It was morning.

Taliana’s liquor-soaked brain could comprehend that, but not much else. How she’d strung that coherent thought together with the way her head was throbbing was a mystery, but even in her semiconscious state it was clear she was hungover.

With a soft groan, she attempted to roll over and go back to sleep, wanting nothing more than to escape back into darkness, but something was keeping her firmly pinned to the mattress. When she finally dared to open her eyes, squinting against the bright sunlight, a sight she certainly hadn’t been expecting greeted her.

Lying with an arm draped possessively across her waist was a dark-haired, devastatingly gorgeous but completely unidentifiable guy who—thankfully—looked to be about Taliana’s age. Panic immediately shot through her, but instead of shoving him away, she froze and desperately began to rationalize.

If the fact that she was naked and hungover wasn’t enough to make her realize she’d gone home with some guy from last night’s party, the peacefully sleeping Adonis was a pretty good clue. Though onetime hookups weren’t really her scene, she’d been drunk and heartbroken enough last night that this wasn’t surprising. It was amazing what both could drive a person to do.

Sighing, she resigned herself to her fate and turned to admire her bedmate once more. He was classically handsome, and with just one glance it was easy to tell he’d broken plenty of hearts in the past. His long eyelashes seemed almost girlish compared to his strong jaw, giving him the look every male model strived for, and had Taliana still been in LA, it wouldn’t have surprised her if he actually was one.

But this wasn’t LA, she was in bed with someone she didn’t recognize, and the details of how she’d gotten there were a little hazy. She remembered arriving at the party, losing the twins, and then seeing her pathetic excuse for an ex-boyfriend. Everything else was a bit of a blur, but judging from how attractive this guy was even while softly snoring, Taliana could see exactly why she’d left with him.

Jesus, if this wasn’t the perfect public service announcement to get people to drink responsibly, then she didn’t know what was.

Deciding it was past time to make her escape, she slowly pushed his arm away and began inching her way out of bed, biting hard on her bottom lip to keep the contents of her stomach from coming up. She had a feeling the sound of retching would wake her bed mate, which would mean facing the awkward one-night-stand-morning-after greeting, a conversation that could border on downright painful. She’d experienced it once in the past and wasn't eager for a repeat.

So as quickly as she could, Taliana hauled herself out of bed and pulled on her clothes as quickly as she could manage. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed her shoes and somehow put on the four-inch heels without falling down. She could see her escape a few feet away, and she rushed to the door just as the boy let out a heavy sigh in his sleep.

Taliana had to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other, but she eventually got to the elevator and ducked inside, already exhausted from the short walk. The ride down to the first floor didn't seem long enough and before Taliana knew it, she was stumbling out of the steel doors again.

All she had to do now was make it out of the hotel and she’d be in the clear, but that was a task easier said than done in the busy lobby. Nevertheless, she kept her head down and started out, though she didn’t realize how bad of an idea that was until she ran into something—or someone from the feel of it.

Something hot splashed onto Taliana’s chest, and she let out a strangled yelp as she pulled the fabric of her dress away from her skin the best she could. Someone gasped in the background, but she was too preoccupied with trying to wipe what appeared to be coffee off her to take much notice.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” someone spluttered. “Are you okay, honey?”

Grimacing, Taliana spared a glance up at the horrified guy in front of her. “I’m fine. It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not!” he exclaimed as one of his hands worriedly flew out to touch her shoulder. “Forgive me, I wasn’t looking where I was going. Are you sure you’re okay? It didn’t burn you, did it?”

Taliana had to commend the guy for being concerned for a complete stranger’s well-being, but the fact that she was mere seconds from puking all over his expensive looking shoes made her wish she’d run into someone else.

“I’m fine,” she replied, drawing in a deep breath to keep down whatever still lingered in her stomach. “Really.”

The boy let out a light laugh. “Come on, I just spilled hot coffee on you. And from the looks of it, that’s an expensive dress. I couldn’t live with myself if I ended up ruining it.”

Before Taliana could even register what was happening, his hand slid from her shoulder and down to her chest where he’d spilled the coffee. Taliana’s eyes widened when his fingers skimmed across her collarbone, and she gasped in offense, but he didn’t seem to notice he’d violated her personal space.

“Oh dear,” he murmured, biting his full bottom lip as he assessed the damage. “I should get you home so you can get cleaned up. I’d take you up to my hotel room, but my, uh, visitor from last night has yet to leave, so I’m trying to avoid him until he does.”

Taliana opened her mouth to protest, but he’d already grabbed her hand and was pulling her toward the exit of the building.

