Free Small-Town Cinderella (The Pirelli Brothers) by Stacy Connelly

the borrowed clothes aside and jerked the sweater on with far less care than the delicate material deserved.
    It took some doing, but thanks to the tiny brush, compact and mini tube of lipstick she carried in her purse, she managed to look halfway decent. Now she just needed her shoes. She had a vague recollection of slipping them off as she sat at the kitchen table. Pressing her feet flat against the cool tile had been a relief after standing around in heels all night.
    Another peek through the doorway confirmed Drew was nowhere in sight, and she literally tiptoed down the hall and into the kitchen. Yes! Spotting one of her beige heels beneath the table, she ducked underneath to pick it up. She was glancing around for its mate when she heard Drew’s voice coming from outside.
    For a split second, she froze. Good Lord, who was he talking to? She’d thought he was still sleeping, but that was definitely his voice coming from the porch. In the next moment, she heard the front door open and sprang into action. Scrambling backward, she tried standing too soon and cracked her head on the underside of the table. Her eyes stung at the sharp pain, but she ignored it as she glanced around wildly one more time for her missing shoe.
    Drew spoke again, but she was in too much of a panic to pay attention to the words. There was no way she could slip by and hide out in one of the bedrooms, so she took the only escape route available.
    Holding tight to her lone shoe, she ducked out the back door and onto the porch overlooking the backyard. Her pulse was pounding in her ears even as she tried to hear what was going on inside. She’d probably been fooling herself when she thought she would walk home in the early-morning mist, and she couldn’t even pretend like she’d be able to make the trek barefoot. She heard Drew’s voice again, and this time the words penetrated.
    “Hey, Debbie?”
    Her heart slammed against her chest. What was he thinking? Didn’t he know what anyone would assume after finding her at his house first thing in the morning? She didn’t have time to formulate any kind of excuse before the back door opened, and Drew was gazing at her in confusion from the doorway.
    “What are you doing?” he asked.
    “What am I doing? What are you doing?” she demanded, her voice a harsh whisper. “Why would you bring someone into the house? What if they figure out that I’m here?”
    His expression cleared, a slight smile tilting his lips. “Oh, she already figured that out. She’s got a really good sense of smell.”
    Smell? The absurdity of the conversation made Debbie question whether or not this was real. Maybe she was still asleep in her bed at home, and none of this had ever happened.
    Drew stuck his head back inside the door and called out, “Come here, Rain!”
    A second later, a black streak of fur darted out in a beeline for Debbie’s bare toes. This was who Drew had been talking to? Relief and reaction to the puppy’s sheer cuteness soon had a wry smile tugging at her lips. The exuberant licking tickled, and she tried not to do some ridiculous dance to escape the puppy’s quick-moving tongue. She’d already made a big enough fool of herself in front of Drew this morning. Never mind her humiliating behavior the night before.
    Focusing on the dog was much easier than focusing on the man standing in front of her, looking good enough to eat in faded jeans and a red sweatshirt. The early morning breeze had ruffled his dark hair and brought out a ruddiness in his cheeks. His dark eyes sparkled, and he looked awake and energized. Unlike Debbie who felt tired and rumpled and, yes, hungover.
    “Dog-sitting?” she asked as she bent down to rub the puppy’s silky ears. Rain gave up on Debbie’s toes and jumped on her back legs, trying to reach her face with that warm, darting tongue.
    “Nope,” he said. “This one’s all mine.”
    “Really?” Debbie asked as she glanced up.
    She knew Darcy had taken in a stray