“Trish knows how to cook biscuits,” he rambles on. “She’s married to my brother, Jesse. She can teach you if you want. Southern cooking, and all that other stuff. You can write about it in the magazine.”

Oh my God.

Why did I ever tell him I was writing a magazine article? He is never going to let this go.

From my research, I know that Trish’s brother was the vice president of a rival motorcycle club who is now sitting in jail for firebombing a bar in Panama City. Other than that, I don’t know much about Trish except that she worked at the bar as one of the beer tub gals.

“I’m sure Trish knows how to do all kinds of fun things that I’m not interested in learning,” I say. “So please don’t go setting up any cooking classes with me and Trish. You’re never going to see this girl getting up early to cook you biscuits and gravy, so you can put it out of your mind and forget it.”

He leans his head back and closes his eyes. “Never hurts to ask.”

“You can ask, but it’s not going to happen,” I say. “Are you still listening to me?”

He doesn’t answer. Another minute and he’s going to be out.

“Don’t go to sleep in the chair or you’ll fall on the floor and knock yourself unconscious.”

I pick his keys up off the table and slide them into my T-shirt’s pocket. He can’t be trusted to make good decisions tonight. Maybe not any night. Sam strikes me as a spur of the moment guy who never thinks before he acts.

Pretty much the exact opposite of me.

“Stay here and I’ll find a blanket and pillow for you. The house came furnished and I don’t know where everything is yet. Okay?”

He barely nods.

It takes me a few minutes to find an extra set of sheets and a light blanket. When I walk back into the kitchen with them, Sam is missing.

Now what?

“Sam?” I call out. “Where are you?”

No answer.

I open the door and check to make sure his bike is still parked out front. For a second I was afraid he had a second key hidden somewhere and had taken off. I’m relieved to see he didn’t.

I check the living room and the bathrooms. No Sam. Only one room left to check. If he’s where I think he is, he’s going to be in big trouble. I toss the pillow and blanket onto the sofa and head for my bedroom. So help me, if he has crawled into my bed, I’m going to dump his ass right onto the floor.

The word ‘no’ means ‘no’ and it makes me angry when men think I’m only kidding when I say it.