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.Truthfully, I had some of the same concerns as Michael at one point.You don’t need to apologize for anything.”“That’s not quite all there was to it.” Shannon folded and refolded the tissue in her hand.Maybe she ought to be mortified at the thought of admitting the crush she had on Drew, but now that it was gone, it didn’t seem to matter so much anymore.Or maybe she was just too depressed to care.She smiled faintly and made herself look him in the eye.“You know, I had quite the crush on you in high school.Along with fifty million other girls.”He looked a little surprised.“You did?”“Yes.All four years.And the truth is — ” Now her face did grow a little warmer.“For a long time after you came to work here, I thought I still did.But I think now it was more because I was still sort of mixed up about high school than anything else.No offense,” she added hastily.“None taken,” he said, and she could tell he was trying not to smile.“The thing is, Michael spotted it right away.” She grew somber again.“And in exchange for my help, he offered to sort of … mentor me.”“I see.”“I’m sorry.I guess it was a little shady.”Now he did smile.“Shady? I’ve seen a lot worse, Shannon.I am in politics, after all.”“You’re trying to make me feel better, aren’t you?”“I am.” He studied her more seriously.“So, somewhere along the way things changed, huh?”Shannon was quiet for a minute.She wiped her eyes again.“I feel like an idiot,” she said finally.“Why?”“Because … ” She shrugged helplessly, unable to get the words out.“Because you started to have feelings for Michael?” he suggested gently.She bit her lip and nodded.“I should have known better.”“We can’t help who we care about.”“But I should have known better than to think … ”“Think what?”She felt her breath hitch in her throat.“Never mind.I guess I just started to imagine something that wasn’t there.So, therefore,” she pointed at herself, “idiot.”“Shannon … ” Drew appeared to weigh his next words carefully.“I’m not sure if I should say this or not.”“Say what?”“Michael came to see me the night he left town.Only briefly, but he was different.”Shannon looked at him, confused at where he was going with this.“He said some things about our parents.And about you.God knows I’m not my brother’s biggest fan, but I think he actually meant what he said.” Drew ran a hand through his hair, frowning slightly.“What I’m trying to say is I suspect you may have had a bigger effect on him than you realize.”She looked away again.“I seriously doubt that.”Drew was silent for a long time.“You might be selling yourself a little short,” he said finally.He was making an admirable effort to cheer her up, so for his sake, she tried to smile.“Maybe.” She stood up.“I should get back to work.Thanks for the tissue.”“Why don’t you just call it a day? It’s nearly that time anyway.”“Thanks.Maybe I will.”“Hey, Shannon?”At the door, she turned around.“It’s a shame I didn’t know about your crush in high school.” He grinned boyishly at her.“That could have been interesting.”She smiled back.“Yeah, it could have.”And then she closed the door behind her.• • •Michael’s head throbbed from the noise in the bar.Noise was good.It meant there were lots of customers, which was always welcome news for a business owner like himself, but tonight it was more jarring than reassuring, and he felt a need to escape from it.Since getting back from his trip he had tried to throw himself into work as much as possible, thinking it would be the best medicine for him until his feelings for Shannon went away.Only problem was, those feelings weren’t cooperating.Behind the bar, he absently mixed a couple of drinks before realizing the voluptuous brunette on the other side of it had asked him a question.She was now frowning at him impatiently as she waited for a reply he was apparently late in giving.“Sorry,” he acknowledged with a curt smile.“What was that?”She leaned forward a bit, displaying a generous amount of cleavage for his benefit.“I said I’ll bet you probably know some great places around here where two people who wanted to be alone together could have some fun.” Her eyelashes fluttered coyly as her lips parted in a smile that was clearly an invitation.“What time are you off?”He turned away from the flesh she had out on display and focused again on the drinks.“Late.I’m closing up tonight.”“I can wait — ”“Afraid not,” he returned firmly, smiling a little to take some of the sting out of the rejection.“Thanks anyway.”Her eyes narrowed, and she stalked off toward the other end of the bar, muttering something he was pretty sure wasn’t very polite.Michael caught the eye of the other bartender on duty, Sammy.“Are you nuts?” Sammy mouthed at him, jerking his head in the direction of the departing brunette and raising his eyebrows.Michael just shrugged halfheartedly before gesturing that he was heading to the back room.Sammy nodded and leaned forward to take a drink order from a couple at the bar.The tiny back room was cramped and cluttered, but at least it offered some relief from the noise of the crowd.Michael closed the door behind him and sank wearily into a chair behind the desk covered with assorted papers and invoices.And the hometown newspaper Drew would probably be shocked to know he subscribed to.He rubbed his aching head and glanced at the article he had clipped out earlier that day.Kingston Youth Center Dedication Ceremony To Be Held Tomorrow.The headline seemed to cut through him every time he read it.Partly because it reminded him of his failure to change his brother’s mind, although he did his best to adopt Drew’s perspective on the matter, but mostly because it made him think of who would almost certainly be attending the ceremony.He averted his eyes from the article and stared into space.Would Shannon be there merely in a professional capacity, or would she be going as Drew’s date? He pictured her on his brother’s arm, smiling into Drew’s eyes, and his gut tightened.Was this what it was like to really want a woman? Was this what love songs were all written about? If so, it was awful.Love wasn’t bliss, it was misery.To want something so much and know it wasn’t yours to hold, to touch …For a moment his old instincts flared up again.He could have seduced her away from Drew if he really tried.Maybe he still could.No.He couldn’t.Maybe he could have not so long ago, but not now.Not to her.Michael abruptly crumpled the article and forced his attention to the waiting stack of invoices.• • •It was a good-sized crowd that was gathering on the grounds of the Kingston family estate.Townspeople, families, reporters — even a news camera, Shannon realized as she spotted it near the far side of the podium, its lens focused on the ceremonial ribbon stretched out before the entrance to the house.Drew had to be pleased by the amount of community interest in today’s ceremony [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]