And weren’t those just the words of a guy who slept around? Who always let the little head below override the big, empty one above.
Ryan wasn’t a guy like that. He didn’t flirt or have one-night stands, which was why Krista was having such a hard time dealing with what she’d seen him do with Zoey this morning. Ryan and Zoey were friends. All their co-workers were friends. They had a great workplace environment, but...where had his feelings for Zoey come from?
So many times, Krista had lain next to Ryan on the bed or the couch, watching movies, talking—often until late at night—and only once had they kissed.
Now, that didn’t sound good, did it? Kissing only once. She’d waited patiently for a sequel, but all she got was an endless prologue to a relationship that had never actually happened.
A knife twisted in her heart.
“Hold up!” Shane called out.
Krista whirled around. Several meters behind her, Shane was taking photos of the ice-blue alpine lake that flared bright amongst the dark pine trees and gray rocks surrounding it. She looked around her and rubbed her eyes.What?They’d hiked this far up already?
Squinting against the dazzling sky, Krista studied the snow-capped mountains that stretched for miles around them. Man, she’d ached to see these views. Ached to be on the mountaintops, in the clouds, amongst the tips of tall pine trees. She’d craved to see it all with Ryan, to share the experience with him, but now, so tangled up in her thoughts, she’d turned blind to it all, unable to get the image of him kissing Zoey out of her mind.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Shane hissed beside her. “Guys like Ryan aren’t worth shit, so stop torturing yourself.”
Krista blinked. “I’m not...not...torturing myself. I was just thinking.”
But the wobble in her voice betrayed her, as did the tear rolling down her cheek. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, mortified that she was again crying in front of Shane.
“You want hearts and flowers, sugar and spice and all things nice? Well, it’s bullshit.” Shane’s eyes narrowed as he sucked in a breath. Krista braced for more harsh words, but the air whooshed out of her instead.
Shane had wrapped his arm around her shoulders and was pulling her tight against his big, hard body.
“Remember what I said about making Ryan jealous?” he said. “It’s time to turn that frown upside down, Krista. Smile!”
Too stunned to do anything else, Krista stared at the phone Shane had raised in front of them, andclick—he took a selfie.
“Gorgeous,” he drawled, releasing her as he looked at the phone. “I guess that sort of passes for a smile.” He tapped the screen a few times and showed her what he’d done. “That’s up now.”
What?!
Krista stared at the Instagram post on Shane’s phone. The expression on her face in the photo didn’t pass for a smile at all! But neither did she look anywhere as near as upset as she felt. She looked...stunned and dazed. Exhilarated, even. Like she’d been plucked out of a comfortable bed and dropped bang, smack in the middle of a big, amazing adventure.
That was all okay, except—
“We look like we’re...we’re...together!”
“That’s the whole point, remember?” Shane slipped his phone back into his pocket. “Your Ryan will be knocking at your door in no time.”
“Oh, for god’s sake. He’s not my Ryan, and he’s not some teenage boy who’d get jealous over your silly game.”
“Wanna bet?”
“For sure.” Hysteria had her laughing. “A hundred bucks says you’re wrong.”
“Deal.” Shane slapped his hand into hers.
What the—“Seriously?”
“A hundred bucks says your precious Ryan is a man with an ego. When he gets a whiff that you’ve moved on, he’ll be sweeping you off your feet, confessing his undying love for you.”
“You’re an idiot if you think that.” Man with an ego or not, Ryan wasn’t interested in her. This morning had proved that. Hell, the past few months had proved it too. But Krista could do with a hundred bucks, and proving Shane wrong would be the cherry on the goddamn cake. She stared down at his large hand in hers and squeezed. “Game on, McDermit.”
