Shane nodded, crafting an idea in his head. “Yeah, sorry. Listen, I left my gloves in the truck. I’m just going to run and grab them.” He made a show of rubbing his bare hands together and blowing into them, even though they weren’t really that cold. This was either going to work like a charm or it was going to get him cussed out. Shane took one last look in Bellamy’s direction.
If she cussed him out, it might be worth it.
“Couple of Irish coffees and you won’t feel a thing,” Jackson said with a laugh. “We’re on the other side, over by the west gate. Just come over on your way back.”
“Right. You got it.”
His feet were moving toward Bellamy before the word was all the way out.
“Bell-a-meeee,” Marcus sing-songed, and for the first time ever, Bellamy hated the sound of her own name. “I can’t believe you didn’t come down for a lesson today. The powder was as good as the view,” he continued, his tone sickly sweet as he leaned in close enough for her to smell the breath mint that was failing to cover up whatever he’d eaten for dinner.
“The day must have gotten away from me, I guess.” Where the hell were Holly and Jenna? This was going to turn into a code red, Bellamy could feel it. Somebody should really invent a best friend panic button for these kinds of situations. She threw one last desperate glance through the crowd while Marcus slicked back his hair with a hand.
Nope. Nothing.
“Well, we can’t let that happen again.” Marcus arched a brow at her in a way that made her want to bathe in Clorox, but then she felt a tiny pang of remorse. He wasn’t hurting anything, although she was a little worried about getting caught in the creep shrapnel if things went downhill. Still. For now, maybe there was a way out of this that didn’t involve running or screaming.
“Listen, Marcus, I, ah, should probably tell you. I’m waiting for…somebody.” Bellamy edged backward to regain her personal space and waited, hoping he’d jump to the wrong conclusion and get the not-interested vibe she was broadcasting on all channels. Never mind that “somebody” was either Jenna or Holly, or better yet, both.
“The more, the merrier, sweetheart,” he cooed, her implication going unnoticed.
Bellamy groaned an inward curse. She should’ve known better than to expect a logic leap from a guy who used his head primarily as a hat rack.
Marcus leaned in again, not seeming to notice that she took a step backward as he did. His voice lowered as he shuttered his lids to look at her. “Your girlfriends are always welcome to join us, if you know what I mean.”
Annnnnd just like that, Bellamy had reached her limit. “You know what, I—”
Before she could even finish her sentence, Shane sauntered up and wrapped his arm around her, planting a kiss right on her cheek just as easy as you please.
“Hey, babe. Sorry I’m late. Parking was a nightmare.” His dark eyes flew to Marcus for a split second before returning to hers with an almost imperceptible nod.
Holy shit. The fake boyfriend routine was the oldest trick in the book.
Shane was bailing her out.
“Oh, I’m so glad you made it,” Bellamy gushed, playing it up by snuggling under the arm he’d left around her. “Shane, this is Marcus. He was just keeping me company while I waited for you.”
Marcus was too busy picking his jaw up from the ground to do anything other than stammer. “Oh, uh, yeah. We know each other. Hey, Shane.”
“Marcus. Thanks for looking after my girl while I parked my truck.” His dark eyes flashed over Marcus’s, glinting in the orange glow of the fire light.
Wow, Bellamy thought. Shane was good. He really had the whole protective boyfriend act down cold.
“Bellamy, you, ah, didn’t mention that you…knew Shane,” Marcus tsked weakly.
“We only just met recently, but it’s been quite the whirlwind.” Okay, at least that was the truth.
“Well.” Marcus cleared his throat. “Maybe I’ll catch you another time.”
“Maybe.” Shane’s tone flattened over the word.
She waited until Marcus had taken about twenty paces through the crowd before pulling back to look at Shane. “Your girl?” she asked, trying to keep a straight face.
He cracked a boyish you-got-me grin, and it snapped through her like a current. “Sorry. Too much?”
Oh, God. Not enough.
Bellamy blinked, her ribcage feeling like the new home for a fleet of hummingbirds. “Uh, no. No, I think it did the trick. Thanks. Did I look that desperate?”
“Truth?”
She gave him a look that said she expected nothing but. “Of course.”
“You looked like you’d rather have a root canal,” Shane admitted.
Bellamy’s laugh bubbled out of her, mostly because he wasn’t far from the mark. “Wow. You really know how to flatter a girl.”
His baritone chuckle mixed in with her laughter. “Look, you’re the one who asked for the truth.”
“I guess I did. I’d rather people just lay it on the line, you know? Then I know what I’m dealing with.” She shrugged, watching the warm breath of her words turn into puffs in the cold air that carried them.
Shane nodded. “Okay. Let’s try this, then. I’d really like to buy you a cup of coffee. What do you say?”
A smile bloomed on Bellamy’s lips. Now this was a date.
“I say that sounds great.”
9
“Can I get those in to-go cups, please?”
Shane looked through the crowded lodge to the spot where Bellamy stood with her friends as the guy behind the coffee counter snapped plastic lids on both cups. When she’d agreed to have coffee with him, her smile had traveled down his spine in a straight shot, overriding the circuitry in the rational part of his brain. Maybe it hadn’t been fair to judge Bellamy based on her car, or the fact that she sported diamond earrings that had probably cost more than his truck. She had a killer laugh, and while she could’ve easily flipped the bitch-switch to get Marcus Lawrenson to beat it, she hadn’t.
Plus, as soon as he fixed her car, she would head back to the city, no harm, no foul. What could a cup of Joe and a couple hours outside hurt? He took a long swallow from one of the cups, letting it warm him before walking across the room, coffee in hand.
“Ah, to-go cups. I take it you’re planning a field trip.” Bellamy tipped her head at the cardboard cup he passed her way as she took two packets of sugar from the bowl on the side table. Shane had no idea what she did to her hair to get it all shiny like that, but man, he was tempted to reach out and touch it.
He took a long look at his cup and wondered what the hell was in his regular old black coffee to make a stupid thought like that take over his gray matter.
“As long as you’re okay with a little off-roading, I figured we could head up to Carrington Ridge,” Shane said, looking at Bellamy’s friends. “You’re both welcome to come, too, of course. It’s not far, but the Ridge is a pretty cool local spot.”
One of the added benefits of the Ridge was that not a lot of non-locals knew where it was, which made it virtually unpopulated by the hot toddy sipping jet setters who frequented the resort. As it was, standing inside the massive lobby, with its blazing fireplaces and hipster crowds, was giving Shane the sweats.