Total pages in book: 98
Estimated words: 95756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
She knew all her worries were silly. That she would be fine. She’d have the time of her life. But exhaustion had a way of messing with your brain. Shifting around on the sofa, she tried to get comfortable. She lay on her back while Hatter settled over her legs. She had her favorite unicorn pajamas on, along with her Alice in Wonderland slippers.
“Hey, Sunny, I’m heading into work.”
She glanced over as Sav walked in. He wasn’t the sort of guy you’d want to meet in a dark alley. With his long, dark-blond hair and tattoo-covered body, he looked like your worst nightmare.
But underneath all that was a man who cared deeply about the people closest to him. He just didn’t let many people close.
“Okay, see you later.”
He stilled, then turned to glance down at her, studying her.
Uh-oh. Did she have something on her? What was it? She patted her face. She hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, so she couldn’t have food on her face.
“What is it?” she asked.
“You okay?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
Nothing to see here. Move along.
“You been sleeping?”
Shit. Did she look that bad? She knew she should have put some foundation on. But she didn’t think he’d notice, and she’d planned to apply some before Duke was due home to mask the dark marks under her eyes.
“Yes.”
Sav’s eyes narrowed. “Did you just lie to me?”
She shook her head, then moaned slightly as it pounded, the room spinning. Yeah, she didn’t think she’d gotten more than an hour of sleep last night.
Crap.
“No.”
“Sunny, stop. What’s going on?”
She sat up, the room spinning. She moaned again, raising one hand to the side of her head.
Yuck. That made her feel ill.
“What was Duke thinking, leaving you like this?” Sav growled. “Did you sleep at all last night?”
“He doesn’t know. I pretended to be asleep when he left this morning and I lay really still all night, so I didn’t wake him up.”
Sav sat on the coffee table and rested his forearms on his thighs. “Sunny, he’s not going to be happy when he finds out.”
“It was just one sleepless night.” Or three or four.
“If you were mine, you’d be in big trouble for all these lies.”
She winced at those words. “You’re going to tell him?”
“Honey, course I am.”
“But you can’t call him. He’s busy at work.”
“You think he puts anything ahead of you?” he replied incredulously.
She shook her head, then immediately regretted the movement. “No, I know I come first. But I’m all right. Just tired.”
“Exhausted,” he countered.
“I’ll be fine after some coffee.”
“No coffee for you. That will only mess your body up more.”
“Please don’t call him, Sav. He’s so busy getting prepared to leave, and I don’t want to add more to his plate.”
“Why can’t you sleep? Someone messing with you?” The dark look in his eyes might have scared her if she didn’t know he would go on a rampage in defense of her.
“No, of course not. I’m just worried about going away, I guess.” She glanced down at where her hand was twisted up in her pajama top.
“Scared of the unknown?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“And you’re keeping it from Duke because you don’t want to worry him,” he added.
“Um, yeah.”
“Girl, I hope your ass heals up by the time you have to go on that long flight. Right, here’s what’s happening. I’m calling Duke to tell him that you’re tired because you didn’t sleep well-”
“What? No, Sav, you can’t-”
He held up his hand to stop her from saying anything more. “But I’ll tell him I’ll stay home with you until he gets back and take care of you.”
That wasn’t ideal, but she guessed it was the best offer she would get. With a sigh, she nodded. “But tell him he doesn’t have to come home.”
“I can tell him that, girl. Doesn’t mean he’ll do it. You know what’s a good cure for sleeplessness?”
“Lavender? Hot bath? Warm milk?”
He grinned. “Not quite what I was thinking of.”
She gulped. Somehow, she didn’t want to know what he’d been thinking of. Sav moved into the kitchen, and she heard him talking on the phone. Coming back into the living room, he frowned at her as he held out his phone.
“Duke wants to talk to you. I’m going to make you some breakfast.”
Sunny wasn’t certain she could eat, but she didn’t think he was giving her a choice. She’d never seen such a bossy side of Sav. And she wasn’t sure she liked it.
“Sunny?” Duke asked, sounding worried. Son-of-a-peach. She hated that she’d added to his stress.
“Hi,” she said cheerfully.
“Little rebel, what’s going on? Sav said you’re exhausted.”
“He did, huh?”
“Well, they weren’t his exact words,” Duke said dryly. “What’s the matter? Didn’t you sleep last night?”
“Ah, no, not exactly.”
“Sunny? I know there’s got to be something more going on than a restless night for Sav to be concerned.”