Page 42 of Beneath Your Beautiful

“Next time someone is looking for a fight, stay out of the way, okay?” he said, his face softer than I’d ever seen it.

“I was trying to stop him.”

“How? By taking a punch?” he asked incredulously.

Not one of my better ideas, I could admit that now. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“How much tequila did it take to makethatseem like a good idea?”

I rubbed my aching head and groaned. “Too much. I’m never drinking again.”

“Famous last words.”

“Yeah.” I snuck a glance at him. He was drinking his coffee, eyeing me over the rim of the cup. I should have stayed under the sheet. I could only imagine what I looked like right now, after my night of drunken debauchery and stupidity. Wearing a paint-stained T-shirt and cotton sleep shorts. In an attempt to look more presentable, I ran my fingers through the tangles of my hair but gave up. Even my hair hurt.

“I spoke to your dad,” he said casually, like this was perfectly normal.

My eyes widened, and my jaw dropped, my hangover temporarily forgotten. “What? Nooo. You called my dad? Oh my God. What did you tell him?”

Killian chuckled which did not seem like the appropriate response. “That you fell and hit your head.”

“Did you give him the details?”

“I’ll leave that up to you.”

Well, that was something, at least. “Why did you call him?”

“I needed your insurance information to fill out the paperwork.”

I closed my eyes. “What did he say?”

“He wasn’t surprised to hear you were in the ER. Sounds like he spent your whole childhood taking you and your brother in.”

I let out a loud sigh, unable to dispute that.

“Did you think that jumping from the second-floor window onto a trampoline was going to end well?” he asked, sounding amused.

My dad was not a big talker. I was surprised he’d shared that story with Killian. Did they bond over tales of my childhood antics and injuries? “What he doesn’t know is that I nailed the landing the next time. With my arm in a cast,” I said triumphantly.

Killian shook his head and exhaled. “Trouble magnet. What am I going to do with you?”

I wanted to tell him exactly what he could do with me and once again, his hands, mouth and body were very much involved. But I didn’t think this was the right time to get into that. Not after last night’s disaster. Not to mention the way he’d been acting before last night.

My phone rang, and one glance at the screen told me it was my dad. “Ugh. I need a story.” I picked up my phone from the bedside table, and Killian stood to leave. I held up my hand and sent him puppy dog eyes. “Wait. Don’t go yet.”

“Wait?”

I nodded. “Moral support.” I answered my phone and squeezed my eyes shut, chewing on my lower lip.

“Hey, Dad. What’s up?”

“What landed you in the ER?” he asked, cutting right to the chase.

“Oh, well, it was nothing.” I cleared my throat and looked over at Killian who was leaning against my bedroom door frame, an amused expression on his face. He couldn’t wait to hear how I got out of this one, I bet. “I tripped and fell and hit my head. The whole ambulance and ER thing was totally unnecessary.” I waved my hand in the air even though he couldn’t see me.

“Uh huh. What was your blood alcohol level?”

“My blood alcohol level?” I rolled my eyes, but that hurt too. “You’re such a cop. I only had a couple margaritas.” I crossed my fingers, ignoring Killian’s raised brows. “It must have been the sun. We were sitting outside. And when I went inside to use the bathroom, it was kind of dark and I missed a step and tripped and fell. Health and safety issue, really.” Killian’s chest was rumbling with silent laughter and still, I kept going, digging myself a bigger hole. “In fact, I should register a complaint. I’ll get on that today. Give them hell for it.”