Read Unraveled (Holding On Book 3) for Free Online Page B

chair at the end of the booth and took that seat for himself.
    Carly felt her gaze lingering over Jesse. He was still wearing those worn jeans. His hair looked freshly styled. From where she was sitting, she recognized the scent of his cologne. It was the same brand she’d gotten him so many years ago. Surely, he’d had to replace that bottle by now. Her lips twitched—somewhere between smug and amused—over the realization that despite all the women he’d dated over the years…It was her cologne that he still wore.
    “Carly?”
    Her eyes snapped up to his face. He was still standing next to their booth. She realized that he must’ve said her name more than once. Not trusting her voice, she raised her eyebrows in question.
    “Are you okay with us…uh, I mean me…joining you?” he asked.
    She simply scooted over a miniscule amount and patted the seat next to her. She was pretty sure by that point, even without the alcohol, she was okay with just about anything that involved Jesse.
    H e gave Carly what she knew was a forced smile as he dropped himself into the booth. “So, stranger, I haven’t seen you in months. Now twice in one day,” he said as he leaned in close.
    To hell with the alcohol. She was going to become intoxicated simply with his scent.
    “Yeah,” Carly agreed , unable to force away her own, very real smile. “How about that?”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    5
    Carly peeled her eyelids open…one at a time. The task took a bit of effort. She squinted into the sunlit room. What happened to being more responsible ? she wondered. Then again, aside from last night, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d cut loose like that.
    She wished she could say it felt good. At the moment, it felt anything but good.
    Though the shades were drawn, the room was still a bit too bright. Immediately, she recognized the familiar cream-colored walls , the heavy, navy colored curtains. The soft flannel sheets—without looking, she knew they were cream as well—and the comforter she was buried under was navy and cream plaid.
    She let out a groan as she rolled her head to the side. Jesse’s side of the bed was empty. With a feeling of trepidation, she reached over, feeling the sheets on his side. They were cold. She wasn’t sure if she should be relieved or not.
    She decided this was a good thing because with a start, she realized she was naked.
    With some effort, she pushed her memory into reverse. As she lay there, she couldn’t dredge up the events of the night before. The morning…day…evening? Yes . The night? No .
    She could clearly remember the debacle with Nolan, sure. And visiting with those precious babies. And going to the bar with Jemma. Jesse showing up. Jemma adding yet another round of Melon Balls….
    “Crap…crap…crap…” she muttered. Surely she and Jesse hadn’t… She pulled her hands out from the blankets and slapped them over her eyes. She had no idea if they had or not. The realization left her feeling disgusted with herself. It had been a very long time since she’d had that much to drink. For that very reason. She loathed the idea of losing chunks of time.
    For a moment, she was tempted to just squirm down a little deeper under the covers and try to go back to sleep. She’d welcome that kind of dark oblivion. The sound o f Jesse—probably in the kitchen—perked her up too much to let that happen. Instead, she sighed, letting familiar memories wrap around her.
    Jesse Nyland…
    How had she ended up in his bed?
    Or maybe it wasn’t really a surprise.
    Although she hadn’t been in his bed for years, it felt ridiculously familiar.
    It’s been years since I was here , she thought. Wow. It was hard to believe. At one time, even though she lived out of town, rarely more than a few months would