“Do you see that?” Hayden pointed at something shiny in the cinders.
“Might be one of those metal hooks they put on clothes.”
“Yeah, and I think that’s the underwire from my bra.”
“Why would you burn your bra?”
“Exactly, not my generation.”
“Hmm?”
“Never mind. Bad joke.” Hayden shook her head. “I really have no idea. Ugh, and that was my favorite bra, too.”
“Aren’t all bras good?”
She gave him the side eye. “Some you like better than others. Some make your boo— You know, I’m not getting into this with you.”
“It’s just...my underwear’s my underwear.”
“If only we could find your underwear.”
He agreed that while the towel did cover the essential parts, it was still way too intimate.
“But honestly,” she glanced at the cooling fireplace again. “I bet they’re in there. Along with the rest of our clothes.”
“That could be the metal button on my jeans, and the thing in the back has to be the buckle to my belt.”
“And I think that’s the fastener on my sandals.” Hayden turned away from the fireplace and sat heavily on the flat fieldstones of the raised hearth. “I’m not going to panic about this. I’m not going to panic about this.”
“You do realize you’re saying that out loud?” he asked.
She lowered her head into her hands, and he felt an overwhelming urge to comfort her. To draw her into his arms and convince her that everything was fine. He stretched out against the flat rock of the fireplace, but the towel parted as he sat and the cold edges of the stones cut into his bare ass. Probably the one and only time in his life he wished he wasn’t naked beside a sexy woman.
“Hayden, believe me when I tell you, waking up beside a woman I don’t know is new for me, too. I can imagine not remembering scares the hell out of you.”
“No, I’m good,” she mumbled into her palms.
“Scares the shit out of me.” He scrubbed a hand over his stubbled chin. “I haven’t handled this right. You should be wary of a strange man in your bed. But I promise, I’m a good guy, and I’m going to figure this out.”
“We.” She sat up and squared her shoulders, and for the first time since waking up she seemed more relaxed.
“What?” he asked.
“We’re going to figure this out.” The barest hint of a smile touched her face, and his mouth dried. He’d give up his field mic to see that smile aimed at him.
She stood and began to pace in front of him. “Okay, so why would we burn our clothes? There has to be a logical explanation for it.”
“Destroying evidence?” he offered.
She stopped midstride and raised a brow at him. “That’s your first go-to idea?”
Tony only shrugged.
She continued with her pacing. “Maybe something got on them. Like a toxin or... No, we wouldn’t have burned them just so we could breathe in the fumes later when we started the fire. Or maybe burning our clothes is what made us lose our memory in the first place. All the synthetics in the fabrics...”
“Maybe we played Texas Burn ’Em. It’s like strip poker, but if you lose on the flop, turn or river, you have to burn an article of clothing.”
Hayden’s beautiful green eyes first widened then narrowed. “That’s not a real game. You’re just messing with me now. Besides I don’t know how to play Texas Hold ’Em.”
“Which is why your clothes are nothing but dust.”
“Yours are, too.”
“Well, I lost because I’m a gentleman like that.”
“Please try not to be charming.” More pacing. “I must have had too much to drink last night. I picked you up because I wanted to, and then burned our clothes in some mad fit of passion.”
“So now you’re the one who picked me up last night?”
She turned toward him, her gaze systematic. “Look at you—you’re the prototype of the guy every woman wants to pick up in a bar. Dark wavy hair, that crooked way you smile that’s both endearing and sexy, and c’mon, your body? Seriously, how many ab crunches do you have to perform in a day to get that six-pack?”
“I think I should be offended by that assessment.” But why? The woman had just complimented him. But despite having been fully conscious with this amazing woman for less than thirty minutes, he wanted to get to know her better. Explore all her soft curves and remember touching and tasting her this time. And he wanted her to smile at him once as if she wanted to be with him. He didn’t want her boxing him in as nothing more than abs, a smile and hair.
Out of nowhere, she made a gasping sound and raced for the bathroom. He surged up and followed her to make sure she was okay. Then he watched as she lowered the sheet and angled her head so she could see her back in the mirror above the sink. Dissatisfied, she shifted, spinning like a dog chasing its tail, alternating between trying to look at her back in the mirror and over her shoulder.
“What are you doing?” he finally asked.
“Checking for the tattoo.”
“What? Why?”
“Because that’s what people do in these situations, isn’t it? Pick up a guy, get a tattoo—it’s the crazy night bucket list.”
Sexy and funny. He was liking this woman more and more. “I have one thing to say about last night.”
“Oh?”
“Can’t fault my taste.”
Hayden stopped trying to play spot the tattoo and her gaze connected with his. There it was again. The blast of awareness. Her skin exposed above the sheet reddened. A tiny pulse point at the soft spot over her collarbone beat like a wild thing. How did he know her skin was soft? He just knew.
“Now it’s weird,” she said, her voice low.
“You just told me my smile was sexy.”
The briefest of grins touched Hayden’s lips, and his heartbeat ratcheted up again because her smile was just what he wanted. “I’ve decided to roll with it,” she said.
Although it violated every instinct hardwired into him, Tony realized they had to find some clothes for her. Get her away from this cabin, the hot tub and the evidence of a wild night of sex. So he could start over.
Start over, and this time get it right and show her he could pull off being a white knight.
* * *
OKAY, SO WHAT really was the damage here? She’d just spent the most grueling semester balancing both a full school load and a job. It had taken her six years because she had to work so much, but in two weeks she’d be graduating. So apparently sometime last night she’d decided to cut loose and have a little fun. No harm, no foul.
Now she planned to roll with it right out of this cabin and back to reality. She was expecting an offer from one of Dallas’s largest engineering firms. But Hastings Engineering had cultivated a reputation of reliability and respectability. And Hayden had seen enough news stories about people being fired or having to wipe their social media accounts because of one accidental naughty message or naked selfie going viral.
Alarm swooshed through her. She was naked. She had a phone. She’d clearly indulged in something