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She stared at the bed once more, wracking her
brain, reaching for something more than the fuzzy memories of the
Hard Rock. Something more than Shane coming to her rescue.
Something that could tell her what happened after…

After the bar.

After they had come back to New
Waterford.

She avoided the bed and stared out the
window, her hands falling to her chest as a wave of hot and cold
rolled over her. Snow whipped by the glass and she knew they were
in the middle of one hell of a storm. The window panes shuddered
and she closed her eyes tightly.

Maybe this was just a dream. Maybe she hadn’t
run out on Gerald and left him at the altar. Maybe she’d gone
through with it and had just had way too much to drink at the
expensive reception. Maybe she’d danced until her feet could take
no more, twirling around the Country Club like a princess.

The dog barked once more, interrupting her
fantasies.

Yeah, and maybe she’d taken a trip to the
moon and back as well.

“Oh, Bobbi,” she whispered, “you’ve really
screwed up this time.”

A thought entered her head and she stumbled
across the room searching everywhere for her small clutch bag and
when she found it, she immediately dug inside, feeling a huge sense
of relief when her fingers closed over her cell phone. She whipped
it open and froze when she saw Gerald’s name come up. He’d called
her several times though the last one had come through just after
midnight.

She ignored the text icon—which showed nearly
twenty-five messages—and called her sister Billie.

Who picked up on the second ring.

“Holy hell, Bobbi, I’ve been waiting forever
for you to call. Are you alright?”

Bobbi swallowed and took more than a few
seconds to answer, unsure if she could even do so until she cleared
her throat. “I think so.”

Silence followed her words.

“Okay, you don’t sound like you’re about to
lose it or anything, which considering you spent the night with
Shane, is kind of surprising but…”

“I didn’t spend the night with Shane.”

Once more silence followed her words.

“
Okay
, but you’re with him right? He
told us that he had you and that you were drunk but would be
fine.”

Bobbi chose to ignore that comment and
instead focused on something else. “So, does everyone hate me?”

A pause.

“Well, not everyone. I still love you.”

Bobbi couldn’t even muster a half smile at
that. “I don’t know where to start. What to say. Gerald must be
livid, and Dad,” the knot in her throat became too much and she had
to work extra hard to clear it. “How is he?”

“He’s fine, Bobbi. Don’t worry about us.
Don’t worry about anyone other than yourself right now.”

A pause.

“So, how did you and Shane end up together?”
Billie asked quietly.

“I don’t know.”

“What?”

“I don’t know,” she repeated. “After Gramps
took me home I had to get away so I hopped into my car and drove.”
She sighed and glanced out the window again. “I can’t believe Shane
and I both ended up at the Hard Rock over in Chesterfield.”

“That dive? Really? So what happened after
you got to Shane’s?”

Bobbi squeezed her eyes shut and blocked out
the bed. The big ass bed with the tangled sheets. “I don’t know. I
mean, I don’t think anything happened.”

“You don’t think? You can’t remember?”

She shook her head and whispered, “No.””

“Well, Shane would never take advantage of
you. He’s not that guy.”

“It’s not Shane I’m worried about. I wasn’t
exactly myself last night and when I get that way sometimes things
tend to...well, get out of control and I do stupid things.”

“Like sleeping with the man you’re still in
love with?”

Shock held Bobbi’s tongue and she inhaled
sharply, wincing as the pain inside her head exploded once
more.

“How can you say…” She needed to catch her
breath. “Why would you say that?” she sputtered. “I haven’t been
involved with Shane for years and in case you’ve forgotten, the man
is an ex-con. In what world would I ever get involved with someone
who’s been in jail?” She groaned as another shot of pain rifled
across her forehead. “Besides, I’m engaged! Why the hell would
I…”

Bobbi’s knees were shaking so hard they
almost gave out.
Fuck
. How could she still be engaged when
she’d…

“You walked out on your wedding, Bobbi. So,
tell me again that you have no feelings for Shane.”

“Look,” she exhaled. “I just had a case of
the jitters. There’s no way Shane factored in on any of what went
down yesterday.”

