“Did you fight him thinking, what? I’d fall into your arms with gratitude?”

“Jesus, Cherisse. I wouldn’t do that.”

She shrugged. “Well, Keiran, I didn’t expect you to fight a guy in the middle of a wedding, but here we are.” The sudden boom of thunder made them both jump. “Even the weather can’t get its shit together tonight,” she mumbled. She jabbed a finger his way. “You shouldn’t have punched him, but I know you were sticking up for me, so thanks, I guess.”

She was letting him stay. He was grateful for that. This weather would be a bitch to drive safely in. He wasn’t keen to try. She was allowing him to hang around a bit, and that was fine by him. He’d ruined enough things tonight. He wasn’t about to do the same with this.

#

KEIRAN AWOKE, TO CHERISSE snuggling into him, chest rising and falling as she slept. For a moment, he thought he was still dreaming, but it came back to him. The Cat Mom t-shirt he wore was a good indication.

She’d finally taken pity on him and offered him the biggest-sized sleep shirt she had, that still fit snugly across his chest. Pants were a no, so he’d wrapped the big towel around his still-wet boxer briefs. He’d tossed his shirt and slacks into the dryer while Cherisse had kept her head facing the TV. Until she sighed and allowed him onto the couch, all the way on the other end from her.

At some point, they’d both drifted off and had gotten wrapped up in each other like this. The rain hadn’t let up, the pounding on the roof practically drowning out the TV. Could explain why they’d both knocked out. Rainy nights were perfect for sleeping. The steady thrum of it against the roof always made snoozing easier.

He should go before Cherisse woke up and realized he was still here. But, the damn rain and wind howling like a banshee. Still not a great idea to drive through it.

He maneuvered so he could retrieve his phone out of his pocket without waking her. It was a couple of minutes to 1 a.m. As unlikely as that seemed, he hoped the weather would take a miraculous turn for the better. No telling when Remi would come strolling in. He didn’t think Remi would appreciate him being here, especially if she’d caught wind of his foolishness tonight.

He checked his phone. Several missed calls and texts from his father. He was definitely ignoring those for now. In fact, he was ignoring all social media too. That was best left for morning after he’d had some sleep. He hoped like hell his family and friends hadn’t seen any of his brawl with Sean. He didn’t want to have to explain any of it.

He looked back at Cherisse, stared at the faint dusting of freckles decorating the bridge of her nose. There was even a smattering of them on her shoulders. The urge to trace them, follow the dots into some sort of discernable pattern, was great. He kept his hands to himself. That way led to trouble.