Joel didn't seem surprised to see me. He casually placed the panties and bra on top of the dress, picked them up, and carried them to me. Our eyes remained locked the entire time. A foot away, his arms came out offering me my clothes. I did the worst thing I could possibly do. Tears rolled down my cheeks. Joel looked at me for one long moment before doing the last thing I expected. He pulled me into his arms, my clothes pressed between us.

That's when I lost it. I sobbed against his chest feeling like the biggest idiot on the planet.

"Shhh."His whisper coincided with his tightening arms.

"I'm sorry," I hiccupped, but didn't pull away.

He stood there holding me, swaying gently. Finally, he loosened his arms just a bit. "You need to get dressed, and I'll drive you back to the hotel."

I took a trembling breath and moved back slightly. "You will?"

"Yes." It was said so gently I almost started crying again. I stood wrapped in a sheet with Joel comforting me because his brother was an ass. I was stronger than thisstupid, but stronger.

I held tightly to my clothes in one hand and kept the sheet up with the other. "Thank you and I'm sorry for breaking down."

"Get dressed so we can get on the road." He looked at me with sympathy and it was almost worse than his usual sneer.

I went back upstairs to Van's bedroom and entered his bathroom, dropping the sheet on the floor. Looking at myself in the full-length mirror I noticed small stubble scratches at the base of my neck, around my breasts, and lower. Great. I so needed this reminder of my stupidity. I put on my underwear and bra first then pulled the dress over my head, momentarily struggling with the zipper. Thankfully, the love scratches, yeah that was a joke, couldn't be seen with the high neckline of my dress.

My shoes and bag were still downstairs, and it was time I faced Joel again. Poor man probably went through this once or twice a week. Everyone warned me, but for some reason I thought I was that special someone who could settle the big bad rugby player down and turn a jackass into my dream man. Jocks- bad news, stay away.

Joel waited downstairs in the kitchen at the small table nook reading the morning paper. An actual paper. It made me smile a little. "No iPad. I'm impressed."

He looked up and grinned. "I'll enjoy them while I can. They won't be around forever."

"Tell me about it." I gave him a full smile in return.

"You ready?"

"I need my shoes and bag."

"Behind you on the barstool. That's some bag you have there."

I appreciated that he was acting so nice. "I call it my scrap bag. Big enough to lose everything inside, but also doubles as luggage if needed."

His grin widened and I liked it. He stood and handed me my glasses. How could I forget those? Placing them on allowed me to see and gave me an extra shield by covering my puffy eyes. Joel pulled his car keys from his pocket. "My truck's out front."

He looked confident dressed in jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers, and I felt so small. He moved around me on his way to the door, but I stopped him with a quick touch on his arm. He turned. "Thank you, Joel. I'm sorry for being a cry baby."

Something passed over his featuresa touch of anger, regret, and sympathy all at once. "Come on, I'm feeding you first."

"Oh, no. Not looking like this."

He went back to smiling. "You look lovely."

"You're a great liar."

For the first time, I heard Joel's laugh. It was a full, throw-his-head-back, teeth-showing, husky sound. He was gorgeous. When he calmed, he looked at me like he was double-checking to see if he was lying or not. "I'm not taking no for an answer. My t-shirt has barely dried from your tears. You owe me breakfast."

"You'll let me buy?"

He exaggerated an eye roll. "No, but I insist you sit across from me while I eat half a pig and a dozen eggs."

I liked the humorous Joel. "If you can eat half a pig and a dozen eggs you deserve to buy your own meals. You need to give me five minutes to add some makeup to my face or I'm walking back to my hotel."

"I've never understood women and makeup, but we'll save that argument for another day. I need to eat early and give my stomach a chance to settle down before the match. Hurry."

I ran into the bathroom I'd used the night before and rushed through the quickest makeup job in history. I was out in three minutes. "Let's go. Whatcha waiting for?"

He laughed again as we walked outside to his truck. It was such a monstrosity, but at least it had a sideboard I could climb up on. Before I could lift my leg, Joel grabbed me around the waist and effortlessly lifted me inside. I frantically pulled my dress down and gave him a frown.

"I'm in a hurry. Don't go all feminist on me now."

I had to bite my lip to hide a smile. "That caveman action actually suits you. Who's wasting time now?"

He placed his fingers at his temple and saluted me before walking around to the driver's side and starting the powerful engine. Country music blared out of the speakers and I cringed.

"What, you like that easy listening crap?" he asked as he turned onto the road connected to the long driveway.

"Symphony actually."

"That's a joke, right?"

"Music defines everything in your life. I want pieces that move me, create pictures in my mind, and leave me reeling." I was known to listen to top forty, but I'd be damned if I told him that. He was too fun to tease.

"That wasn't a joke," he said with an incredulous look on his face.

"Love me, hate me, cheat on me, kiss my dog. That defines you?"

"Kiss your dog?"

I was looking out the window so he couldn't see my grin. "That's country music in a nutshell."

"Well, I guess you did kiss my brother, so you would know."

Shit. He had to go there. I turned at the same time he took his eyes off the road and gave me a quick glance. I shook my head. "I admit to being stupid. Everyone warned me, including you, and I still ran smack dab into trouble. It's done and I want to move past it." I added a soft smile. "Your brother is like kissing a puppy. They're cute and cuddly, but then they grow up- okay in his case never grow up, but still, the cute rubs off. The moral to this story is no more alcohol for me at least for a while."

He glanced at me again, his eyes turning to stormy blue. "Alcohol?"

"My choice, my mistake, not your brother's." There was no way I'd blame my stupidity on Van. Punch his face- maybe.