Chapter 25

The morning sun arrived, as it often did for those who succumbed to the heat of the moment, with certain regrets about the night before. Desiree lay locked in Burke’s embrace, still naked and barely concealed by the thin sheet hanging off the far side of the bed. Any minute now the household would awaken, and her brother would fix her with that knowing look, and the guilt would officially set in. It would make things worse if he called their mother, but given the fact that he’d said so little about Jenny to their parents, she had reason to hope he wouldn’t. Then there was Burke; she somehow felt as though she’d asked him to compromise his principles for her. She had engaged him in something dirty and sneaked her loose morals into his otherwise ethical lifestyle.

Yep, regret was something she’d feasted on for months now, so why should this morning be any different?

She pried herself away from the warmth and security of his well-muscled body and slipped her nightgown over her head. The cloth was cold from lying on the floor all night, and she shivered as she stood up, trying to figure out a plan of action.

“Hey,” a voice said softly. Desiree whipped around to see Jenny standing on the far side of the foldout couch. She gave a friendly smile and whispered, “You want some coffee?”

Desiree nodded and tried to climb quietly over the creaky mattress. Burke rolled over in his sleep, but didn’t wake up as she sneaked past him. She sat down across the table from Jenny and the two women took turns adding cream and sugar to their coffee.

“So... did you have a good time last night?” Jenny asked, trying to hide a smile behind her cup.

Desiree felt her neck getting hot as she squirmed in her seat. “It was lovely,” she squeaked finally, “and yours?”

Jenny laughed. “Reese is gonna be sleeping off that booze all day, so I think I will go to the market. What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know,” she answered thoughtfully.

“You could have another go on the couch,” Jenny suggested causing Desiree to snort coffee up her nose. Jenny laughed lightly, “I’m only kidding; do what you want, really. I’m going to take a shower and then I’m off.”

“All right.” She watched her brother’s girlfriend set her coffee mug in the sink and head off toward the bathroom.

“Hi,” a masculine voice startled her. She looked up to see Burke smiling at her from the archway. He had his jeans on, but his feet and chest were bare. He managed to look rugged even standing half-clothed in her brother’s kitchen, she noted. “Any more of that?”

She pulled up a clean mug and poured him some coffee. They sat at the little, round table together and sipped coffee between awkward moments. Neither of them could think of anything to say.

“So...” Burke said finally. “I’ll have to leave tonight if I want to make the drive back in reasonable time.”

“Oh?” she said, not entirely capable of concealing her disappointment.

“Yeah,” he said, “work, you know.”

“Yeah.”

“But in the meantime, if you wouldn’t mind having me around today, I’d love to spend it with you.” He looked at her seriously with his contemplative brown eyes, and Desiree found herself filling up from the inside out, like a balloon taking in helium.

“I would love to have you around,” she said honestly.

“Great,” he said, and meant it.

“Great,” she repeated.

“Now all that’s left is to figure out what to do.”

Desiree’s face fell; aside from their ride on the couch, she had absolutely no idea how to entertain him. He strode across the kitchen to place his mug in the sink and went off into the next room to find his shirt. Desiree sat stock-still at the table and tried to think of something interesting to propose. Unfortunately her brain was stuck on the idea that he would be leaving tonight, and that made her miss him even though he wasn’t yet gone. That thought made her sad, too.