Page 39 of His Hot Mess

"Her ego's a little bruised. But you cushioned her fall the whole way down. My shower curtain, on the other hand--"

Standing now, I pressed my palms against my face, as if I could disappear. “I’m sorry,” I croaked. “About everything." I was suddenly driven through with guilt. How could I possibly have done that with Sadie last night? I was supposed to be working with her. She was Graydon’s future sister-in-law. And I hadrulesabout these things.

Plus, we didn't even really like each other.

Right?

“You don't have anything to be sorry for,” Lucy said. “I wouldn't say last night is out of the ordinary for Sadie."

A jolt of jealousy poked at my already tender ribcage. “So that wasn’t the first time she’s fallen into the bathtub with a guy at a party?”

“I mean, not that I know of. But Sadie's a little... unpredictable."

Lucy spoke with a slight edge of something in her voice. Like she wished her sister was a little more predictable.

I wanted to defend Sadie. I knew my way around predictability. I was orderly. Neat. Had a plan for everything. Sadie was the complete opposite. I bit my tongue just in time to stop the words coming out:That's what I like about her.

But Ididn'tlike her.

I couldn’t.

When I looked at Lucy again though, I could see the worry etched on her face, and I realized she wasn’t complaining about Sadie. She was worried about her.

Guilt churned in my shaky guts as she glanced towards the kitchen, where Graydon was singing painfully off-key to himself.

“Chris, I know you. I know you’re a good guy. You’re nothing like the men Sadie usually dates.”

A rush of inexplicable jealousy ran through me at the thought of another man dating Sadie Fulham. Who were they? My hungover brain went to some weird places in the space of a half-second. Billionaires. International men of mystery. Sexy Spaniards, maybe.

“Don’t worry,” I said, wanting to shake my head clear of its runaway thoughts but knowing it would probably make me puke. “We’re not dating.”

A look passed over her face that I couldn’t read. “Right,” Lucy said. “Well, whatever’s going on between you two…I trust you, just… be careful with her, okay? She’s one of the two most important people in my world. And she’s been there the longest.”

“What am I, chopped liver?”

She grinned. “Sorry. Three most important people.”

Lucy rubbed some people the wrong way. They thought she was a snob or had a superiority complex or something. But I’d seen the way she was with Graydon, and now with Sadie. She cared about the people she loved—deeply. She was just no-nonsense. And she didn’t suffer fools.

I got it; I was the same way.

“Listen, Lucy,” I said. “I’ve never done anything like that before. I don’t know what got into me.”

“Sadie,” she said, without missing a beat. “She can be hard to resist.”

“Well. I can resist. It won’t happen again.”

“So you won't tear my shower curtain rod off the wall again?"

“I’ll fix that.”

Lucy laughed. “You know it. Unless you’re going to puke. If you’re going to puke I’ll get Graydon to do it. I like that shower curtain too much to risk it getting sullied more than it already is.”

My face must have shown my mortification because Lucy grinned. “Come on, let's get some food in you."

She headed back towards the kitchen. This time, I staggered after her, following the smell of bacon.

Graydon was sliding fried eggs onto the three plates at the table as I came in.

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