Crystals (13 page)

“I’ve meant to get
this hole fixed,” he grinned. “Most people remember it’s there.”

“Well, I didn’t!”

“I can see that.
If you’ve finished beating up your car, you should come back inside.”

Knowing she had no
other choice but to follow his suggestion, Crystal wound up her window, turned
off the ignition and opened the door. Immediately at her side, Shane held up a
yellow umbrella with bright red lips dotted all over it.

“It’s Emmie’s. I
hope she’s bloody soaked by now!”

Crystal gave him a
dubious look but said nothing.

“Come on, Crys.
I’ve never owned an umbrella in my life. This is for your benefit.”

“Well, the style
suits you.”

“Whatever! Come
on, hold on to me. Those heels are ridiculous and I’m not going to be held
responsible for you breaking your neck.”

“Oh no, these are
my favorite boots,” Crystal moaned looking down at her footwear.

“Well, we better
get a move on then. Because if that was a ploy to get me to carry you, it’s not
gonna happen.”

“I understand. You
are very skinny.”

Shane took hold of
her arm and placed it in the crook of his elbow before he responded. “I’m built
for endurance. I can’t believe you forgot that.”

“Don’t even think
about starting with me!”

“Jeez, relax will
ya. Anyone would think I just propositioned you. For the record, I didn’t, but
if that’s the way your mind’s working—I’m game.”

“Shut…” Crystal
broke off with a yelp as she went down, her five inch heels had failed her.

“Bloody hell, are
you okay?”

Smacking away his
offered hand of assistance, Crystal watched as a gust of wind pulled the
umbrella from his distracted grip, and
was swallowed
by the darkness.

Her heel was
broken. She was on her hands and knees in a puddle. It was raining like she
hadn’t witnessed in an age, and he had just allowed their only protection to be
claimed by the elements.

“Shit… shitty,
shit frigging, shit!”

“That’s it Crys,
cuss up a blue streak.”

“Oh, keep quiet!”

Without
responding, he again held out his hand. Feeling like a fool, Crystal wanted
nothing more than to punch the ground and howl at the moon. “Could this day get
any worse?”

“Of course it
could. We could both catch pneumonia while you sit on your arse in a puddle on
me driveway.”

“You’re not a nice
man, Shane Tierney,” Crystal griped as she finally took his hand.

“Whoever told you
I was, is a bloody liar,” Shane quipped as he helped her up.

“That would be
you.”

“Shit, I must ‘
ave
been drunk!”

Chapter 11

As Shane escorted her to a room to dry off, Crystal
paid close attention to the interior. The house was one of those old country
structures with massive amounts of dark wood paneling and high ceilings. If she
had still intended to take the job, her first piece of advice would be that he
make changes to bring the place into the twenty-first century.

Alone in the room
Crystal looked around. From what she understood, the house had seven
en
-suite rooms and it was apparent he had already spent a
lot of money on the modernization of the plumbing system. Her shower had been
lovely, so at least that was money well spent.

Now that she was
clean and dry, only one problem remained. She had nothing to change into.
Sitting on the bed, wrapped in a damp towel, Crystal looked around and saw only
a duvet that could be a possible means of covering her nakedness. It was that
or keep on the soggy towel.

Moments later a
knock sounded on the door and Shane poked his head inside the room.

“I thought these
might come in handy. I brought you some body lotion, socks, a jumper and you
don’t have to worry,” he said holding up a pair of sweatpants. “You’ve put on a
few pounds, but these should fit you.”

“You cheeky sod!”

“Come on Crys, are
you going to sit there and tell me your arse–”

“My arse is none
of your business. And, why you would think I would even consider using one of
your girlfriend’s body lotions is a mystery to me.” She knew she should have
kept her mouth shut, but the words escaped before she could stop them.

“Careful, or
you’ll have me thinking you're jealous.”

“Well, you’d be
wrong!” Crossing her fingers at the barefaced lie she gave herself a mental
shake. It was only a jar of lotion, but that didn’t stop her from wanting to
throw it out the window via his head. “But thanks for the clothes.”

“Relax, the lotion
is from the stock I bought for all the bathrooms. If you look, you’ll see it
hasn’t been opened.”

Her eyes flew to
the box sitting on the pile of clothing and heat rushed into her face. Not
knowing how to dig herself out of yet another hole, she said nothing. He was
laughing at her again and Crystal couldn’t blame him. She was acting like a
complete idiot.

