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ones.
    “Why don’t you lie down with me for a little while?”
    Noah forced himself to look away from her inviting smile and made a project of setting up her water and pain reliever on the nightstand next to her. “I’ve really got to go home, Rory.” Noah cleared his throat and tried again. “I’m going to leave this here so you can take it in the morning.”
    He stood and quickly pulled the covers out from under her, causing her to flop back on her stack of pillows while dodging her attempts to kiss him as he made short work of tucking her in. “There you go.”
    “Noah, stay. Please.”
    “You’re too drunk, Rory.” Noah leaned down and stole a short kiss from her pouting lips. “We can talk about it another day when you have a clearer head.”
    “Oh, won’t that day be fun.”
    Noah struggled not to laugh at her disgruntled expression. “I’m sure it will be. I’m going to turn the bottom lock on your front door so you’re all safe and sound in here. Call if you need anything tomorrow.”
    “Ha! Not likely,” Rory snorted.
    Noah paused at her bedroom door and smiled at her. “They say you’re not supposed to go to bed angry.”
    “That’s for married people. Not people who hate each other.”
    “Rory, Rory, Rory. Do we have to go through this again? You don’t hate me and I certainly don’t hate you. Not a minute ago you were begging me to stay.”
    “Begging you? Are you sure you aren’t drunk? And I’ve changed my mind anyway. Let’s just chalk the whole night up to bad judgment and forget it, okay?”
    Noah shook his head and turned to leave. “I’m not going to be able to do that, sweetheart. And I’m not going to let you forget either. Sweet dreams.”
    “Good riddance,” Rory mumbled not so very far under her breath.
    Noah managed to contain his laughter until he left her apartment. It seemed like Rory was back to disliking him, but he knew better. She was looking at him again like she had a long time ago. Like she hadn’t wanted him to leave. So what if she had changed her mind at the end? He’d made her laugh more times today than he had in the past six months combined. It was forward motion. And he’d take whatever he could get from Miss Rory Puckett.

Chapter Three
    Rory rolled over in bed and grimaced as something hard and lumpy dug into the middle of her back. She would have considered ignoring it and going back to sleep if her legs weren’t also tangled up in the sheets and her top half wasn’t absolutely freezing. Moving gingerly, she moved to one side and dug around behind her for the offending object and was thrilled to find a small plastic container of pain medicine. Apparently, God still loved her despite her epic drinking failure the night before.
    He wasn’t going to let her off the hook scot-free though if the bile pushing up in her throat was anything to go by. Figuring she had a better chance of survival if she took the medicine in an upright position, Rory slowly pushed her torso up until she was half sitting and half leaning against the headboard. The room spun hazily around her as she tried to concentrate on opening the small container. Damn childproofing!
    Eventually, three round tablets fell into her hand and Rory was ready to proceed to part two of her plan for the day: getting them down her throat and to stay in her stomach somehow. It was really all she thought she would be able to manage for the day anyway. Moving her head slowly, she focused on the nightstand and the glass of water that sat there looking like salvation. It seemed that Drunk Rory was a pretty forward-thinking gal. It was a shame that last night was going to be her last appearance.
    After several deep breaths and an effort to only move her arm and not her head, she was able to grasp the glass of water and take her pain pills. Lying back down seemed like it might be a good idea but she was worried that any movement would make her stomach revolt. She compromised on shutting her eyes