Bidding On The Bachelor. Kerri Carpenter

his shoulders and anchored her with an arm around her waist. Then they started walking slowly back to town.

      “Where are we going?” she asked.

      “To my place. It’s closer,” he said before she could argue.

      “In Chicago, we can call cabs and Uber.”

      “Yeah, well, you’re not in Chicago anymore.”

      “Nope.” She looked up at him. “I’m here in Bayside, with you.” Then she tapped a finger to the tip of his nose. “Boop.”

      Despite everything else, he laughed. “Okay, Boopy, let’s keep walking. Maybe we can get to my condo by sunrise.”

      In the end it didn’t take that long. Although it felt pretty onerous when Carissa launched into a rendition of her favorite Lady Gaga song, followed by some old-school Britney Spears. Carissa had many talents, but singing had never been one of them. He thought he heard some dogs wailing off in the distance and wondered if he would ever regain the hearing from the ear she sang/screamed in. In any case, he’d never been so happy to reach the center of town. Although if he was being honest, it was pretty nice to hear the sound of her voice again. Even her off-key voice.

      Jasper simply pointed at the building that housed his condo across the street. “I’m going to take care of you for the night. I live there.”

      Carissa looked up. “I don’t. Where’s my house? Oh yeah, I lost it in the divorce.”

      He wasn’t sure what she was babbling about but it didn’t matter. They were in the homestretch. Just needed to cross the street.

      And that’s when Carissa let out a long, loud yawn and slumped against him. She was out.

      “You are lucky you’re not going to remember this because it would really piss you off.” With that, he repositioned her body, took a deep breath and flung her over his shoulder, caveman-style.

      He put all of his effort into carrying her, concentrating so hard that he almost missed when she murmured, “I really missed you.”

      Almost.

       Chapter Four

      Bayside Blogger @BSBlogger

      Spotted at the Rusty Keg last night: Carissa Blackwell & Jasper Dumont. Reconciliation? Mayhaps. A better question would be, where did they end the night?

      There were three things that Carissa did not need to open her eyes to know. First, the sun was streaming through a window, making her feel like a vampire being burned at the end of the long, dark night.

      Next, she was fully aware that she’d had too much to drink the night before. Her head was pounding and her mouth was dry and gritty. She’d definitely consumed one tequila shot too many.

      But most importantly, even with her eyes held firmly shut, she knew without a doubt that she wasn’t alone. Someone was watching her.

      “Morning, sunshine.” Jasper’s cool, calm voice rang out with a touch of humor to it from across the room.

      “Hmphhjmelskjk,” she mumbled incoherently as a reply.

      “I thought you might say something like that.” The mattress shifted and the rocking motion did nothing to appease her headache. “I’m going to grab you a bottle of water and some aspirin.”

      “Thanks,” she ground out even as she buried her head further in the pillow.

      But once Jasper was gone, she did finally peek out from her childish hiding spot. The events of the night before came crashing back. The evening had started off innocently enough with a trip to the grocery store. Then she’d ended up at the Rusty Keg with Jasper, where it was possible she’d drunk all of the alcohol in the whole world.

      She searched her fuzzy brain and tried to remember all the particulars, but the details were slow to return. She knew she’d talked to Jasper for hours. She’d told him about her divorce and wanting to start her business. Then they’d flirted and she’d fallen on her face on the dirty bar floor, and then they’d gone outside and...

      Her eyes widened and she shook her head back and forth, which only served to exacerbate her already-throbbing head. “No, no, no,” she said aloud. They’d kissed. No, worse, they’d made out like they were still teenagers in the damn parking lot.

      What had she been thinking? Well, nothing, duh. Thanks to the tequila. And the small part of her brain not coerced by alcohol had succumbed to the power of Jasper’s clever lips. He’d always been an amazing kisser. She touched a finger to her lips now and that’s when she remembered she was in a bed.

      Carissa looked around. She saw her jeans on the dresser on the other side of the room. She flew out of the bed. She still had her tank top and bra on, but other than that, she was in her underwear.

      At least this is a pair of my sexiest underwear. She berated herself. That wasn’t the point. The point was that—

      “You.” She pointed at Jasper as he came back through the door, carrying a tray. “I don’t have any pants on.”

      He grinned, his eyes roaming down her body. “I can see that.”

      “You took my pants off. You...you...”

      “U, v, w, x, y, z.”

      She stared at him, mouth hanging open. “This isn’t the time for jokes. Did we...”

      Tray still in hand, he leaned back against the doorjamb, an amused expression on his face. “Did we what?”

      She pointed at the bed and then at him and then back to herself. “Did we sleep together?” she whispered.

      His face fell. “You were pretty drunk, Carissa. Give me some credit.”

      Immediately, she felt like a fool. Of course, he’d never do something like that. “Ohmigod, Jasper. I’m sorry.”

      “It’s okay,” he said.

      She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly aware that she must look absolutely disgusting. She was sure her hair went beyond a messy bird’s nest. It was probably a whole bird mansion.

      “I bring peace offerings.” He held the tray up. “You look like you need these.” He handed over a couple of aspirin, a plate with two pieces of freshly buttered toast, and a glass of water. “You shouldn’t take those on an empty stomach.”

      She sank back onto the bed. “You brought me home and took care of me?”

      “I didn’t do much. You were out, um, pretty fast.” He said that comment strangely and it had her head tilting. Then he quickly followed up with, “I slept in the guest room.”

      Damn, why did he have to be so nice? His sudden kindness—so different from the teenager she remembered—made her feel...things. A blush crept into her cheeks, and desperate to hide her reaction, she turned to take a moment and admire his place.

      His king-size bed was certainly comfy, decorated with a fluffy, light blue duvet cover and matching pillows. The furniture was all wood, very masculine. But the room was tidy and there were amazingly tall windows, almost the entire height of the wall, that let in the light she’d been cursing a few minutes ago. If her head wasn’t throbbing she would be loving all that natural light and the view of the water beyond.

      She could see through the open door into the living space. It was an open concept with brick walls, except for one, which housed floor-to-ceiling bookcases. She shifted on the bed, craning her neck to take in the kitchen, too. But all she could make out from this angle was a large island.

      Jasper chuckled. “I can give you a tour, you know.”

      Her face grew hot. “Sorry. I don’t mean to be nosy. Just curious.”

      “I understand.” He pointed