Chapter Thirty-Four

Shane carried in a change of clothes and his toiletries, walking past Larry at his open door. “Thanks.”

“All I’ve got is the couch.”

“That’s all I need.”

“How about a beer, too?”

They sipped their beers, sitting on the long couch that would later be made up as Shane’s bed.

“My apartment is ready early.” Shane took a swig. “They said I can move in as early as next Wednesday.”

“Stay as long as you need, Irish. I feel like I’m partly responsible. So what happened anyway? Did the real girlfriend confront the pretend one?”

He groaned. “Please stop referring to them that way. Dana is the one who works in Milan.”

“She’s hot.”

“And Kit’s the one I’m renting a room from. Or at least I was.”

“She’s really hot, too.” He whistled low. “Smoking.”

He flashed him a look. “Seriously? Is that fireman talk? Describing women in terms of fire?”

Larry shrugged. “Ha, funny. But I couldn’t help noticing, bro. I have eyes.”

He shook his head and took another swig of his beer. “So in a nutshell, Dana and I are through. We’ve been over, talked about it via FaceTime, but now we had the chance to say goodbye in person.”

“She came all the way here from Europe to tell you that?”

“No. She’s extending her time in Milan and is renting out her place and had some things to take care of. But as far as she and I are concerned, like I said, she and I already had a conversation about going in separate ways. But I think she got worked up about my moving on and took the chance to talk face-to-face. We ended on a good note, though.”

“Is she one of those types who doesn’t want you but doesn’t want anybody else to have you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. Dana’s got a hell of an ego, but she’s a smart lady. She’s got a lot going on, and she’s thinking of making Italy a permanent thing.”

“And where does the other one, um, Kit, fall into this?”

“I’m in love with her.”

“You’re what?”

“You heard me. I’ve fallen for her like a ton of bricks.”

“How does she feel?”

“She hates me.”

Larry shook his head. “We’re going to have to get some more beer.”

****

Kit paced through the rooms of her house while her mind spun with all the craziness that she’d lived since the day Shane Dugan showed up.

Rylee had told her to stay calm and hear Shane out when he came to explain. Well, she wasn’t in the mood for any explanations. She’d seen what she’d seen. She was so pissed at him she could spit, but she was angrier with herself for taking a chance on him.

Damn Hop and his advice, too. Believe and you’ll achieve. Such bullshit. Words like that worked when you were rock climbing or whatever spelunking was, but it wasn’t meant for matters of the heart. At least not her heart. Her one overworked muscle. She was going to give it a rest, a good long one. A decade or two at least.

A tear slipped from her eye, and she swatted it. Damn him. Damn that fireman with his adorableness. She should have been smarter. But she’d be smarter now.

Now she had to face the wedding and telling everyone she and that man were over. Her mother would be upset, but she’d act as if it was all her idea to break up with the guy. It would be different from The Incident of last Christmas Eve. The world at large knew Brian had sideswiped her. Now at least, she could tell whatever tale about her breakup she wanted. There were no witnesses, and what was one more lie?