Damien suddenly became aware that she was basically in her underwear, and he started to question the wisdom of this impromptu visit. Not that she looked worried about the fact that she was in bikini panties and a tank top, but he felt something like embarrassment.

“Allison, did I hear the doorbell?” A blonde with white spots of cream all over her face stumbled down the hallway in blue satin pajamas with fat pink pigs on them.

“Yes, you heard the doorbell. Damien wants to see Mandy.”

The blonde’s head snapped up, and her eyes widened. “Mr. Sharpton? Oh, my God!”

Yep, this had been a bad idea. “Hi, Caroline. I, uh, didn’t recognize you there at first.”

Her hand flew to her head and the hair that normally was so well contained and was now puffy and flyaway.

He realized what a stupid thing that was to say.

Her hand moved to her face and touched one of the white spots.

Feeling extremely uncomfortable, he cleared his throat. “Sorry to wake all of you up. I just wanted to see Mandy for a minute.”

Caroline dropped her hand. Her eyes narrowed. “She was worried about you. I’m sure she’ll be glad to see you.”

It was a reprimand, plain and simple, for leaving without telling Mandy where he was going. He didn’t know what to say since she was most likely right, so he set his suitcase down and pushed down the expandable handle.

“Are you moving in?” Allison asked, sounding amused.

“I came straight from LaGuardia.”

Allison yawned. “First door on the right. Go for it. I’m going back to bed.”

She went down the hall, tugging her tank top down. But he’d already seen way more than he’d meant to, including her left butt cheek. With a grimace, he glanced at Caroline, who did not look pleased with him.

“You share a room with Mandy, don’t you?”

“Yes. Just let me grab my pillow and a blanket and I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“I’m not going to be that long,” he protested.

She snorted. The pink pigs on her shirt wiggled as she stomped into her bedroom and reemerged with a huge comforter and double-wide pillow. Passing him, she clipped him with her shoulder and stumbled a little. Damien reached out and tried to steady her, but she shook him off.

Feeling like a gigantic jackass, he went into the bedroom and stood still for a minute, adjusting to the dark. He could hear Mandy breathing in her sleep to his right. Some light filtered in through the white wood blinds and cast stripes on her legs, covered by a sheet.

They had their air-conditioning running, yet Mandy still looked warm, her hair matted to her forehead, her legs scissoring like she was trying to kick the covers off in her sleep. He thought she was amazingly beautiful.