Pride by Robin Wasserman Read Free Book Online

dazzling the ladies with his charm and then passing them along to Adam. Good old solid, reliable, dull Adam. It was a good game, and they’d worked well together, partners in crime, wading through the shallow waters of Haven hotties.
    And together, they’d worked out rule #1: Any girl was fair game—as long as you saw her first.
    So perhaps Kane could be forgiven for trusting his partner, for assuming that the rules of the game still applied and that Adam would work his magic and send Beth flying into his arms. Imagine his surprise, then, to find that Adam had decided to keep this one for himself.
    It was a betrayal, and it had led to a loss—a public one. And that, Kane could not forget. He’d kept quiet, played along—it wouldn’t do to make a fuss, to be driven to unseemly emotion, not over a girl —but he’d also known that it wasn’t over. No girl could be allowed to choose someone over him. Not even Adam.
    It had taken more than a year, but he’d gotten his way.
    Beth, who had only grown more beautiful since that first sighting, had seen the light. She’d rectified her mistake, and this time, she’d made the right choice. And if ever Kane got a little bored with the whole relationship thing, he just reminded himself of his struggle. This was his rightful reward, and he was going to enjoy it. If Adam was man enough to have a relationship, to make this girl fall in love with him, then so was Kane.
    And he certainly didn’t need Adam’s approval. Or his forgiveness. Kane didn’t need anyone. But if their friendship was going to end, Kane would be the one to make the decision—and Kane wasn’t ready for that yet. Without Adam, Grace was almost too boring to bear. So he’d talked his way back onto the team, bearing the humiliation of having to beg the new coach for a shot. If he stayed in Adam’s face, reminded him of how well they’d worked together, as a team, eventually Adam would have to give up the childish grudge. In the meantime, Kane would do the diligent teammate thing: go to the practices, run the wind-sprints, pretend he cared. Kane would do whatever he needed to do, he resolved, except one thing: apologize.

    Eventually, Beth got bored and left Harper alone with the mop and bucket.
    It’s like they always say, thought Harper, ignore a bully and she’ll go away . She’d just never been on the wrong side of that equation before.
    This job was, if possible, even worse than Harper had imagined. But if she kept her eye on the prize, on Adam, then maybe the time would just slip by—she’d be in his arms again soon enough.
    His arms—that was good. She pictured them wrapped around her, warm and strong. In her mind’s eye, they curled up together on a soft couch, next to a giant picture window. A beautiful mountain range loomed in the distance, and snow pelted the windows, but Harper was so warm, so cozy in Adam’s arms. She could, if she closed her eyes, almost feel his presence …
    “Harper, is that you?”
    Harper’s eyes flew open to see those joined-at-the-hip dolts Marcy and Darcy, staring at her in horror.
    “Harper, what are you doing … here?”
    She dropped the mop in alarm and backed away, struggling to recover the blasé veneer she would need to make it through this. “I’m just, I—”
    “Harper works here now,” Beth said cheerfully, suddenly appearing behind the wonder twins. “I’m sorry, I must have forgotten to put up the sign saying the restroom was closed for cleaning. Oops!”
    She smiled at Harper, who knew it had been no accident. Just as Beth’s sudden arrival had been no coincidence. She’d come to witness Harper’s humiliation; she’d come to gloat.
    “Is something wrong, Harper?” she asked sweetly. “Because otherwise, you really should get back to work.”
    Harper drew in a sharp breath and held it for several moments.
    “I’m all done in here,” she finally said. “Later, ladies.” She gave them a jaunty grin and walked away, towing the