“When you’re done,
follow the smell of cooking and I’ll feed you.”

~~~

Dressed in her
borrowed clothing, once downstairs, Crystal did as Shane had suggested and
found him without difficulty. He was standing in front of the stove and she
took the opportunity to look him over.

Although he was
tall and lean, his shoulders were broad and tapered off into a perfect
vee
. From what she could see, he was right, her backside
would never have fit into a pair of his jeans.

“So, what’s taken
your fancy, my manly shoulders or my firm arse?” Shane asked without looking
around.

“Neither!”

“Ahh, Crys, now
that’s your biggest lie… for today anyway.”

“What’s that
supposed to mean?”

“Do you still like
bangers and mash?”

“What?”

“Sausage and mash
potatoes, do you still like them?”

“I know you heard
me so why don’t you answer my question?”

“Because not
everything’s about you. How’s that for an answer.”

Crystal was
stunned. He was angry with her and she didn’t know why. If anyone had a right
to that feeling, it was her. “Why are you so–
”

“I’m making onion
gravy as well. Do you want a beer? Oh, sorry, I forgot Princess Crystal doesn’t
drink beer. I have wine, will that do?”

He was behaving
like a complete bastard, and she
was already fed up
with his insults. Halfway to the door the sound of his raised voice calling her
name stopped her.

When she turned to
look at him, he held her gaze for a few seconds. During those brief moments,
anger distorted his features into that of a stranger. Before she could fully
grasp what was happening, his expression changed to one of pleasantness, and a
recognizable Shane returned.

Crystal followed
his movements as he opened a bottle of red wine and poured her a glass.

“Here ya go.” He
held out the glass and waited. It was almost as though he was daring her to
come closer and accept the wine from his hand.

“I’ve poured it,
so you might as well drink it.”

She remained
motionless.

“Okay, I’ll just
leave it here.”

Following through,
he set the glass on the counter and pushed it towards her. He then took a step
back and watched her so closely she felt a shiver run down her spine.

“Our meal’s nearly
ready so why don’t you take a seat.”

With tentative
steps, she moved to the counter and sat down. Once she had pulled the glass
towards her, Shane resumed cooking. But the evidence of his tension remained in
the stiffness of his posture.

The aromas that
emanated from the meal he prepared brought back memories she hadn’t experienced
in years. She especially loved the smell of fried onions with just a hint of
apple cider vinegar running through it. The plate he placed before her made her
mouth water. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast and she was starving.

“Go on then, eat
up.”

“This looks
delicious but is it safe?”

“Don’t tempt me,
Crys, there’s a good girl.”

“That’s not
funny.”

“That’s okay then
because I wasn’t trying to be bloody amusing.”

They ate mostly in
silence, it was only when she had finished every morsel that Crystal became
aware that he was watching her.

“Thank you for the
meal, it was delicious,” she offered praise with a small smile.

He didn’t return
her smile. The brooding look was back in his eyes.

“You cooked, so
I’ll clean up.” Before she had finished speaking, she was already carrying out
her suggestion.

Crystal washed,
scrubbed and dried everything she could lay her hands on. When she was
finished, she knew she could no longer ignore him. She didn’t know for sure,
but it felt as though he had watched her every move.

“You did a good
job, Crys,” Shane said rising from his seat when she turned to face him. “Can’t
figure out why you didn’t use the dishwasher, though.”

“You bloody shit,
you could have said something before!”

His only reaction
to her name calling was a snort as he walked out of the kitchen.

Crystal wanted to
chase after him and let rip, but she didn’t. She allowed him to go, needing
time alone to compose herself.

Giving serious
consideration to locking herself in her room she dismissed it. The big empty
house gave her the creeps. It was still only 7:00 pm and Shane’s company was
preferable to hours of solitude.

With her feet
encased in thick socks, Crystal made hardly a sound as she walked towards the
sitting room. Standing in the doorway unobserved, she saw him seated on a sofa
before a roaring fire. His leg was elevated while he massaged his thigh.
Recalling reports of his accident and the injury he’d sustained, she approached
him, concerned that he was in pain.

“May I get you
something?”

Shane stared at
her for a few moments and then shook his head. “Nah, I’m good. Why don’t you
join me?”

She hesitated. He
saw it and smiled. Unwilling to have him laugh at her again, she did as he
asked. Seated beside him, her gaze followed his movements as his hand continued
