Page 12 of Hidden Resolution (Stonebrooke #2)

S honda wandered the halls until she stumbled across Dr. Montgomery. In the back of her mind, she registered he was high on the yumminess scale. Erica would appreciate hearing her opinion when she was awake and lucid. She always knew how to admire a hot guy.

After thanking him for his help, Shonda followed his directions to Erica’s room. Pushing through the door, she came upon Zack perched on the bed, waving a bag of donuts under Erica’s nose while they grinned like fools at each other.

Their undeniable love was a boxer’s jab to the chin, and she felt out of place, the intruder in her best friend’s life. She almost left them to their privacy, but her need to connect with Erica propelled her closer.

“Erica?”

“Well, if it isn’t my long-lost friend. You don’t call. You don’t write,” Erica joked tearfully.

The emotions were catching, and Shonda’s eyes filled, too.

“Can I hug you?” she croaked.

“Yes, if you’re careful of my right side.”

As they embraced gently, Zack offered up a quick excuse and left them to reconnect.

The next thirty minutes were all Erica and what had happened, how she was feeling, and everything else Shonda had missed.

But the conversational table turned, and vulnerability gripped her.

“So, where the hell have you been? I thought you were only going for a week?” Erica asked.

“Ten days,” Shonda corrected with a weak smile.

“Okay, ten days. It’s been fourteen. You couldn’t shoot me a text to say you were still alive?”

“I’m sorry, E. I met someone. He’s amazing.”

“I sense a but coming on. What’s up?”

Leave it to Erica to zero in. Maybe it was her writer brain always scanning people for emotional nuances. Or maybe it was just because they’d known each other forever.

“He’s a player. I’m crazy about him, but I can’t say he didn’t clarify from the get-go he wanted nothing more than a holiday fling.”

“So, you’re pining away for a guy you met in the islands? It should help that you’re home, right?”

“It should,” Shonda agreed glumly.

“But it doesn’t,” Erica concluded, reading her like a book.

“He lives in Stonebrooke.”

“You’re shitting me!”

“No. And should I mention he is the brother of your new boyfriend?”

“What? Which one?”

“Mason,” Shonda said.

“Ah.”

“‘Ah’? What do you mean by ‘ah’?” Shonda demanded hotly. She’d jumped up to pace, then stopped cold at the foot of the bed, scowling. “What do you know?”

“Don’t you remember him from school? He was actually the most serious one of all the Sharp brothers. If I recall correctly, he was dating Melanie Simms,” Erica explained.

Shonda blinked, trying to summon the face to match the name. “Melanie Simms? You mean the girl who died in the car accident up by Makeout Point? But wasn’t she there with Tommy Travers?”

“Yep. Can you imagine discovering your one true love was cheating on you, because she died in a wreck with another guy?” Erica asked with an eye flare and grimace.

“Zack told me that, after finding out, Mason developed a devil-may-care attitude. The only thing he doesn’t play at is business.

Supposedly, he is phenomenal at marketing. ”

The air whooshed from Shonda’s lungs. The sinking feeling she’d been ignoring all morning returned with a vengeance.

Mason would never love her. He wouldn’t let himself be vulnerable to hurt again. The certainty attached to her conclusion was inescapable.

Erica reached out and gripped her hand, anchoring her. No words were necessary. They never were. Their friendship had always operated on an unspoken frequency, similar to twins. They knew when to give space, when to circle the wagons, and when to simply sit in silence, absorbing situational shock.

“Are you planning to stay with me?” Shonda asked after clearing the lump from her throat.

Erica turned to the window, displaying a flicker of vulnerability before she could mask it.

“It’s like that, huh?” Although amused by the sudden shyness, she offered Erica quiet understanding.

“Like what?”

She snorted. “Don’t try to pretend with me. I know you better than I know myself. You’re the queen of avoidance if you don’t want to answer.”

Erica sighed, tossed her a helpless look, and then leaned forward to ensure the door was closed.

“I’m completely and hopelessly in love with Zack,” she admitted. “I should move out, I know that, but I want to stay.”

Shonda arched a brow. “Do you think it’s wise? How does he feel about you?”

But really, who was she to judge, especially when her own situation was a mess?

“That’s just it. I’m not sure. The way he acts toward me, how caring he can be, how protective, leads me to believe he sees me as more than a convenient lay.”

“I suspected, but ohmygod! You’ve been sleeping with him? With Zack Sharp? Mr. All-Star Jock? You?” Shonda’s voice climbed higher with every syllable, reaching a screech and triggering Zack’s alarm bells. He burst through the door, his expression full of panic.

Any man charging into a room without knowing the threat and sans a weapon earned major points.

When he was assured they were safe, he swiped the remaining half of Erica’s donut, blithely dropped a kiss on her mouth, and saluted Shonda on his way out.

Mouth twitching to suppress her amusement, Shonda beat a hasty retreat. A promised visit, a quick hug, and she was gone, lighter in spirit than she had been.

Until she walked straight into the tail end of a conversation not meant for her ears.

Outside the door, she couldn’t help but overhear the brothers’ voices. She debated entering, not wanting to interrupt what sounded like a serious conversation.

