Crystals (6 page)

“Oh, it’s you.”

“You don’t need to
sound so disappointed.”

Crystal ignored
him and reclosed her eyes with every intention of going back to sleep.

“It’s 3:00 pm.”

“Three!” She
screamed, jackknifing to a sitting position. “I have a 4:00 pm salon
appointment!”

“To do what?”
Shane asked looking genuinely curious.

“My roots need
retouching and I need to get my nails done for tonight,” Crystal threw over her
shoulder as she headed for the bathroom.

Showered and
dressed in record time, she looked around for Shane. As his big loft was empty,
she knew where she would find him. Her belongings gathered, she took a few
moments to examine the crystal again. With a huge smile she wrapped it up and
placed it in her purse before she raced down the stairs and pushed open the
door that led into his garage.

There he was,
exactly where she expected him to be. In front of his computer typing as though
his life depended on it.

Stopping behind
him, Crystal kissed him on the top of his head. “I have to run. Remember you
need to pick me up at seven sharp.” Her first indication that something was
wrong was the way his body stiffened at her words. “What’s the matter, did
something happen?”

“Look, love, I
don’t know if it’s a good idea for me to come tonight.”

His words bothered
her. But his refusal to look at her was even more worrying.

“Why not?”

“It’s your
birthday party and I want you to have a good time.”

“Could my
boyfriend at least look at me while he tells me, I’ll have a better time at my
birthday party without him?”

Shane did as she
asked and Crystal took a step back to give him space.

“What’s going on?”

“Your mother hates
me guts. And I don’t really want to put
meself
through hours of her giving me grief!”

“You should want
to be there because you love me and that’s what I want. Plus, I think you’re
being unfair to my mother. She’s never said a word against you to me.” Crystal
informed him unable to keep the hurt from her voice.

When he mumbled
something under his breath, she felt her temper begin to rise. “Look, suit
yourself. If you don’t want to come, then don’t. I’m not about to beg you. Just
tell me now so I can make other arrangements!”

“What kind of
arrangements?”

“Like how I’m
going to get to the venue is a good starting point.”

“What else? I know
you have something else to say, so just say it!”

“I don’t know why
you’re getting
pissy
with me. You’re the one who’s
bailing. You’ve known about this party for weeks. If this was your intention,
why didn’t you tell me before? What’s changed, Shane?”

“Look, I’m not
coming, alright, so stop going on about it!”

“Fine! Thanks for
that!” Crystal was so angry she turned and hurried away before she said
something she’d regret.

Shane came after
her and caught her just as she was about to pull open the door. “Come on love,
don’t leave mad. I tell ya what, I’ll come and pick ya up and take you to the
party. Then I’ll come back and collect you. All ya have to do is call me and
I’ll be waiting outside.”

Crystal couldn’t
believe what she was hearing. She didn’t need a chauffeur. What she wanted was
for her boyfriend to escort her to her birthday party and stand by her side
throughout the night.

She had thought
everything was finally falling into place. This should be the happiest day of
her life. Shane had finally told her he loved her. Her interior decorating
business was nearly up and running. And Shane’s dreams were all coming to
fruition. Plus, it was her bloody birthday.

Believing she
could still change his mind, she allowed him to pull her away from the door.
“Please come tonight. I really want you there,” she pleaded.

Crystal realized
how she sounded. She was doing exactly what she had said she wouldn’t do. She
was begging him. That she had to do so made her feel sad rather than angry.

From out of
nowhere a thought occurred to her. Maybe now that his patent was finally in
place, and he’d had a chance to think things through, he wanted to take a step
back. The rogue notion surprised her so much, she sucked in a deep breath and
held it while she tried to compose herself. “It’s fine. If you don’t want to
come, you don’t have to.”

“What are you
thinking, Crys? I know you. I know that look.”

“I’m just giving
you your space. That’s what you want, isn’t it?” Crystal asked hoping he would
say something to dispel the feeling that even with their professions of love,
everything was about to change.

“I don’t need
space, especially not from you. I’m just not coming to your party. Believe me,
it’s for the best.”

There it was
again, he was pulling away from her. It didn’t matter what he said, his actions
belied his words.

“Okay, I would
never try to force you to do something you didn’t want to do.”

“Thanks, love. So,
do ya want me to pick you up?”

“No thank you.
I’ll make other arrangements. Please don’t concern yourself.”

“Come on Crys
don’t be like this.”

“I have to go. I’m
late enough as it is. Enjoy the rest of your day.” She knew she was laying on
the guilt and she was going to play it for everything she was worth.

“Your mother
doesn’t want me there.”

“I want you
there!”

“And what Princess
Crystal wants, she thinks she’s gonna to get.”

