Shane had been up sincedawn, enjoying the early morning peace, when he’d made the mistake of checking his phone.
Just as he’d suspected, the photo of him and Krista had generated a lot buzz on his social media. Though he never quite knew what that buzz entailed exactly, it was clear from the amount of reactions and comments he’d got on his post that quite a few people were assuming and speculating that he and Krista were nowsomething.
He skimmed the comments. Most were nice and complimentary, a few weren’t, but balls to those wankers out there who had nothing better to do than troll. It was time to take down the posts of him and Krista anyway. He’d been thinking about it last night. Now that they’d got to know each other better, and yesterday had turned out to be fun, he’d rather drop that whole ridiculous bet thing they had going. Shane really couldn’t give a monkey’s if Ryan came to his senses or not. Krista was better off without him, and after her so-called epiphany moment yesterday after eating that cake, it seemed like she knew it too.
And as for using Krista to show Fiona he was completely over her? Shane was feeling pretty pathetic that such a thought had crossed his mind in the first place. He was over Fiona. He didn’t care what she thought or what she was doing. Yesterday his annoyance at Zoey and his abrupt change of plans had rocked his new life balance, that was all.
He was just about to delete his posts when he noticed a message from his sister.
> Hey, Worm, do you mind telling me who this one is?
Claire was referring to Krista, of course.
> She’s just a friend.
Shane sent his reply then began to type out a longer explanation, telling Claire that Krista worked at the aquatics center and had taken Mikey’s place on the hiking holiday. Knowing his sister, she’d get a kick out of the bet too.
> The photos are to make the guy she’s in love with jealous, which means if you believe we’re a couple, the $100 is already mine.
He sent his reply, but as Claire lived in Sydney—near Mum and Dad—and being 17 hours ahead, she’d be asleep now and wouldn’t see his message for several more hours. Just as well. Shane didn’t want to deal with her concern that he was sleeping around again.
As if he would.
He may have gone off the rails during those awful weeks after he’d been ditched, but he’d soon come to his senses. He’d cleaned up his act—and ensuredhewas clean and healthy too. But it was hard shaking off his self-disgust at having one-night stand after one-night stand in futile attempts to dull the pain Fiona had caused.
How could he have been so reckless?
And how could he have treated those women so carelessly? He didn’t believe for one minute that any of the women he’d slept with had hopes for a relationship or that he’d left them brokenhearted or even done anything against their will. But to discard them as soon as he’d used them? It was unforgivable. And most definitely not the type of man he was or ever wanted to be.
The Bad Times gripped his soul. Shane immediately switched his phone off and reached for his coffee. He took a sip and then another.
Nope.He wasn’t going to regurgitate what had happened a year ago.
Fiona was in the past. He may have turned into a bastard on the rebound for a few drunken weeks, but that too was in the past. Today was a new day, and Shane was focused.
Focused on his training. Focused on his studies and on the end goal of a new career after he retired from pro swimming.
And right now, he was focused on relaxation, enjoyment, and untangling his mind from uncomfortable memories.
But still...
As he watched day break over the mountains, echoes ofthis time last yearrankled in his head.
Him, alone and humiliated, in a church side room having just been told that Fiona wasn’t coming...
“Is that coffee I can smell?”
Krista’s voice shattered his memories. Shane turned to face her, and...good grief, what was she wearing?
And what else had he expected?
“Cute jimjammies,” he quipped as she crawled out of her tent in stripy pajama bottoms and a top that was covered in fluffy kittens.
“Go ahead and laugh,” she said, sticking her chin out. “Pajamas are warm and practical.”
“Of course they are. I have several pairs myself, for when it’s too cold to sleep in the nuddie.”
“In the nud—“ She held up her hand. “Actually, don’t elaborate.”
