Pretty sure I would have felt trapped with anyone else draped around me like this. I couldn’t say for sure, though, since I’d never been a cuddler. I wasn’t a touchy-feely person, aside from the usual “touch-me, feel-you” one-night stand scenario.

But with Bailey, it was perfect.

She lay on my chest while I stroked her long, silky hair, having a mini-panic attack. Because I was getting exactly what I wanted, even though I definitely didn’t deserve it.

* * *

I woke up to find Bailey sitting in my desk chair, clutching a mug and absorbed in what she was looking at on her phone. Her caramel hair was piled in a messy bun, and she’d cinched the drawstrings on a pair of my gray sweats tight and rolled the waistband down. She looked fucking adorable.

“What time is it?” I asked, propping myself up on one elbow. My desk lamp was on, and it was still dark outside.

She peeked up at me. “Around five thirty.” She took a sip from the white mug she was holding. “I helped myself to the Keurig downstairs.”

“Oh my god, James. It’s the middle of the night. What are you doing up?”

“Reading.” She shrugged. “I couldn’t sleep.”

My chest clenched, growing tighter until it was hard to breathe. I rolled out of bed and shuffled to the bathroom to brush my teeth. Our eyes met as I swung the bathroom door back open and paused in the doorway.

“Do you have anywhere to be this morning?”

Bailey shook her head. “Not until after lunch.”

I moved close and touched her shoulder, stroking with my thumb. “Why don’t you try to get back to sleep? If I get a few more hours, I’ll be much more functional.”

Her expression was guarded, her eyes wary in a way I couldn’t interpret. I got back under the covers as she bit her bottom lip, assessing me. My breath stilled, the tension in my body growing with every second that passed. Somewhere along the line, something had gone wrong.

“Okay.” Setting her coffee on the desk, she stood. Then she padded over to the other side of the bed and slid in beside me. The blankets rustled as she adjusted the pillows and pulled the covers up over her chest until only her head poked out. “I was kind of cold anyway.”

“You could take a hoodie. They’re hanging in the walk-in closet.” James in my hoodie would probably be the only thing cuter than her in one of my shirts.

“Noted,” she said. “Next time.”

Next time. I guess that was a positive sign. But something was clearly wrong.

I shifted to face her. She turned her head my way, full lips parted slightly and breath soft. Her face was so fucking perfect that it almost killed me.

“What’s going on?” I asked. “Why can’t you sleep?”