Love and Other Things (Crystal Lake 4)

Sid stood a few feet from him, her sleep-heavy eyes wide and soft. “Coffee,” she croaked.

“I’ll grab you a cup.” Beck nodded to one of the stools at the counter. “Take a seat.” He raised a questioning eyebrow. “Black?”

She gave him a look and sat down. “I guess you don’t know everything about me after all, Mr. Jacobs.”

“Let me guess. Cream and sugar.”

“Bingo.”

“I’ve got some bad news.” He poured her a mug. “I’ve got sugar but only milk to go with it, and I’ll cross fingers it doesn’t curdle.”

She sighed. “That is bad news, but I’m an absolute bitch and have been known to make heads roll until I get some caffeine into me. For your safety, I’ll take it with milk.”

He added milk. “Success. It didn’t curdle.”

She took the mug from him and sat back, taking small sips, as he got busy grilling their bagels to go with whatever it was he’d created in the other pan. A little salt and pepper, plus the last bit of butter he had on hand, and he was good to go.

Sid rummaged around for some plates and cutlery, and once the food was ready, they dug in. At first, they made the kind of small talk you used to fill the spaces between all that other stuff in your head—the things you either wanted to talk about or should be talking about.

He didn’t want to bring up last night for a couple of reasons. A) It was pretty damn lame to bring a woman back to your place and then pass out on the bed while waiting for her. Shit, If the guys knew, he’d never live that one down. And B) he’d never brought anyone back to his place, and now that he was sober, it kind of confused him. He had rules for a reason.

“Hello? Where’d you go to?”

“What was that?” Beck reached for her empty plate. “Sorry, my head’s still a little

fuzzy.”

Sidney handed him her cutlery. While he rinsed off the dishes, she poured them each another mug of coffee.

“So about last night…” She peered at him over the top of the mug.

“About last night,” he repeated, leaning against the counter while she settled back onto the stool.

“I had a good time,” she said softly.

“Me too.”

She eyed him up, and he thought that maybe her creamy skin was a shade pinker than a few seconds earlier.

“It’s probably a good thing that, um, you fell asleep so quickly.”

Yep. Definitely pinker.

“Probably,” he replied.

“I mean, we hardly know each other.”

God, she was cute. “True.” He nodded. “Though if I remember correctly, I seemed to be getting a lot right last night. So tell me something I don’t know.”

Her eyes widened a bit, and she ran her fingers across the rim of her mug, a slight frown on her face. “What big dark secret do I divest to a man I barely know?”

“Make sure it’s a good one.”

“I’ll tell if you share too.”

“Go for it.”

“Okay.” She sat back, clearly enjoying herself. “Are you ready?”