Perfect Fit (Serendipity's Finest) - By Carly Phillips Page 0,106

in organized crime in Manhattan, others claimed he ran drug and prostitution rings. Having grown up around Cole, even if she had kept her distance from the rough-and-tumble bad boy he’d been, Erin couldn’t bring herself to believe he’d gone so wrong.

Call her naïve, but she’d always seen something deeper in Cole, something good, even when he’d clashed with his tough-as-nails father. Even as the rest of the town basically shunned him since his return, Erin couldn’t bring herself to do the same. Not that he’d approached her, but when she’d seen him around, she’d always treated him to a hello or a genuine smile. Those steely eyes always looked her over before boring into hers with an intensity that put her off-kilter, but he’d never acknowledged her friendly overtures.

Until last night.

And good girl that she was, Erin still couldn’t dredge up an ounce of regret. She was long overdue for a night like that. Which didn’t mean she wouldn’t make her escape as cleanly as possible. What Erin didn’t know about awkward morning afters could fill a book. The quiet, tepid affairs in her past always ended the same way, with a polite “it’s not you it’s me,” before she’d walk away. She’d never had to slip out of a man’s bed undetected before.

She snuck one last glance at his broad shoulders, rising and falling with every breath he took. His arm muscles, sculpted from hard work and marked by ink, caused her to shiver anew.

Breathe, she silently ordered herself.

Think, she commanded next. Her clothes were scattered around the bedroom, if she called her bridesmaid’s dress clothing to sneak out in. With a last look at the man who’d made the earth move for her last night, Erin eased out from beneath the warm comforter and rose, searching for her dress. She bent over, stark naked, mortified her butt was in the air as she grabbed for her dress.

“I didn’t peg you as the type to sneak out,” Cole said in a lazy masculine drawl.

She snagged her dress from the floor and turned to face him, hugging the fabric against her for protection, suddenly feeling every inch the good girl she’d been a mere twenty-four hours ago.

“I’ve already seen every inch,” he reminded her, his heavy lidded gaze never leaving hers.

She flushed. Sometimes her lawyerly skills at deflecting came in handy and she opted to ignore the more humiliating comment, focusing instead on the first. “What type did you peg me for?”

He eased up against the headboard. Sexy, tousled and too handsome, one look had her wanting to crawl back into bed with him. That wasn’t happening for a number of reasons, the first being that a one-night stand had a shelf life and she’d used up hers. Second, to her extreme disappointment, he wasn’t asking. And third, bad-girl Erin was an aberration. This morning, with no champagne in her system, good-girl Erin had returned, more’s the pity.

He stretched his hands behind his head and leaned back, studying her. The sheet slipped below his navel and it took all her strength not to stare.

“You were pretty gutsy last night. I wouldn’t have pegged you for a coward.” He cocked an eyebrow.

Did the man never smile? “I wouldn’t have pegged you as a guy who’d want a woman to stick around…after.”

Which made her wonder why he hadn’t let her slip out unnoticed, even if he had been awake. It would have spared them both the awkwardness of…this. Then again, they’d have to play this conversation out some time. Might as well get it over with, she thought.

Then his words came back to her. “I was gutsy?” She straightened her shoulders a bit at that.

Erin was tough at work, she had to be in order to keep up with her boss and hold her own against defense attorneys and their clients, but gutsy with men? That was a first, and she kind of liked hearing it.

“I left the bar with you. That took guts,” she said, sounding almost pleased with herself.

He eyed her without cracking a grin, but she’d swear she saw a hint of amusement in his eyes. Before he banked it, that is.

“I meant you were gutsy in bed.”

His words along with the deep rumble of approval in his tone warmed her inside and out and the heat of a blush rose to her cheeks. “Thank you,” she said, immediately horrified. Had she really just said that?

That earned her a sexy grin she’d never forget. “But back to my