“Uh huh. You know what I think?”

Now irritated, Bobbi’s tone sharpened. “No, I
don’t want to know what you think.”

“I think that the only reason you got engaged
in the first place, is because Shane came back home. And—”

“Shut-up, Billie.”

“And I think that the reason you hurried your
engagement along and decided to get married so quickly, was because
of—”

“Billie,” she warned.

“Shane. I think you had your version of a
perfect life all mapped out and then he came home and screwed it up
because the two of you have still have feelings for each
other.”

“Oh my god, you’ve seriously lost it. Are you
drunk?” Bobbi asked harshly.

“Nope. Apparently that was you last night. I
feel pretty damn good if you wanna know the truth.”

“Where are you?” Bobbi asked, an abrupt
change of subject, but a smart move when she felt cornered.

“Home, with Dad and Gramps. Why?”

“Oh, I thought you’d be at Logan’s.”

“No, he had a family thing this morning that
he couldn’t get out of and I didn’t want to leave Gramps and Dad
alone.”

“Where’s Betty?”

“Who knows? After the reception she left
with—”

“Reception? They went ahead with it?”

“Yeah, they did which I thought was really
nice of Gerry. And can I just say how much the menu rocked? Like,
the scallops were divine and those little stuffed mushroom
thingies? Heck I don’t know what they were stuffed with but—”

“How’s Gerald?” she interrupted, her lips
tight, her face flushed. Would he ever forgive her?

She heard Billie sigh. “Well, for a guy who
was stood up on his wedding day and left at the altar, he seems
sorta, well….”

“Billie, just say it.”

“He’s devastated. How did you think he would
feel?”

Tears sprang to Bobbi’s eyes. How had she let
this happen? How could she do this to the man she had pledged to
love?

The man she
did
love. So what if it
wasn’t the mad, passionate sort of thing she’d experienced in the
past.
With Shane
. That kind of love had nearly destroyed
her.

“Shit,” she said hoarsely. “What have I
done?”

But there was no quick reply of advice. No
words to make her feel better. And as her eyes strayed to the bed
once more, her gut rolled and she thought she was going to be sick.
Had she slept with Shane last night? Would she be that stupid?

I just walked out on the man who could
have given me everything and I’m asking myself if I’m stupid or
not
?

“What are you going to do?” Billie prodded
gently.

Bobbi took a moment. She forced her stomach
to settle and tucked her wild hair behind her ears. She licked her
dry lips and shrugged. “I have no idea. I have to make things right
with Gerald.”

“And that’s what you want.”

“Yes,” she exhaled. “It’s what I want.”

But I have to find Shane first
.

Carefully she let herself out of the bedroom
and stepped into an open concept loft. Shane rented the old
carriage house on Logan Forest’s property—she knew this—but Bobbi
was surprised at how warm and welcoming the place was. Large
windows let in an abundance of natural light, emphasizing the warm
oak floors, and dark leather furniture.

A large table to the right caught her
attention and her fingers trailed over it as she walked by. It
looked like teak, maybe? But the design was simple. Sturdy.

And expensive looking.

Her brow furled. How in the hell was Shane
able to afford something like this? It must have cost a small
fortune. As far as she knew he’d never made amends with his father,
so she was fairly certain Shane’s dad wasn’t funneling Gallagher
family money into his home.

She glanced around the large, open, space
once more, taking in the muted palette of moss green, rich oak and
black. It was masculine and yet elegant. Everything about the room
was so well put together that she had to wonder…was Shane involved
with someone? Was this the work of a woman’s touch?

Pia barked twice and Bobbi jumped, her heart
taking off like a rocket as she whirled around—a little too
fast—and she clutched her head and groaned.

Where was Shane?

She spied the dog near the stairs and watched
the little fireball disappear down them and it was then that she
realized he must be below. For a few seconds she was frozen in her
spot, but then she gave herself a mental shake down and forced
herself to move.

“Just get it over with,” she muttered.