“I’m Jude, by the way,” he tossed over his shoulder, flashing Taliana a warm smile. “And that dress looks amazing on you—coffee stain and all.”

Taliana gaped at his forwardness. Either this guy was some complete psycho who was taking her to a back alley so he could murder her, or he was truly a sweetheart and actually did like her dress. For her sake, she hoped it was the latter.

“I’m Taliana,” she mumbled as she followed him out the doors, squinting against the sunlight. “And thanks, I guess.”

“Your last name wouldn’t happen to be Avilla, would it?” he inquired, raising one perfectly arched eyebrow.

Taliana froze. How the hell could he have known that? Was this guy some kind of stalker? Or had news of her LA exploits already reached DC?

Likely seeing the panic on her face, Jude laughed. “Relax, I know the twins,” he explained. “Marissa and Vanessa said you were coming to town, but I never thought we would meet like this.”

Taliana’s brow furrowed, but some of her worry faded. “You know the twins?”

“Of course I do,” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “I know everyone. Now come on, I’ll give you a ride home.”

Apparently, they weren’t that tight if neither of the girls had told Taliana anything about him, but there she was, about to accept his offer. At least if he was a psycho murderer, she wouldn’t have to suffer through the rest of this hangover.

“Thanks,” she said as she followed him to the black Audi parked on the street and allowed him to open the car door for her, not knowing what else to say or do.

Jude, however, didn’t seem deterred by Taliana’s lack of social skills. “So,” he began again after sliding into the driver’s seat and starting the car. “You went to the party last night, right? Did you have a good time?”

Oh, the answers she could have given him. “Yeah, it was…fun,” she said, offering a faint smile.

For the first time since they’d collided, Taliana got a good look at him. Jude had deep blue eyes, a fantastic smile, and dimples she was immediately jealous of. Even while sitting, it was easy to see he was tall and in spectacular shape. Honestly, he looked like he wouldn’t have had a hard time taking someone down if they dared to mess with him, but with his bubbly personality and charming ways, I couldn’t imagine this guy having very many enemies.

“Good answer.” He chuckled as he pulled out of the parking spot and into traffic. “It’s super nice to meet you, though. I promise I don’t usually come on to girls by spilling coffee on them. Then again, I don’t usually come on to girls at all. Guess I’m a little rusty.”

Taliana bit back a laugh and tried to ignore the fact that the pounding in her head was beating double time. “I never would have guessed,” she said, already feeling strangely endeared by this guy.

She’d known him less than five minutes, and she already knew she and Jude were going to get along just fine.

***

There were plenty of ways to cure a hangover, and Sebastian was familiar with a few of them. However, if one thing was for sure, none of them included an early morning wake-up call.

Someone was pounding on the door of his hotel room, and he was none too pleased about it. Between his twisting stomach and something stinging painfully on his cheek, he was in no mood to greet the day or whoever was at the door. Tempted as he was to roll over in the king-sized bed and fall back asleep, he dragged himself up, slipped on a pair of boxers, and pulled open the door, staring at his guest with bleary eyes.

“Rise and shine, princess,” Michael greeted, flashing him an exhausted grin before his expression faded into one of confusion. “What the hell happened to your face?”

Sebastian raised a hand to his cheek and felt the edges of the shallow cut. “Rough night,” he said, peering down at the tray covered by a cloche in Michael’s hands. “What’ve you got in there?”

“Breakfast.” Michael shoved the tray into Sebastian’s hands, the French press full of coffee nearly toppling over in the process. “Get some caffeine in you. I’ll go get Marcus and Jacob.”

He disappeared from the doorway, and Sebastian did exactly as Michael instructed. By the time he finished his first cup, Michael had returned with their friends in tow.

Sebastian poured two more cups and carted them into the bedroom, his gaze landing on a rather green looking Marcus curled up in the fetal position at the foot of the mattress.

“Here,” Sebastian said, holding out the cup to Marcus. “Drink up.”

The smaller boy reached out with a shaky hand and took the drink, sitting up enough so he wouldn’t spill it. “I love you.”

Sebastian joined him on the edge of the bed and sipped at his own coffee, thankful Michael had his shit together enough to do this for them. But Marcus hissed a curse a second later as his drink sloshed over onto the white duvet, courtesy of Michael dropping onto the bed. Jacob had been the only smart one of them, pulling up a chair and propping up his feet.

After making himself comfortable, Michael swung his gaze to Sebastian, a smile playing on the corners of his mouth. “How was your night, birthday boy?”

“Eventful.” Well, at least what he remembered of it was.

“You leave with anyone?”

He nodded and took another sip of coffee, flashes of last night coming back to him. Oh yeah. Eventful had been correct.

