Her Accidental Boyfriend(20)

“Don’t you read Cascade’s blog?” She let go of her hair. “Anyway, I just met that Brett dude. What’s his deal? He was asking me all sorts of questions about the two of you.”

“What did you tell him?”

“Don’t worry. Only good things.” She smiled. “He rubs me the wrong way. He’s nice, but I could tell it was just to get me to talk. When I noticed him eyeing Kagan a little too closely, I might have gone a little overboard on your virtues. Which, let me tell you, wasn’t easy.” She winked. “You better watch your back. I think he wants to be more than Kagan’s friend.”

“Yeah,” was all Shane could say, since a weird emotion had clogged the back of his throat. When Kagan went back to New York, Brett would be waiting for her. The guy knew a good thing when he found it.

As if he’d heard Shane’s thoughts, Brett slid off his barstool and walked toward them with a confident stride. It was about damn time he got up and left.

“Thought I’d come over and say good night. It was nice meeting you, Erin.”

“You too,” she lied. Shane could always tell when she was full of it. It had driven her crazy when she was younger and he and Luke would call her on her B.S.

“Shane.”

“Brett.”

Brett strode away but grabbed Kagan on his way out. The hair on the back of Shane’s neck bristled when Brett left his hand on her arm, and her eyes appeared to soften at whatever he was saying.

It didn’t matter. What she might still feel for him shouldn’t matter. Shane had promised Kagan a little while. And after that it wouldn’t be long before she was on a plane back to New York.

But then Brett walked out of the bar and Shane met and held Kagan’s regard, her brilliant green eyes like beacons to something better. Something worth having and keeping.

He flashed her a friendly closed-mouth smile, retiring his drop-your-panties grin for the next week or two. He wouldn’t cross the line with her, because with the thought that just went through his head, he might not recover when she left.

“So I know you’re a workaholic, but Tuesday we’re taking a group kayaking out to Sandpiper for some hiking and snorkeling and stuff. You should come,” Erin said.

“Sounds fun. I’ll check with Kagan.” I’ll check with Kagan? Since when did he hesitate to jump on board with an outdoor excursion? Erin was the Assistant Director of Activities at Cascade Outback Adventure and he often joined in on their day trips. He hadn’t been to the small island off the coast off Cascade in too damn long. And after endless hours on the job these past few months, he craved being outside and using his muscles until they burned.

“You should surprise her. Girls love to be surprised.”

“Do they now?” He usually ran with spontaneous, but surprise could work too. He found Kagan again. She was clearing glasses off an empty table. She looked over her shoulder right at him.

“Yep.” Erin followed his gaze. “Okay, seriously? You guys need to get out of here before all your sexed up glances become contagious. Jesus.”

Shane checked the time on his watch. Eleven forty-five. Fifteen minutes till closing, but the pub still held a good amount of people.

“Where’d your date go?” he asked.

“I didn’t have a date. That was just some guy who wanted to buy me drinks and get in my pants. So not happening.” She sniffed the air. “Hey, do you smell that?”

Yeah, he did. It smelled like something was burning. He caught the back of Kagan as she disappeared into the kitchen. Was that smoke wafting into the bar? A second later the fire alarm sounded and he flew out of his chair.

“Get out of here,” he said to Erin.

“What?”

He pulled her up from her chair. “Go. I think there’s a fire.”

Everything after that happened in a whirlwind. Shane pulled Milt away from the entrance to the kitchen. “I’ve got this. You get your customers out of here safely.” Behind him, Shane could hear the panic of those left in the bar. The sound of chairs toppling, feet shuffling. His heartbeat thundered in his ears as he pushed through the swinging door.

“Kagan!” Smoke choked him and burned his eyes. Heat blasted him like he’d walked into a furnace. Flames lit up the corner of the room.

“Over here!” She coughed and kept coughing, drawing him to her position.

He found her kneeling behind Barney. The large happy-go-lucky chef was lying on his back. Kagan had her arms under him, hands clasped at his chest.

“I think he hit his head and got knocked out,” she said.

“Let me.”

She moved out of the way and Shane got a good grip on him. He had to weigh near two-fifty. Blood stained the side of his temple, but he was still breathing.