After the initial awkwardness, she’d let her guard down and was reminded how much she’d missed Cassie over the years. Her friend’s jokes were as lame as ever but her stories about her travels had awoken a wanderlust spirit in Erika. Europe and Australia sounded amazing and Cassie had somehow managed to find a balance between working hard and playing hard.

Maybe she needed to try harder to find that balance. Or more realistically, she’d forget all about her alcohol-influenced promises and resolutions the moment she arrived back in Anchorage.

Tossing back the comforter, she swung her legs over the side of the couch. “Cassie!” she called up the stairs to her friend’s bedroom.

Silence.

Going into the kitchen, she saw a bottle of Gatorade and two aspirin.

Thank you, friend!

Next to it was a note.

Had to leave for work, make yourself at home. See you tonight. Maybe we’ll stick to wine this time.

Good idea. She popped the pills and gulped the Gatorade, then stood in the kitchen. What did she do now? She might be on vacation, but her friend still had a job to do. Which left her to her own devices...

A vague memory of some sort of beast jumping her the night before flashed in her mind and she turned in a quick 360, checking for a dog, but the condo was empty.

Had she dreamed it? She wasn’t sure. One dream stood out vividly though... Reed. Naked. And the most mind-blowing sex dream that had nearly given her a real orgasm in her sleep. She still couldn’t believe he was the same guy she’d known years before. He’d certainly filled out—the muscles straining against the fabric of his T-shirt the night before had practically made her drool. Muscles she’d touched every last inch of in her dream...

Coffee. She needed coffee. Stat.

She surveyed the uncluttered counter. No Keurig? No coffee maker? Was her friend kidding?

She opened every cupboard, standing on tiptoes and bending low to search every corner for the lifesaving appliance, but nope.

Holy shit. Her friend didn’t drink coffee yet she was up and off to work at...she searched for a clock... 7:00 a.m.? Was she a robot?

A thorough search through the pantry revealed Cassie still had a kid’s cereal addiction, but not even instant coffee could be found.

There’s no way Erika would survive two weeks without coffee in the morning, which gave her a new daily purpose.

She’d gift her friend the miracle of caffeine. An early Christmas present.

Hearing a key turn in the front door, her heart raced slightly until she saw Reed enter, then it echoed off the open-concept walls.

Damn, he looked far too hot for 7:00 a.m. She quickly ran a hand through her hair and wiped her raccoon eyes.

“Morning,” he said, juggling a tray of coffee and a bag that smelled like it had a piece of heaven trapped inside. Erika’s stomach growled and she quickly did an underarm sniff test as Reed closed the door...behind a beast on a pink leash attached to a bejeweled collar.