This time when she
turned to leave he didn’t try to stop her. All she heard was the flood of swear
words he let fly as she walked away.

~~~

Shane was so mad
he swore a blue streak as he paced the concrete floor of his workshop. He would
do just about anything for Crystal, but he knew if he attended her party
something bad was going to happen.

When she left, her
expression had affected him more than he had expected. He knew he should have
mentioned his intention earlier. But he had needed and wanted their time
together to be just about them. Now she was well and truly pissed off with him
and he couldn’t really blame her.

Returning
upstairs, he pushed open the door to his home. Coming to a standstill just
across the threshold, he looked around. He had purchased the building where he
lived and worked with the money his mother had left him.

The building
wasn’t in the best area, but it was what he could afford, as he hadn’t wanted a
mortgage. Having worked for years at the job Detective Bilston had set up for
him, he was good at repairing cars.

Once he had
returned to the university after his mother’s death, nearly every student with
a broken down old car ended up bringing it to him. He had kept their cars
running. Although it had taken up most of his free time, doing the repairs had
meant he had managed to finish his studies debt free.

For as long as he
could remember, Shane had been attempting to put distance between who his
father and brother were. He had his plans and he would realize them, of that he
never had a doubt. That Crystal was now a part of his life only made him want
to work and fight harder to see them to fruition.

He couldn’t help
thinking about how different his and Crystal’s families were. On the two occasions
he’d met Gwendolyn Buchanan, he’d come away knowing she didn’t think him good
enough for her daughter.

He didn’t
subscribe to her philosophy. He refused to pigeonhole another human being. He
took people as they came. That Gwendolyn thought differently worried him for
his and Crystal’s future. Her negative reaction to him hadn’t bothered him
until their second meeting.

~~~

“Thank you
for meeting me.”

“No worries,”
Shane said as he took a seat in the upmarket wine bar.

The bar
was filled
with people who wore custom made suits and spoke
with loud voices as though determined to ensure everyone knew how important
they were. The environment suited Gwendolyn perfectly.

“May I offer
you something to drink?”

“All right,
what about one of them fizzy waters,” he replied with his thickest Cockney
accent, just to see her reaction, and annoy her as much as possible.

He didn’t
have long to wait. Her nostrils flared as she cast a furtive glance over her
shoulder to ascertain whether he
had been overheard
.
It was all the proof he needed to confirm his first impression of her.
Gwendolyn Buchanan
was
a stuck up old cow.

Shane was an
East London Cockney boy and he was proud of it. He had come across people like
Gwendolyn more times than he cared to remember. He was used to them looking
down at him because of the way he spoke. What she had yet to find out was that
his accent didn’t bother him. He wore it with pride.

While
Gwendolyn gave his order, Shane relaxed in his seat and pretended interest in
his surroundings. He knew she was observing him and he gave her ample
opportunity to study him.

Shane was six
feet one and of slim build. He didn’t carry any bulk, rather he was lean and
hard. He had jet black hair and intense gold eyes with irises surrounded by a
band of black. His lips were full, and at the moment they were set in a
straight line with no hint of a smile. He was a good looking man. He had known
this all his life. If he had wanted to make a living from his face, he probably
could have done so. But he had bigger plans—much bigger.

For the most
part, he appeared cold and unfeeling, but appearances could be misleading. He
wasn’t cold, he just didn’t care enough about most people to be bothered to
change his expression.

When his
drink arrived, Shane decided to play with Gwendolyn a little more. “Bloody
hell, water comes in
red
bottles here! Who would have thought that posh people needed to change the
color of their water
bottles.
”

“For goodness
sake, keep your voice down!”

“Why, what
did I say wrong?”

“Mr.…?”
Gwendolyn broke off as though needing a reminder of his name.

Shane didn’t
give her what she wanted and allowed the question to hang in the air. He was
certain this woman knew everything about him. Hell, she probably knew the size
of his dick.

She was about
to find out that the man who was in love with her daughter was a stubborn
bastard, and she had better learn to live with it.

“Mr.
Tierney,” Gwendolyn started again with a slight nod to concede the point. “I
asked you here today to discuss my daughter.”

“Yeah, what
about her?”

“She is not
for you.”

“Why not?”

“You are both
from two different worlds and your paths do not converge.”

“Really, ya
think so. Correct me if I’m wrong but they already have—converged I mean.”

“Please don’t
be obtuse. You know what I'm saying.”

“No, as a
matter of fact, I don’t. Don’t waste me time. If you’ve got something to say,
I’d respect ya more if ya just came out and said it.”

“Okay, I
will. My daughter is too good for you. You are
a nobody
who is going nowhere. I want you to leave her alone. Someone like you,”
Gwendolyn swept a dismissive hand in his direction before she continued, “is
not going to be the beneficiary of all my hard work.”

“You sound as
though Crystal’s nothing but an extension of you.”

“She is!
Everything she does affects me. I will not have her poor choices impacting on
my life and career. Do I make myself clear?”

“Well, I hear
ya. But then I suppose just about everyone in this up
ya
arse place
did as well.”

Looking around,
Gwendolyn visibly inhaled ostensibly to regain control of her temper. “I can
see this conversation is getting us nowhere. So let me be blunt—stay away from
my daughter!”

“Not gonna
happen, and should I tell ya why? I think if you’d had this conversation with
Crystal, she would have told ya where to shove it. So I don’t know why you
thought I’d be any easier to bully.”

“On the
contrary, she said no such thing,” Gwendolyn laughed.

For a moment,
her comment threw him, until he realized she was playing with her choice of
words.

“Ah, I get
it. You’re scared to say anything to Crystal in case you push her straight into
my arms. Maybe I’ll just do
meself
a favor and fill
her in on this little conversation.”

“Of course I
couldn’t stop you from doing exactly as you please.”