opening my eyes again. We were in Taylor’s and my bedroom, and Taylor was sleeping soundly in her bed.
“I don’t even remember coming home,” I admitted.
“Well, that’s a real shame because it was one of the highlights of my life to date,” he said dryly.
“That bad, huh?”
“I pretty much had to carry you both to Aamee’s car, and then you both stuck your heads out the windows the whole drive home like two demented Labradors.”
“That sounds really embarrassing. I’m glad I can’t remember it.”
“Don’t worry, I took a video. I thought it would be cute to show our future children.”
I snorted.
Drew handed me the water and dumped two pills in my hand. “Take those, and I’ll make something greasy for breakfast.”
“You’re cooking? Because, honestly, I feel bad enough.”
“Funny.”
I wanted to tell him I wasn’t kidding, but I probably deserved food poisoning at that point. Not only had I messed up his plans for the Yard, but then I’d gotten annihilated to the point where he had to come pick me up.
I was starting to wonder if Brody wasn’t actually the biggest mess in the Mason clan.
Groaning one last time, I got up and dragged myself to the bathroom while Drew clanged pots and pans in the kitchen. I climbed into the shower to try to wake up a bit and felt marginally better after freshening up.
With a new pair of pajamas on, I took a deep breath and went to see my boyfriend.
I stood in the doorway for a bit, watching him cook. Breakfast was the only meal he could actually prepare so it was edible, and I liked how he set about the task with confidence. I heard a ding, so he must also have used the toaster oven. He was really going all out.
As much as I ordinarily loved watching Drew and how loved I felt at the trouble he was going to for me, the scene didn’t fill me with happiness. All the guy wanted was a simple life with as few complications as possible, but ever since my family came into his life, he’d had to endure one hassle after another.
He whirled around to attend to the toaster oven and spotted me. “Oh. Hey,” he said with a smile, even though I’d clearly startled him. “Feeling better?”
“A little,” I replied, smiling back.
“Good. I made some coffee.”
I moaned. “I don’t deserve you.” I grabbed myself a cup and then settled onto a stool that allowed the counter to double as a breakfast bar.
His smile grew wider as he busied himself finishing up the cooking. He slid everything onto a plate and put it in front of me. “I don’t think I burned anything.” The pride was clear in his voice, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever loved him more.
He fixed himself a plate and then settled onto the stool next to me. We ate in silence for a minute before Drew spoke.
“So what happened last night?”
“I got drunk.”
He laughed. “Yeah, no kidding.”
I sighed, pushing my fork around my plate. “I had a bad day at work.”
I could tell he turned to look at me, but I kept my gaze on my plate.
“What happened?”
I hesitated a second, trying to figure out where to start.
“Soph?”
I looked at him, and the concern on his face made me start talking.
“Jake saw me working on ideas for the Yard at work. And then yesterday, when we had that meeting I told you about…with Trey Daily? The marketing team suggested a name change, and long story short, Jake gave them your name. Well, not your name. The Yard. And they loved it. When I tried to tell Jeff there was already a bar with that name opening, he threatened to get your liquor license revoked. So I said I was mistaken, and then I got into it with Jake, who basically refused to fix his mess and threatened to tell my bosses that I was using company time to do personal work. It was just…” I rubbed my eyes. “It was a whole mess. And I don’t know how to fix it or if it even can be fixed.”
I’d cast my gaze down again while I’d talked, but when Drew was silent, I forced myself to turn toward him.
He looked…a little stunned. Which wasn’t really a surprise with the way I’d just word-vomited all over him. Which I supposed was better than actually vomiting on him.
God, I didn’t do that last night, did I?
Probably better not to ask.
“I’m…confused,” he finally said. “Maybe start