down. “I want to apologize to both of you.”

“For what?” Dani asked, sitting down.

“Last night. I acted rashly.” She looked down at the table.

“You did,” Zeke remarked, and her head jerked up. She didn’t expect him to agree with her.

“Zeke—” Dani started, but he held up his hand, and she fell silent.

“It was reckless.”

Allyson sucked in a breath. Zeke was right. It had been reckless and more. Dani shifted in her seat.

“Umm, I think I’ll run to the bakery and get us some breakfast.” Dani all but ran out of the kitchen.

“You’re right,” Allyson told Zeke softly.

“I don’t understand why you did it. I’m just glad you called Dani.” Zeke splayed his hands on the table. “We can’t move forward until we recover from this, Allyson. And that means some truth from you.”

Her heart stopped. “I…” Allyson closed her eyes and tried to breathe.

“We’re a couple. We’re supposed to work out these problems out together, but you raced off without giving me a chance.”

“We are a couple. I hope.”

Stark pain etched lines in Zeke’s face. Oh Lord, what had she done?

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