“Should I be concerned?” Mason was asking.

“I don’t know. You tell me. What’s going on there?” Zack demanded.

“Nothing,” Mason snapped. “Jesus. First Dane, now you. It’s called a private life for a reason.”

“Don’t break her heart, man. I don’t need the fallout. I have enough shit on my plate right now,” Zack warned.

“Look, she knew the score going in.” Mason’s caustic reply caused her heart to hammer painfully. “We met on the plane, had fucking mind-blowing sex, and parted company at the airport when we got home. No hearts were involved.”

“Bullshit. You’re looking everywhere but at me. If that’s the case, where were you these last three days?”

The slap of hands against his jeans expressed Mason’s frustration. “Fine, we may not have parted ways at the airport. I followed her home for another few nights together. That’s it.”

“That doesn’t explain why you’re both here together,” Dane interjected.

“Actually, I was sleeping off the aftereffects when you called. I met Shonda again in the parking lot,” Mason said. “I didn’t expect to see her again, but she came walking up at the same time we did.” To Zack, he said, “Dane was the one who picked me up this afternoon.”

Zack groaned. “Erica is going to hate you, and maybe me, because you’re an ass.”

“Her friend is an adult who knew the score,” Mason countered with attitude.

Shonda stepped into the doorway. The need to see Mason’s expression was overpowering. If she could burn his arrogant dismissal into her memory banks, maybe she could learn her lesson and move on. He didn’t notice her right away, which was fine. She intended to give him enough rope to hang himself.

“I’m not taking the rap for someone reading more into a casual fuck—” His face paled as he bit off his retort.

Both Zack and Dane pivoted in her direction.

Hot and cold flooded her body. The shock threatened to shut down her system, but the heat from her humiliation kept her alive and anchored in the moment.

She wasn’t embarrassed to be spoken about so rudely. No, that was on Mason. But mortification for being so blind to what an arrogant son of a bitch he was stained her cheeks and was harder to brush off.

“Idiot,” Dane growled before stalking out.

Head high and heart dead in her chest, Shonda walked woodenly to the chair she’d occupied earlier. “Excuse the interruption, fellas. I left my jacket here. Please, carry on.”

At least her voice was smooth and cool. Thank God for small favors.

“Shonda, please let me explain.” Mason shifted to block her exit. Right when he would’ve invaded her personal space, she stopped him with an outstretched arm.

“No need. I’m ‘an adult who knew the score,’” she said evenly, amazed at the calmness settling over her. “I promise you, I’m not reading our last two weeks as anything but your casual fuck. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be leaving.”

Zack, who Shonda considered the wiser of the brothers, left Mason to face the music. And Mason, who was as sharp as a pebble, didn’t know when to quit. “No. Please, you don’t understand.”

“Oh, I think I understand perfectly well. You’ve gone out of your way to tell me, and anyone who will listen, how casual our fuck was.” Yes, she was repeating herself, but who really gave a damn? Not her, and certainly not him. He’d have to possess a human heart to care. “Goodbye, Mason.”

He grabbed her arm as she passed. “Shonda, don’t.”

“If you don’t let go of my arm right this instant, I will scream this goddamn hospital down around your ears,” she threatened. “Let. Go.”

“Love, if you would just list?—”

“Don’t you ever call me ‘love’ again. It makes me sick .” She peeled his fingers from her arm and flung his hand away.

She held it together all the way home, but once the door was shut and locked, Shonda broke.

What was it about her that was so damn unlovable?

Her mother had never truly cared if she was alive, other than as a tool to control her father.

Her father cared about her to some degree.

Although for him, it would have been better had she been a boy.

Stupidly, she always dreamed of the day Luigi would storm her mother’s five-thousand-square-foot mansion and snatch her away to live with him.

He never did.

And Nolan only ever considered her a nuisance.

Over the years, not a single boyfriend had ever uttered the words “I love you.” Nope, she was the moron who always poured out her feelings, only to have guys run for the door before the final word left her mouth.

Erica was different, but now their relationship was tainted for Shonda, too. If she stayed with Zack—and it sure looked like she would—Shonda would constantly be reminded of this horrible time.

What a piss-poor judge of character she was! Her good-guy radar needed new parts. Perhaps she should do research on “How to pick the proper guy for your unlovable personality type.”

Her smartphone dinged.

Erica .

Of course, Zack must’ve tattled to her about what went down with Mason, and being the incredible friend she was, Erica was required to check on her. Girl code.

“Are you okay?”

“It’s all good. You concentrate on getting better. I’m fine.”

Shonda hoped her reply was convincing.

“Liar.”

Well, Erica wasn’t wrong, but she didn’t want it to get back to Mason that she was upset in the least.

“LOL. You only want something to take your mind off your boredom. I’ll bring more donuts tomorrow. Love ya. TTYS.”

“Love you, too. Remember, I like the lemon.”

Shonda snort-sobbed.

As if Erica would ever let her forget.

“I think I can remember after twenty-something years of friendship.”

“You must be okay, since you are your normal wiseass self.”

No, she was so far from it, it wasn’t funny. But Erica already had enough to deal with.