Page 31 of Sharing Shane

Veronica frowned. “Is there a problem?”

“Yeah, you could say that.” He dragged a hand through his hair and grimaced, clearly uncomfortable. “Derek’s here.”

“Derek’s here.” It took a moment for the words to sink in. “Derek’s here?”

Shane nodded, his mouth grim. “The desk clerk said he’s kicking up a fuss, demanding to be shown to your room, insisting he’s on the reservation.”

“He’s not,” she said numbly. “I changed it.”

“Which is why they’re not giving him any information,” he said. “They want to know if you’ll come up and talk to him.”

“Oh, hell.” She sat back with a groan and stared up into the sky. “I don’t want to do that.”

“Okay, I’ll tell them.”

“Wait.” She took one more moment to look at the sky—blue, cloudless, perfect—then back at Shane. “I’ll go.”

“You don’t have to,” he told her.

“Yeah, but maybe I can keep things from escalating.” She worked up a smile and pushed to her feet. “If I’m not back in an hour, send out a search party.”

Wyatt pushed back from the table and stood. “Oh, we’re coming with you.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Yes, we do,” Shane said and her startled gaze flew to his. He stared back unblinking, his face like a thundercloud.

“Really, it’s ok. Stay and finish your lunch.”

“We’re going,” he told her and turned back to the cottage. “I’m getting my shoes.”

Veronica stared after him, completely nonplussed, then looked at Wyatt.

He shrugged. “He’s getting his shoes.”

Five

The walk from the cottage to the main hotel seemed to take forever, but in reality, it only took ten minutes. Veronica chatted amiably with Wyatt along the way about nothing in particular—her job, his job, the fact that Delia was a loose cannon and would surely, at some point, cause a great big scandal somewhere, likely involving huge quantities of marijuana and a rescue squad. Shane was silent, apparently content to let Wyatt carry the conversation.

By the time they approached the wide front doors of the hotel lobby, Veronica was feeling almost relaxed. Then they pulled open the doors and heard the shouting.

“I demand to be taken to my room immediately. This delay is unacceptable. I want to speak to a manager.”

“Oh, for God’s sake,” Veronica muttered. The check-in desk was around the corner, so she couldn’t see Derek, but she could hear him, along with everyone else within a hundred feet.

“He sounds like a prize,” Wyatt commented, and Shane grunted in agreement.

“I told you, I’ve called my fiancé, but she isn’t answering her cell phone. The reception here is terrible.”

“Fiancé?” Shane asked.

Veronica glanced up at him. “No,” she said firmly and saw a hint of amusement creep into his dark eyes.

“How do you want to do this?” Wyatt asked.

Veronica wrinkled her nose. “He’s not going to go away unless I make it clear that I don’t want him here.”

“Honey, if uninviting him from this trip didn’t convince him, I’m not sure what will.”

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