Lee frowned and shook his head. “Don’t be sorry. I just don’t want to take advantage….”

“It’s okay, I know. You’re a good person, Lee,” I told him, not sure if that was drunk Karla talking, or sober Karla.

The way his eyes raked my half-naked body gave me chills. “The thoughts I’m having right now are far from good. Tell me to leave.”

“Leave?”

“Okay, I’m going,” he said, still staring at me, or my chest, to be more exact. “Yep, definitely leaving now.”

Turning, he walked out of my room, this time closing the door behind him. I pulled the blanket up around me, savouring the warmth but wishing it was another kind. In the end the alcohol in my system won, and I passed out cold.

Twenty-Two

I woke up to the sound of Reya’s voice, and, sure enough, when I walked into the kitchen, she was sitting across from Alexis, holding Oliver in her arms and cooing at him like an annoying grandmother. Or maybe I just found it annoying because my head was spinning.

“How are you not dying right now?” I asked, opening the fridge and pulling out a carton of orange juice.

Reya shrugged. “I don’t really get hangovers.”

“Just you wait,” said Alexis, pointing to me. “A few years, and you’ll be as bad as this one.”

“Yeah, no offence,” I added, “but I kind of hate you right now. I’m going to take a shower.”

When I came back out, clean and dressed, I found breakfast waiting for me. Apparently, Reya felt guilty for her lack of a hangover and decided to cook me bacon to make up for it. She was such a gem. Sitting down at the table, I dug into my food. Her phone went off with a text, and she hurried to check it. I was willing to bet I knew who it was.

“Trevor?” I asked between bites.

She nodded sheepishly and put her phone back down. “He wants to hang out today.”

“Really? You should go.”

She shook her head. “It’s more of a group hangout. He and a few of his buddies are practicing for some free-running competition. He wanted to know if I was interested in coming to watch.”

“That sounds exciting. I could think of worse ways to spend a Saturday.”

“So why don’t you come with me?” she put in eagerly. “It’ll be fun, and I’ll buy you ice cream.”

There was something about the innocent look in her eyes that I couldn’t say no to. “Sure, I’ll come. Got nothing else planned anyway.”

“You’re the best,” she said, reaching across the table to squeeze my hand.

A half hour later we were on the Tube, heading toward Hyde Park. Trevor texted Reya, telling her to meet him at the Albert monument. When we got there, we found him, Liam and a bunch of their friends leaping up and down ten steps at a time, like they were running drills. There were also lots of people hanging about watching; not surprisingly, they were mostly female. That wasn’t what caught my attention most, though, because sitting off to the side and shouting encouragement was Lee.

I grabbed Reya’s arm, my voice tight as I said, “You never told me he’d be here.”

She shrugged out of my hold, smiling at me like butter wouldn’t melt. “Trev never mentioned it.”

I knew she was lying when I caught the both of them sharing a secret little smile as Trevor waved to her from the steps. They were trying to play Cupid, I could tell. Deciding not to let it get to me, I continued walking toward Lee.

“Hey,” I said tentatively, and sat down next to him on the steps. “So what are you, their coach or something?”

He looked up at me, eyes moving down my body before settling on my face. “Or something. How’s the head?”

“Thumping. I’m sorry about, uh, last night,” I said, fiddling awkwardly with the zipper of my jacket.

Unfortunately, I remembered every second of my embarrassing attempt to kiss him and his subsequent rejection. I wished I could scrub the humiliating behaviour from my brain, but they hadn’t created a pill for selective memory loss yet.

I knew from the set of his mouth that he was trying not to smile. “Nothing to be sorry about.” Leaning forward, he nodded to Reya.

“Good to see you again.”

“You, too,” she replied shyly. My friend tended to get quiet around good-looking men, which explained her behaviour with Lee. What it didn’t explain was her friendship with his brother. Then again, when Trevor decided he was going to be friends with someone, they didn’t really get a say in the matter. I’d learned that firsthand.

“So what are they all practicing for?” I asked in an effort to make conversation.

Lee rubbed a hand over his jaw, where an attractive bit of stubble was growing. “Big competition up in Brighton next week. The winning team gets a round trip to Thailand to climb the Doi Inthanon Mountain.”

“And that’s their idea of a good time?” I said. “I’d rather stay on the beach.”

Lee chuckled. “That’s you and me both.”

I noticed Trevor and the rest of them stopping to take a break, and he ran over to us, plopping down next to Reya. Waggling his brow at her, he teased, “I know I’m delectably sweaty right now, but do try to resist.” He leaned closer, but she pushed him away.

“Eww, get off. You need to take a shower.”

“I’ll just go hop in the pond, shall I?” he joked, lifting the end of his T-shirt to reveal an inch of toned stomach.