Page 21 of Marry Me

“You didn’t screw up at all,” Megan said simply. “And I’m happy to help.” She came farther in to the room. “Not to intrude, but I brought you some water and aspirin in case you need it.” She set them both on the bedside table. “Bathroom is just there.” She lightly touched Allison’s head. “Good night.”

“Good night,” Allison said.

As Megan closed the door, Ally’s brain raced with the speed of a spooked horse. She didn’t understand life and all of its complexities, but she knew one thing for sure. Her body was turned the hell on, and Megan Kinkaid was the reason.

* * *

Megan woke the next morning, curled up on her couch with her favorite purple blanket wrapped around her. She’d always been an early riser and relished getting the day started. She had a wedding that evening, and that meant her workday would begin about two p.m. First, she’d make a little breakfast for herself and her unexpected houseguest—that was, if Ally was up for it. She was glad she’d pushed for her to crash here last night, one of the benefits of living close to the bar. Plus, drunk Allison was endearing and adorable. She flashed briefly on the image of her in her bra about to slip into Megan’s nightshirt, and the perfectly round breasts that took her awareness of her friend to a new level. Sigh. Not good. She quickly moved past the image, feeling like a dirtbag. Friends didn’t ogle friends. Even if they had a killer body and beautiful blue eyes to match and made you want to talk to them nonstop about anything and everything because they simply lacked an ounce of pretension. She shifted uncomfortably beneath the blanket and rolled her eyes at the gentle ache.Oh, you stop that.

Rebounding, she sneaked into her bedroom where Allison slept peacefully and went still at the beautiful sight of her blond hair splayed out across the pillow.Nope. Don’t.She looked away and grabbed a quick shower in the primary bathroom, doing her best to be quiet and courteous. She then tossed on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeve white T-shirt, skipping the shoes. Allison stirred as she exited the room but had yet to wake.

It was the sizzling bacon that finally did the trick.

“Good morning. I didn’t mean to outsleep you.”

Megan turned at the sound of the voice to see Allison standing there in her pajamas, looking like she belonged in them. “You look better in those than I do,” Megan said automatically, gesturing with the spatula.

“Do you always lie in the morning?” Allison asked. Her hair was extra tousled after having been slept on, wild in a good way.

“I would never. Breakfast, or is that a bad thing to ask today?”

Allison smiled and slid onto one of the silver-backed barstools along the oversized island. “I feel surprisingly good. What’s in the water here?”

“Oh, I’ll never tell.” Megan slid two slices of bacon onto a plate of scrambled eggs with sliced avocado on the side. “Order up. Coffee, ma’am?” She slid the plate along with a fork in front of Ally.

“I’d love some, and you did not have to go to all this trouble. Or call mema’am, but keep it up.”

Megan laughed. “What trouble? It’s the weekend. My chance to be home in the morning and cook. The hard part doesn’t start until after lunch.” She offered a wink.

“That’s right. Saturday. Who’s getting married today?” Ally sighed dreamily. “That’s so exciting.”

“Tony and Jason. We’ll be outdoors, surrounded by fancy heaters.”

“It’s a shame there won’t be snow for the photos if a wintery wedding is what they were going for.”

“Well, they should have chosen a city other than Dallas.”

“True. Do we like them?” She sipped the newly presented coffee.

“Tony is a peach to work with, but Jason is hard to please. They could switch today.”

“Does that often happen?”

“That people get a personality transplant once their wedding day arrives? More than you’d think.” Megan quickly made up a plate for herself and ate, standing across the island from Ally. The bacon hit the spot, and she closed her eyes to savor. When she opened them, she caught Allison watching with interest. She passed her a questioning look.

“Nothing. You’re delicate with your food. But you enjoy it. And you don’t sit.”

She glanced down to see that she was in fact eating and standing. “I think that’s a hallmark of often being on the go. When you sit, you lose time.” Allison held out a hand and gestured to the stool next to hers. Megan smiled and came around the island to join her. “Happy?”

“Immensely.” Allison sent her a smile that she felt more thanshe should have. Was it the domesticity of the past ten hours that was messing with her? Did their scenario somehow mimic a different kind of overnight guest? Or had Megan truly developed a minor crush on a straight woman who happened to be engaged to Brent Carmichael, of all people? She’d really gone and lost her mind this time, breaking some sort of lunacy record.

“Have you talked to Brent this morning? Let him know that I managed to keep you alive?”

Allison nodded around a bite of avocado. “Just briefly. He had an early morning work thing. A new store opening.”

“The work of a Carmichael is never done.”

“Don’t I know it. He’s tugged in a lot of different directions, but that’s always been the case. He’s been a vice president at BeLeaf for three years now and serves on the board of several organizations in town.”

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