Page 2 of The Moment They Can't Forget

Dragging her eyes from him, she moved around the room, searching for her clothes.

“Look up.”

“What?”

“Look up,” he said in a deep, gravelly voice.

She did and saw her bra hanging over the edge of his large bookshelf. There was no way she could reach that, and she wasn’t about to humiliate herself by trying. But her panties she could reach, because they were hanging off the open door. Pulling them on, she found her dress under his jeans. Covered now, she felt better. Less exposed.

“Want coffee?”

“What?” She spun to glare at him.

“Coffee.” He yawned. “Do you want some?”

“No, I don’t want coffee!” The words came out with a shriek. “I want to get out of here before anyone realizes I’m not at home in my bed.”

“You’re an adult. Surely you don’t have to check in still?”

He was lying on one tattooed arm now, watching her. Unlike Zoe, JD was relaxed and in control. The only word for what she was feeling was panic.

“Yes, I’m an adult. But I don’t want anyone to know what we did last night. You’re my oldest brother’s best friend. We shouldn’t have done that, and nothing can come of it. We don’t even like each other. That was a moment of madness?—”

“More than one moment,” he added.

Color rushed into her cheeks at his words. “My point is, it shouldn’t have happened?—”

“I know. But it did.”

“Stop interrupting me!” Zoe snapped.

He just looked at her calmly.

“So now we forget it and never mention it again. Goodbye.” Zoe left the room without looking at him again and ran down the hall and into the huge living area. Tall windows showed her it was still early, and the sun was only just rising.

She had once known this house well. Mr. and Mrs. Carter had run horses on the land, and all the local kids had come here to learn to ride. Zoe had spent a lot of time in this rambling old farmhouse or outside, riding over every inch of the land.

When she realized that JD had bought it, she’d thought he’d turn it into a show home, but he hadn’t. The interior had changed. He’d modernized some of it, but most was still in keeping with the age of the farmhouse. He’d just made it better.

Zoe located her shoes where she’d dropped them in her haste to jump JD Hopper.

The one time you lose control, and it has to be with him.

She found her bag, which had been the reason she’d walked back inside here last night, and ran to the door. She passed two large scruffy dogs sleeping in their beds with a duck between them. Zoe blinked.

“I’m seeing things,” she whispered, hurrying to the door. “Goodbye,” Zoe muttered to the animals as she pulled it open. She stepped outside, down the steps, and into the cool morning air. Only then did she take a deep, steadying breath.

What the hell have you done?

It’s okay. No big deal. People did this kind of thing all the time.But not with her brother’s best friend.A man she disliked.

Zoe saw the lake she’d paddled across in her youth. Needing air last night because her head had been fuzzy from three glasses of champagne when she never drank more than one, Zoe had stepped outside briefly, leaving the guests to celebrate her brother Sawyer’s engagement to Birdie.

She’d then wandered down to the water. The large hammock had lured her. Zoe had lain in it, looking up at the stars. She’d then woken up cold two hours later and gone back into the now empty house to retrieve her bag and work out how she was going to get home. Things had derailed from that moment.

She could still see JD as she had when she’d walked back into his house last night. He’d been naked except for a pair of black boxer briefs. They’d stared at each other, and Zoe wasn’t sure who’d been the first to move, but they had.

He’d picked her up, and her legs and arms had wrapped around him. And the rest was history. A pretty awesome history if her memory was correct, but it would never be repeated.

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