Krista jumped, the slow Australian drawl behind her scraping at her jagged nerves.
Shane McDermit.
What the hell was he doing back here? And why couldn’t he just fuck off instead of always turning up at the most inconvenient, most embarrassing moments of her life?
“Who’re you spying on?” he said.
“I’m not spying.” Krista scrambled to her feet. “I was just...looking at something.” She plucked a pine needle out of her hair and frowned, her pulse thumping in her ears. “I thought you’d already checked out to go hiking with Michael.”
“Nah, Mikey had to bail. He’s been called back to Vancouver for a sponsorship event. I’ve just come from dropping him off at Calgary Airport.” Shane’s gaze drifted over Krista’s head to the gap in the trees, and his eyes narrowed. “Hey, who’s that kissing...huh. Zoey.”
At Shane’s sharp tone, Krista looked up. Hazy work-place rumors of Shane and Krista having lunch last week jangled in her mind, as did the snapshot memory of them talking at the bar last night. “Are you and Zoey seeing each other?”
“No.” But Shane’s jaw hardened, and Krista wasn’t convinced.
“The two-timing bitch,” she mumbled out of spite and hurt.
“It takes two to tango,” Shane drawled.
Krista’s gaze darted back to Ryan. For sure, it didn’t look like he needed any coaxing to lock his mouth with Zoey’s.
“Are you and Ryan dating?”
“No.” The hard fact of it was like a slap in the face. Red-hot rage boiled in Krista’s stomach, propelling her past the solid wall of Shane McDermit. “But I’m still gonna give them a piece of my mind.”
“Whoa! No you don’t.” Shane caught her hand and pulled her back into the bushes. “You’d better calm down first, Krista.”
But this level of anger wouldn’t cool down for days—months!—and Krista couldn’t simply stand by and watch the man she loved be taken by another woman. She’d had enough of sitting around and being passive. If only she’d acted on her feelings weeks ago, she wouldn’t be in this situation.
She went to move around Shane. His arm locked around her waist.
“Let me go!” she hissed, but he lifted her off her feet in one easy move. “Why, you! Let me go! I—” His hand clamped over her mouth, and before she’d had the chance to prize it off, he’d already carried her to the lobby.
“For god’s sake, Krista! What the hell were you gonna do? Have a catfight?”
“Whatever it takes to get her off him.”
“Don’t be such a fool. Ryan was enjoying himself just as much as Zoey. If you’re not dating, he’s got a right to kiss any woman he wants.”
The truth of his words hit Krista like a bullet to the heart. Pain hitched her breath, and hot tears stung her eyes. She sniffed and gritted her teeth, but her attempts to not cry were pathetic. Much like her.
And Shane knew it too. The way his lips curled in disgust made Krista want to crawl away and hide. How could she have lost it like that just now? In front of Shane. In front ofanyone.
Crushed and beaten, she flopped onto the lobby chair and clutched her head in her hands.
“Aw, don’t cry over that mongrel,” Shane said. “He’s not worth it. No one is.”
“But Ryan... He’s....” She sobbed.He’s my best friend. My soon-to-be boyfriend.They’d shared so much these past few months. They had such a deep friendship. How could he kiss Zoey like that when...when...Krista had been there for him so much?
She wept harder, letting the tears pour of out her—her loss, her disappointment, and her loneliness dripping onto the hotel floor. Sometime later, a hard thigh nudged against hers. Shane was still sitting beside her.
Mortification plugged the leak of her tears. Krista gulped and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.
“If it makes you feel any better,” Shane said, “I came back to ask Zoey if she wanted to take Mikey’s place on our hiking tour. I guess she has other...thingsto do now.”
“It doesn’t make me feel any better.” Krista sniffed. “But how can you just sit there, not at all bothered that the woman you want is with another man?”The man that I want!
“Oh, I’m bothered all right.” Shane’s eyes turned hard. “But there are plenty more fish in the sea. One woman is much like another.”