to move over his leg.

“Are you still in
a lot of pain?”

“No, not really.
Sometimes I just get a tightening feeling. If I rub it, it normally disappears
after a few minutes.”

“I nearly died
when I saw your crash,” Crystal blurted out. She hadn’t meant to put it in
quite that way, but it was how she had felt at the time.

“Nah, that would
be me, I nearly died,
twice
.”

“I’m sorry. I
wouldn’t wish that for you. I’m so proud of you. Of everything you’ve done, I
mean, what you’ve achieved…”

“Thank you.”

His response was
so dispassionate Crystal wished she’d said nothing.

“May I ask you
something?” Although he posed a question, Shane didn’t wait for her agreement.
“What did I do that was so wrong?”

“I don’t know what
you mean.”

“Are you still
with him?”

“Who… what are you
talking about?”

“Owen. He’s the
man I saw you with. I remembered him from your party. Are you two still
together? You’re not wearing a ring, but that doesn’t mean anything these
days.”

“Owen is just a
friend. He’s like a brother to me.”

“If you say so
then I suppose I have to take your word for it.”

“I don’t know what
you’re talking about!”

“It’s been five
years, Crys. The least you could be is honest with me because I know what I
saw.”

“I’m not going to
keep repeating myself. Whatever you
think
you saw, you were mistaken!”

“Whatever you say,
Crys.”

“I don’t have to
listen to this–”

Before she knew
what was happening, Shane had taken hold of her arms and was shaking her. She
had forgotten how strong he was. His sudden movement was the only reminder she
needed.

“Yes, you do. I
was the one laying in the hospital so the least you can do is stop fucking
lying to me!” He shouted directly in her face.

“Stop it!”

“I loved you so
much, Crys. It nearly killed me when I saw you with that man. And now you’re
lying to me—again!”

“I’m not a liar,
stop calling me that!”

She was close to
losing her temper, but she could see he believed what he was saying. There must
be an explanation. She just had to focus. But it was difficult. Her emotions
were too raw. She hadn’t felt this way for nearly five years and she hated it.
Before she knew it, tears gathered in her eyes.

“I didn’t mean to
make you cry,” Shane whispered as he pulled her close to his body.

Crystal stiffened.
She wanted to pull away, but being in his arms flooded her with memories. He
felt wonderful. He was all hard muscle and hot flesh. Her gaze landed on his
beard. Curious, she reached up and ran inquisitive fingers over his cheek. The
thick black hair was actually soft to the touch. She hadn’t expected that.

“Keep touching me
like that and you’re going to have to deal with the fallout.”

Crystal looked at
the hand that only moments before had been stroking him. Coming to her senses,
she tried to pull away. Shane captured her fingers and pressed her palm against
his cheek.

“Are you married,
Crys?”

“No.”

“Are you with
someone?”

“Shane–”

“Answer me!”

“No, I’m not with
anyone.”

“Who was the man I
saw you with at the restaurant?”

“You did see me?”

“I just said so
didn’t I? Who was he?”

“He was a date my
mother set up for me.”

“So, Gwendolyn’s
still meddling—nothing new there, then.”

“What do you mean
by that?”

“I’m not sure, but
it’s
way past time I found out,” Shane paused and
smiled.

This was the first
genuine smile she had received from him. That it came in the wake of the
mention of her mother, caused her uncertainty to intensify. “What are you
smiling about?”

“I’m enjoying the
way you’re petting me,” Shane replied all indication of his amusement gone.

He was right. She
had been completely unaware of what she had been doing. While she’d been
rubbing his face, her other hand had been busy moving back and forth across his
chest. Once the realization hit, Crystal tried to pull away but he wouldn’t let
her. When she finally stopped moving, her palm rested over his thudding heart.

“Did you miss me
at all?”

“This isn’t a good
idea, Shane.”

“
This
can
be anything we want it to be,” Shane murmured as he pulled her in. “We can keep
talking if that’s what you want. But by the way you keep staring at my mouth, I
think you have something else on your mind.”

Crystal knew she
should stop him, or more importantly—herself. But she didn’t want to. She
wanted to feel his arms wrapped around her again. She had missed the sensation.
She wanted to breathe him in and reminisce about a time when everything had
been perfect between them. The last time they had been together they had parted
in anger. Then they’d lost each other.

She had loved him
so much back then. Crystal knew if she allowed it, rekindling all those old
feelings would be as easy as drawing in her next breath. Her mind jumped and a
disembodied voice spoke in her head.
Did you ever stop loving him?
Pushing
the thought aside, she refused to dwell on it.