Page 25 of Turn Up The Heat

Bellamy was standing, sweet as could be, maybe ten feet from them. At about ten feet, four inches—and much too close, in Shane’s opinion—stood none other than Marcus Lawrenson. From the look of things, the old cheese bag was laying it on as thick as molasses in the winter, too, leaning in toward Bellamy as she spoke.

Damn it, Shane knew coming here had been a bad idea. A classy girl like her belonged with the ski instructor set, anyway. He turned to give Jackson a sorry excuse and cut a path directly to his recliner. If he was lucky, he’d be able to catch the second half of the game before falling asleep in the thing.

But then the look on Bellamy’s face registered in his brain. Her tight, awkward smile seemed forced, and so at odds with the one she’d given him at the grocery store. Shane’s legs did that independent-thinking thing again, refusing to move while he stared at her. He watched as her eyes skirted the crowd, darting toward the resort whenever Marcus wasn’t paying attention.

She was looking for a lifeline.

“You okay, man?” Jackson waved his hand in front of Shane’s face, bringing him back to earth.

Shane nodded, crafting an idea in his head. “Yeah, sorry. Listen, I left my gloves in the truck. I’m just going to run and grab them.” He made a show of rubbing his bare hands together and blowing into them, even though they weren’t really that cold. This was either going to work like a charm or it was going to get him cussed out. Shane took one last look in Bellamy’s direction.

If she cussed him out, it might be worth it.

“Couple of Irish coffees and you won’t feel a thing,” Jackson said with a laugh. “We’re on the other side, over by the west gate. Just come over on your way back.”

“Right. You got it.”

His feet were moving toward Bellamy before the word was all the way out.

* * *

“Bell-a-meeee,”Marcus sing-songed, and for the first time ever, Bellamy hated the sound of her own name. “I can’t believe you didn’t come down for a lesson today. The powder was as good as the view,” he continued, his tone sickly sweet as he leaned in close enough for her to smell the breath mint that was failing to cover up whatever he’d eaten for dinner.

“The day must have gotten away from me, I guess.” Where the hell were Holly and Jenna? This was going to turn into a code red, Bellamy could feel it. Somebody should really invent a best friend panic button for these kinds of situations. She threw one last desperate glance through the crowd while Marcus slicked back his hair with a hand.

Nope. Nothing.

“Well, we can’t let that happen again.” Marcus arched a brow at her in a way that made her want to bathe in Clorox, but then she felt a tiny pang of remorse. He wasn’t hurting anything, although she was a little worried about getting caught in the creep shrapnel if things went downhill. Still. For now, maybe there was a way out of this that didn’t involve running or screaming.

“Listen, Marcus, I, ah, should probably tell you. I’m waiting for…somebody.” Bellamy edged backward to regain her personal space and waited, hoping he’d jump to the wrong conclusion and get the not-interested vibe she was broadcasting on all channels. Never mind that “somebody” was either Jenna or Holly, or better yet, both.

“The more, the merrier, sweetheart,” he cooed, her implication going unnoticed.

Bellamy groaned an inward curse. She should’ve known better than to expect a logic leap from a guy who used his head primarily as a hat rack.

Marcus leaned in again, not seeming to notice that she took a step backward as he did. His voice lowered as he shuttered his lids to look at her. “Your girlfriends are always welcome to join us, if you know what I mean.”

Annnnnd just like that, Bellamy had reached her limit. “You know what, I—”

Before she could even finish her sentence, Shane sauntered up and wrapped his arm around her, planting a kiss right on her cheek just as easy as you please.

“Hey, babe. Sorry I’m late. Parking was a nightmare.” His dark eyes flew to Marcus for a split second before returning to hers with an almost imperceptible nod.

Holy shit. The fake boyfriend routine was the oldest trick in the book.

Shane was bailing her out.

“Oh, I’m so glad you made it,” Bellamy gushed, playing it up by snuggling under the arm he’d left around her. “Shane, this is Marcus. He was just keeping me company while I waited for you.”

Marcus was too busy picking his jaw up from the ground to do anything other than stammer. “Oh, uh, yeah. We know each other. Hey, Shane.”

“Marcus. Thanks for looking after my girl while I parked my truck.” His dark eyes flashed over Marcus’s, glinting in the orange glow of the fire light.

Wow, Bellamy thought. Shane was good. He really had the whole protective boyfriend act down cold.

“Bellamy, you, ah, didn’t mention that you…knew Shane,” Marcus tsked weakly.

“We only just met recently, but it’s been quite the whirlwind.” Okay, at least that was the truth.

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