“That’s my boy,” Michael chuckled, nudging his knee. “Was it that blonde girl you'd been talking to earlier? Or someone else?”

Sebastian paused for a minute, trying hard to conjure her image. “She was a skinny brunette with scary blue eyes and legs for days. Can’t remember her name, though.”

To be honest, he wasn’t sure he’d even gotten her name. With as loud as the club had been, talking had been a useless endeavor. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he knew her from somewhere.

Michael scoffed, drawing him out of his thoughts. “That’s all you remember?” he questioned skeptically. “Were you seriously that wasted?”

Sebastian cracked a grin. “Pretty sure I’m still drunk, dude.”

Michael rolled his eyes and turned his attention to a slightly better-looking Marcus. “What about you? You get any?”

Marcus groaned from where he was curled up. “Out of all the girls there, I had to get the virgin.”

“Shit, did you actually go for it?”

He shook his head, taking another sip of his coffee, looking anywhere but at Michael.

“Let me guess,” Michael said, “you gave her the whole ‘your first time should be special’ spiel?”

Marcus’s cheeks grew red. “Of course not.”

“Oh god, you did, didn’t you?”

Marcus threw up a hand in exasperation. “Okay, yeah, so what if I did? It’s true, it should be!”

Michael tossed his head back and laughed. “You’re such a fucking sweetheart, it’s sickening. How’d she take it?”

“Considering she stormed out afterward,” Marcus mumbled, “I’d say not so well.”

“Score one for the virgin, zero for the guy who should have sucked it up and gone for it anyway.”

“Oh, screw you.”

“At least I wasn’t stuck with only my hand for company last night, pretty boy. But that’s nothing new, is it?”

“Well at least I don’t have every STD known to man.”

“It was just crabs! And it was only once!”

“That’s gross.”

“You’re gross.”

If their argument kept on like this, Sebastian was sure it would spiral into more grade school insults. And honestly, he wasn’t ready for that this early in the morning.

“Quit it,” he cut in before either could start down that path.

“I’m going to need more coffee if I have to deal with you dumbasses,” Jacob grumbled in agreement as he stood, motioning for Sebastian to hand over his cup for a refill. “Anyone else want—whoa.”

Sebastian glanced at Jacob just as he bent to grab something off the floor. He straightened a second later with an object resting in his palm that glinted in the morning light. It only took a second for Sebastian to realize it was a ring—a ring that just so happened to be topped with the biggest diamond he’d seen in his life.

“Holy shit,” Michael breathed out, scrambling closer to get a better view. “That thing is massive.”

Sebastian pushed him out of the way. “Where did you find that?”

Jacob shrugged and motioned to the floor. “I don’t know. It was just lying over there. Is this yours?”

“Do I look like I would wear that?” Sebastian shot Jacob a dry look before snatching the ring from him. “It belongs to the girl I had here last night. I only remember that because she cut me with it.”

“That’s not the only place she got,” Michael mused, eyes scanning Sebastian's bare back. “It looks like you got mauled by a tiger back here.”

“Like I said, it was a rough night.”

“No kidding.”

Sebastian turned the ring over in his hand once more, wondering if the girl had yet to notice she’d left this precious item behind in his suite.

“Dude, that girl must be freaking out right now,” Jacob said, reading Sebastian’s mind.

Marcus nodded in agreement as he shoved a stray curl out of his eyes. “I know I would be. This thing is priceless.” He raised a hand to touch the sparkling creation, but pulled back as if he thought better of it. “We have to get it back to her.”

“Yeah, and how do you propose we do that?” Sebastian scoffed, closing his fingers around the ring. “I don’t remember her name, and I definitely didn’t get her number. She was gone by the time I woke up.”

“It couldn’t be too hard,” Marcus reasoned. “I mean, there was a strict guest list, so you know exactly who was at the party.”

He had a point. “True.”

“So all you have to do is go through the guest list and...try to remember?”

Sebastian gave him a light shot to the shoulder. “Wow, huge help.”

A shy grin finally found its way to his face. If there was one thing Sebastian was jealous of, it was the guy’s ability to have a smile that innocent.

“It could work,” Michael said. “And, really, do you have any other options?”

Well, there was one. “I could just keep it.”

“You can’t do that!” Marcus exclaimed, obviously appalled by his suggestion. “I’ll bet you this girl is desperately looking for it. You really going to let her down?”

Sebastian let out a groan as his shoulders slumped forward. “Oh god, don’t start with the ‘do the right thing’ speech.”

“Come on, you know you have to do this.”

He paused momentarily to think it over, but Marcus was right. What other option did he have?

“Get me the guest list.”