Busted (Promise Harbor Wedding) - By Sydney Somers Page 0,66

managed without cursing more than a few times.

Over the splash of the water, she heard a knock at the door. Jackson strolled in a second later. The frosted glass didn’t offer much in the way of a barrier, but it was better than nothing.

“Would have been surprised if you hadn’t poked your head in.”

“Here.” He opened the shower door and held out a palm with two tablets on it. “For your head.” He looked at the far wall despite every part of her being on display right in front of him.

She took the pills and chased them down with a few sips from the glass of water he’d brought along. And then he was gone, closing the door behind him and letting her duck back under the warm spray.

Hayley lingered in the shower until every muscle felt ready to melt and she’d steamed up the entire bathroom. A small pile of clothes sat on a chair by the door. She hadn’t heard or seen Jackson put them there.

Once she had the oversize T-shirt on, she dried her hair with the towel, saving the pair of boxer shorts for last. They were too big, forcing her to roll the waist down to keep them from slipping off her hips.

Her headache had eased a bit, and she emerged from the bathroom feeling much better than when she went in. She didn’t see Jackson in the hall. One by one, she checked the rooms, looking for him, until she came to what had to be his old bedroom. The life-sized poster of Wayne Gretzky on the closet door was a bit of a giveaway.

That wasn’t the only thing his parents had left untouched once he’d moved out. Trophies and awards lined the walls and dresser top. Certificates of achievement in both sports and academics were displayed on one wall. Directly opposite that, Jackson had done his own decorating, complete with a couple swimsuit models and a Playboy bunny.

She put a hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh.

“My dad has a more recent shrine of my talents in the rec room downstairs.”

She turned at the sound of Jackson’s voice. He’d grabbed a quick shower himself, but hadn’t gotten around to putting on the T-shirt hanging by his side. Hayley drank in the sight of him without a shirt, shamelessly admiring the cut of his shoulders and biceps before letting her gaze wander down his chest.

“You need this.”

Did she ever. A day that ended with a trip to the ER deserved a kiss, didn’t it? Because that was the only thing she could think about when he stared at her mouth like he was thinking the exact same thing. A long, hungry kiss that would begin and end with his arms around her.

It was then she noticed the ice pack in his hand.

“Right.” How had she gone from wanting to drop him off and go home alone to thinking about what it would feel like to fall into Jackson’s bed, feel the weight of him pinning her to the mattress?

It had to be the head injury, right? That was bound to shake her up, make her think things… Who the hell was she kidding? She’d been thinking about doing a whole lot more than just kissing long before this.

She took the ice pack, laughing as he collapsed into a giant beanbag chair on the floor. He kicked at the other one closest to the closet, and she sank into the overstuffed bag far more carefully than he had.

The change in position gave her a new perspective of the room, and she could all too easily picture Jackson hanging out here when he was a teenager, along with Matt and Josh.

“Usually parents turn their kids’ rooms into a workout area or guest room, don’t they?” She barely touched the pack to her head, and already the cold was seeping through the protective fabric to make her injury throb.

“I think mine were afraid that if they changed anything I wouldn’t want to come home to visit.” He glanced around the room. “That and they’re always on the road since Dad retired.” He leaned forward. “Here.”

She handed off the pack, eager to be rid of it, only to wince when he held it to her bump. “It’ll only hurt for the first minute or so.”

He might as well have said ten seconds, and even that was too much. She tried to squirm away from the growing discomfort without being obvious, but he caught on, gripping her waist