Some might think that keeping tabs on Drake through his brother was just feeding my pain, but it helped. Knowing that he was okay gave me some peace, and getting to talk to Shane gave me the smallest of connection to Drake, which I hung onto by my fingernails.

It had also made Shane and me closer. He was a big part of my day to day, even if I hadn’t seen him in seven months. If I went a day without talking to him, it made me sad. If I missed one of his calls, he blew up my phone with texts until I called him back. Maybe he was keeping tabs on me for his brother, but I didn’t care.

Now, as I stared at my phone after having just gotten home from dinner with Jesse and my sister, I couldn’t help but wonder what the younger Stevenson brother was up too. It was after eleven here, so that meant it was still early in California, just after eight. More than likely he hadn’t gone out yet.

Sighing, I pulled up his name on my phone and hit send. It rang three times before he answered. “You didn’t tell me,” I said when I heard his voice on the other end.

“Jesse wanted to tell you first,” he assured me, knowing exactly what I was talking about without having to ask. “So… What do you think? We can hang out when I get into town.”

“Why would he do this, Shane? He hates attention like this, and now he’s going to put himself front and center on a freaking reality television show.” I closed my eyes, a headache making my eyes throb.

Shane paused, as if thinking about what to say before he spoke. “He has his reasons, Lana. Maybe one day he will tell you about them. Until then, let’s talk about you and me and the best burger in the world. I know this great burger joint, and I want to take you there.”

Rolling my eyes, I lay back on the couch. Might as well get comfortable. “When do you get in?”

“Tuesday. Drake has to be there for tryouts on Friday, and he wants to be settled in by then. So, let’s go out Thursday. I’ll pick you up…unless you want to come over to our apartment?”

“Um, no. That’s okay.” I wasn’t sure I was ready to see Drake face to face yet. “Thursday is fine. I’ll stay home and wait with bated breath for your arrival, stud.”

He chuckled. “Great. And then Friday you can show me the best jogging trail to take through Central Park.”

“I don’t run through the park. I go to the gym and use the treadmills.”

“No way! I’m ashamed of you, Lana! Okay, then we will find them together. After the burgers we are going to need the exercise…Ah, crap!”

“What?” I demanded, startled when I heard someone else’s voice in the background. Was that a girl? “Shane, really? Next time I call and you’re with some skank, do me a favor and don’t answer!”

“I’m not with some skank, Lana!” Shane assured me. “I’m meeting Emmie and Nik for dinner. That was the waitress.”

“Sure it was.” I laughed. “Liar. I’ll let you go so you can get to your…dinner.”

“You are such a bitch sometimes,” he muttered.

“Yeah, I know. See you Thursday.”

“Can’t wait. Love ya, sweetheart.”

“Love you too, Shane.” With a quivering chin, I hit the end button and tossed my phone aside.

--

It felt like Thursday took forever to come around. My roommates avoided me at times because I was equal parts anxious and excited and that made for horrible mood swings. Linc kept giving me the evil eye, not sure if my behavior was from PMS or if I was just being my sometimes bitchy self.

I had one class Thursday morning. Trying to cram three months of Biology material into five weeks over the summer break was not fun, but I was glad for the challenge. Still, as soon as my professor excused us, I pulled out my cell to see if I had missed any texts from Shane.

Pick you up @ 1. Can’t wait for dinner 2 c u.

A glance at the clock on my phone told me that I wasn’t going to make it to my apartment in time unless I grabbed a cab. Muttering a curse, I flagged one down and tossed the driver an incentive to get me home as quick as he could. New York cab drivers in a hurry made for a terrifying ride. I just covered my eyes and waited for the car to finally come to a stop.

Paying my fare, I grabbed my shoulder bag that held all my essentials and turned for the apartment. The tall man standing by the door made me stop. He was just standing there watching me. I couldn’t see those blue-gray eyes of his behind the sunglasses, and his Boston Red Sox cap was on backwards, hiding that shaggy dark hair from me. He hadn’t changed in the seven months since I had last seen him.

With a delighted squeal, I jumped the few feet separating us and threw my legs around his waist. “It’s so good to see you,” I said, hugging him tight.

He laughed, swinging me around and around. It didn’t seem to matter to him that we were on a busy sidewalk, or that people had to stop and walk around us. Shane was the kind of man that didn’t care about public displays of any kind.

“I was going crazy back in the apartment. All I could think about was that I was going to get to see my favorite girl in the world and I couldn’t wait.” He sat me on my feet, scanning me from head to toe behind those shades of his.

“Wow!” He shook his head. “More beautiful than I remember.” His fingers touched my hair, which was longer now than it had been the last time he had seen me. “Okay, sis. Let’s get going before I start having thoughts that could get me killed.”

I slapped his arm, knowing that he was completely kidding. “Do you want to come up?” I motioned to my shoulder bag. “I want to get rid of this thing before we go traipsing around the city.”

He followed me into the building, and I stopped at the doorman’s desk. After making sure that Shane was on my list of approved guests, we took the elevator up to my floor. I knew that everyone was home before I had even unlocked the door. I could hear Linc and Dallas arguing, something that didn’t even faze me these day.

I glanced at Shane. “Keep an open mind, okay?” I told him, trying to prepare him for Linc. I had learned, after my gaffe of not believing Linc was gay, that his type was the pretty boy type. And you didn’t get prettier than Shane. He and his brother were borderline beautiful, in a masculine way, and Linc was going to be on red alert.

“Sure.” He nodded.

Opening the door, I found my roommates spread out around the living room watching the Style Network. No wonder Dallas and Linc were arguing. Dallas knew most of the models on there―had actually been one of them―and knew all their dirty secrets. Linc, who was friends with several of those models, didn’t want to believe Dallas.