Unraveled (Holding On Book 3) by Meg Jolie Read Free Book Online Page A

if she felt out of place or right at home. It was a disconcerting feeling.
    He reappeared and without another word to her, he pulled the bread from the bag and dropped two pieces in the slots of the toaster.
    “So…last night…?” Carly hesitantly began.
    He turned around and quirked an eyebrow at her. “What about it?”
    She narrowed her eyes at him. Of course he was going to make her ask. She felt her stubbornness kicking in. He smirked at her, knowing her well enough to know that he was annoying her. Just. Like. That. Carly felt herself sliding back into familiar territory with Jesse. The game playing territory, where one was always trying to outdo the other.
    For the first time, she realized she didn’t want things to be that way with him. She gave her head a little shake. Her whole world was falling apart. She didn’t have the time, desire or ambition to go around and around with Jesse.
    “Where are my clothes?” she asked.
    “In the dryer,” he told her as her toast popped up.
    “And how did they end up in there?”
    “I put them in there.” Carly raised her eyebrows and gestured for him to go on. “I washed them. Shane spilled some beer on you last night. Really, it wasn’t his fault. You were a little...uh, tipsy. You bumped into him. You don’t remember that?”
    “Nope. I really don’t remember much of anything,” she admitted, hoping to hurry the conversation along. “Will you please just tell me what happened? I remember you guys showing up at Shady’s. And I remember Jemma ordering another round…Things are…fuzzy after that.”
    “I bet they are,” Jesse muttered as he spread a thin layer of butter on her toast.
    Carly watched, wondering if she should be annoyed or grateful that Jesse knew her well enough to make her toast just the way she liked it. A thin coat of butter followed by a thick layer of peanut butter. No jelly, of course.
    He slid the plate in front of her.
    “Come on, Jesse, just tell me.” She looked at him imploringly. Undoubtedly, he was enjoying making her wonder, making her wait it out. “Look,” she said, deciding to take the first step, “I get this is probably funny to you. I get it. I was a mess last night. I probably made a fool of myself. It would not be the first time. So could you for once, just put me out of my misery and let me know just how horrible I was? Please.”
    The smug look fell from his face. “What do you want to know?”
    She took a tentative bite of her toast as she glanced around his familiar kitchen. The walls were cream, like the bedroom. The appliances all black. The curtains, rugs and hand towel hanging from the stove were bright red. It was masculine, yet tasteful. Or at least, she thought it was. Though, since she was the one who picked everything out, it only made sense she would feel that way. She swallowed her toast and dared another sip of juice. After making sure her stomach was settled enough, she barged ahead.
    “Okay…I want to know how I ended up here, instead of Jemma’s. How in the hell did I end up naked. Did we…” She mentally braced herself, knowing Jesse was probably going to love how the question made her squirm. “Did we have sex?” There, that came out easier than she’d thought it would.
    He crossed his arms and leaned against the countertop, facing her. There was no humor present in his demeanor.
    “Well, Jemma decided she was ready to head home pretty early on. She tried talking you into going with her. You weren’t ready to go yet. You asked me for a ride home and I agreed. But when we were getting ready to go, you got all upset. You didn’t want to go to your parents’. You were babbling on and on about how you just couldn’t face them…” Carly cringed, wondering if she’d dumped her heart and her pride out all over Jesse last night. “You didn’t tell me why,” he assured her. “But you did more or less beg me to bring you back here. So you wouldn’t have to deal with them. As for how