watching me sleep?” he says in a soft grumble, letting me know he’s awake.
“Yep.”
“That’s a little creepy.”
“Well, I’m a creepy dude.”
“Mmm…you do look like someone who’d have their mugshot flashed up on the news in the midst of a nation-wide manhunt. But y’know, in a sexy way.”
I let out a soft chuckle. “So you remember who I am, then?”
Slowly, his eyes flutter open, and in the morning light streaming in through the sheer curtains I can see they’re a really nice hazel color. They looked a lot darker last night at the bar. “You’re Mr. Sexy Beard Man.”
“And you’re Adorable Drunk Guy.”
He narrows his eyes. “I am neither adorable nor drunk.”
“Cute Hungover Guy,” I correct myself.
“How ‘bout you just call me Josh?” he suggests.
I nod, offering a smile. “Connor.”
“That’s a sexy name,” he murmurs.
“Well, I’m a sexy guy.”
He grins at me. “I’ll say.” And then he’s pulling me down on top of him, our lips meeting in that same kind of fierce, devouring kiss I remember from last night.
I roll onto my back, bringing him with me so he’s on top of me, straddling my waist. As we continue to make out, our cocks grind together and Jesus it feels fucking incredible.
I can barely even think right now so I have no idea how the little tendril enters my mind, but somehow it does. Josh.
“I’m not freaking out. I’m not about to keel over. I’m not pining for the life that could have been mine.”
Breaking the kiss for a moment, I ask him, “Why are you staying at this hotel, again? I can’t remember you saying.”
“Umm, why is that relevant right now?”
“Just answer,” I tell him.
He lets out a sigh. “It’s my ex’s wedding today. And I swear getting drunk last night wasn’t me drowning my sorrows about losing him or something like that. I just got so fed up with everyone laying on the sympathy—as if my life is over just because Declan’s marrying someone else.” He rolls his eyes. “Newsflash—we weren’t right for each other.”
And there’s the confirmation.
“Umm…so about Declan…he’s kind of my brother.”
Josh looks at me in confusion for a moment, then he starts squinting as if that will help him recognize me more easily. “Connor Kelly?”
“The one and only,” I say with a smile. “Well, actually, that’s not technically true—it’s a pretty common name. But you get what I mean.”
“No, no, no, no, no, no, no.” Josh climbs off me, backing away and shaking his head as if I’m weilding some kind of dangerous weapon. He turns away for a moment, his hands thrust into his hair, then he snaps his gaze back to me. “How could you not recognize me?”
My eyes widen. “Seriously? The last time I saw you, you had a blond fauxhawk and were at least half a foot shorter.”
He frowns. “Ah, yeah—I hit a late growth spurt in college.”
“And what about you?” I counter, moving into a sitting position. “You didn’t recognize me either.”
“Well, the last time I remember seeing you, you looked like a reincarnation of Johnny Ramone.”
“I can only assume that’s a figurative reference to the awesome bangs I used to have, because Johnny Ramone died a good ten years after I was born.”
There’s a pounding knock on the door, followed by my brother Brendan’s voice. “Con, hey, you in there?”
As if he’s on fire, Josh rolls off the bed and onto the floor, dragging the comforter down to cover himself.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I ask, leaning over to stare at him, dumbfounded.
“What do you think? Hiding!”
I shake my head with exasperation and climb off the bed, tugging on a pair of sweats before crossing the room to answer Brendan’s persistent knocking.
“Dude, what the hell?” Brendan demands. “Haven’t you seen your phone? Mom wants us all downstairs for photos before the ceremony.” He tugs his cell out of his pocket to check the time. “You have about twenty-five minutes to get yourself cleaned up and downstairs unless you want Mom to have a coronary.”
My eyes fall closed and I let out a frustrated groan. “You’ve got to be shitting me.”
He shakes his head. “Nope. Oh, hey, have you seen Josh by any chance?”
It takes literally every ounce of willpower I have not to turn around and scan the room behind me. Instead I do my best attempt at a puzzled expression. “Josh?”
“Yeah, you know—Josh Donovan. I just bumped into Rebecca and she asked me to keep an eye out. Apparently he’s not in his room or answering his