Bobbi made her way over to the stairs and
peered down. Her feet were still bare and she wrinkled her toes
against the cool floor boards, as she inhaled a host of scents that
seemed out of place. Wood. Oils. Sharp and metallic scents.

Carefully she made her way down, though she
hesitated on the last step, her heart in her chest, her skin cold
and clammy.

For one brief moment she thought of running
back upstairs. Of hiding beneath the tangled mess of blankets on
the bed. Of closing her eyes and doing her best to forget
everything that had happened over the last twenty-four hours.

But then the damn dog appeared at her feet
and outed her with one yelp. Before she lost her nerve, Bobbi
stepped off and turned the corner.

She could say that her heart nearly fell out
of her chest because she was damn surprised at what she found—it
looked like a freaking furniture store, and the paintings…the
paintings were incredible. Vivid. Bleak. Raw.

But, they only held her attention for a
moment because her hungry eyes found Shane seconds later and her
entire body felt as if it had been dipped in hot, electric,
water.

He was bent over a long piece of wood,
running a sander over the dark lines. Slowly. Back and forth. The
muscles in his arms and shoulders drew her attention—pretty hard
not to, when he wore nothing but a pair of faded jeans that hung
dangerously low on his hips. His feet were bare and as her gaze
traveled up his back, she rested her eyes on the intricate tattoo
that adorned the back of his left shoulder.

It was new and she wondered if he still had
the one
. That special one on his left bicep. A sheen of
sweat covered his skin as he worked the sander in slow, methodic
strokes.

He turned slightly, his profile, way too damn
intoxicating, the strong lines of his nose, his jaw and chin, too
achingly familiar. His hair, always longer than the norm, touched
the tops of his shoulders, the thick coffee colored waves, shining
from the light above him.

An image of her hands buried in his hair as
he nuzzled her breasts flashed before her eyes and Bobbi’s breath
caught in the back of her throat.

Ear buds were in place and for the moment he
didn’t know she was there. Bobbi’s hand crept up behind her right
ear, to the place that had always belonged to him, to the mark he’d
put there—the one that matched his—and something inside her twisted
so painfully she gasped.

The dog barked.

Shane glanced up.

And she was lost.

For a few seconds the only sound in his work
room was Pia’s mad barking. The little mutt barked at Bobbi and
then ran back to Shane, her excited yelps growing in intensity
until with one look, and a quick scratch behind the ears, she
quieted.

Shane took a second, not only to remove the
ear buds but to make sure not one trace of emotion showed on his
face. Seeing Bobbi like that, half naked and wearing his T-shirt,
did all sorts of things to him that he didn’t want to think about
or dwell on. Hell, it had been bad enough the night before when
he’d struggled to get her out of her damn wedding dress and into
the stupid shirt.

When she wasn’t giggling like a crazy lady,
she was rubbing that hot body wherever she could touch. It had
taken everything in Shane to
not
take what she was offering,
and in fact, not even twenty minutes in a cold shower had offered
much relief.

Her hair was still a mess, the thick dark
strands wild and crazy—the total opposite to the sleek look she’d
been sporting since he’d been back in town. There were shadows
beneath her eyes though, dark smudges that told of a night without
much sleep and her skin was pale.

Pia barked once more and Bobbi winced—no
doubt because he knew she was suffering from one hell of a
hangover.

“Thought you’d be in bed for hours yet,” he
said, watching her closely as she took a step forward.

She cleared her throat and shook her head,
though her eyes left him and she turned in a semi-circle, her gaze
on the walls.

“You still paint,” she said softly.

Shane followed her gaze and nodded, his lips
tight, a frown in place. “Yep.” He sure as hell wasn’t in the mood
for a walk down memory lane. And to be honest, he was questioning
his decision to bring her back here in the first place. What had he
been thinking? He should have left her with her family and
Dooley.

Pia barked once more. Seemed as if the dog
agreed too.

He shoved his hands into the front pockets of
his jeans and watched her cross the room to stand in front of a
painting he’d done not long after he’d come back to New Waterford.
He had created it from memory, with the aid of a few sketches he’d
brought back with him.