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Humiliation washed over her like a bucket of ice water.
Fine.
As far as she was concerned, that almost-kiss never happened. But she wasn’t near done talking to him. Stubborn, judgmental ogre. He should be thanking her for looking out for him.
“Stop right there.” She stormed across the barn and blocked his way. “For the record, I’m never signing off on that scene with Levi. I won’t let them use film that makes anyone look bad, including me. Sydney can’t release footage I don’t approve, so it’s never going to be aired.” Crystal narrowed her eyes. “And it’s beyond insulting you think I would ever take advantage of your mother.”
She turned her back to him and headed to the barn entrance. When she reached it, she whirled to face him. “One more thing.” She jabbed a finger in his direction. “You owe Levi an apology for thinking the worst of him.”
She blew her bangs up and squared her shoulders. “Now, we’re done here.”
The door slammed behind her.
Bang.
No soft-close this time.
Satisfying.
To hell with him. She had sneakers on and could jog back to the island. A good way to release some stress. He didn’t want her at the family dinner anyhow, and there was no way she’d sit at the same table and make small talk. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t have a chance to thank his mother.
She never had a family before and didn’t need one now. That man could goad Gandhi to violence.
So exasperating.
At least she’d had her say. Let him wallow in his anger.
Her shoes slapped against the pavement, and heat from the black asphalt rose in waves, causing sweat to drip into her eyes.
She’d run a good way from the house before the sound of a UTV grew louder behind her. Crystal’s head pounded. She’d had enough of him for one day.
Chapter Ten
The hot wind blew in Zach’s face as he drove the side-by-side down the road.
Where was Crystal? He’d needed a minute in the barn to get his shit together before seeing her again at dinner, only she hadn’t gone to the house.
Either Levi had picked her up, or she’d left by herself.
That woman was an endless disaster waiting to happen.
He’d almost kissed her in the barn. One second they’d been arguing, and the next she’d blurted out all that stuff about trying to protect him and teared all up.
She’d risked her reputation for him, or what she hoped to restore of it anyway, and that pissed him off.Hewas supposed to be the protector. All the sexual innuendo between her and Levi couldn’t do her image any good. And damn that Levi. Maybe he hadn’t wanted to do the scene, but nobody had begged him to flirt the way he did in the opening clip. He’d been infatuated with Crystal long before she ever set foot on the island. He had a mental little black book and Crystal might be the next entry on the mile-long contact list.
Zach’s blood heated, and he tightened his grip on the steering wheel.
He’d swear he didn’t have a green-eyed-monster bone in his body until she’d flirted with Levi and had made Zach’s head explode. Somehow, she got to him.
He hadn’t meant to squeeze her hand in the barn, but words wouldn’t form. Next thing he’d known, they were inches apart, with his pulse racing and those sweet lips of hers so close he could almost taste them.
At least his mother’s call from the deck had broken the spell. Then, he’d acted like an ass. He should have apologized on the spot, but his body had been revved up, and he’d felt like a teenage idiot with no control of his hormones. Control meant everything to him, and he’d lost it.
No excuse.
He was a grown man who’d been through a war and still couldn’t figure out a way to squelch this stupid shit between him and Crystal.
He pressed the gas pedal, rounded a corner, and spotted her jogging on the side of the road. The tension in his shoulders eased.
