The Year of Living Shamelessly Read Online Free PDF Page B

disentangling himself from Tatum.
     
    Ignoring the blonde’s huff of protest, he didn’t take Katie’s hand, but grasped her elbow. It was an oddly gentlemanly gesture from him.
     
    Ryder guided her to the dance floor, turned, and loosely held one of her hands as he placed his other hand firmly on her waist. The excitement fizzing in her veins went suddenly flat when she noticed that he was dictating how close they stood together—and they couldn’t get much farther apart. She could get a whole conga line between them and still have room.
     
    She wasn’t going to push it, Katie decided as she placed her hand on his shoulder. For now, it was fine. She had other things on her mind.
     
    The jazzy Christmas tune should have been soothing and romantic, but she was nervous. She had never danced with Ryder. Years ago, when he’d taken Tatum to the prom, she’d cried herself to sleep imagining the two of them holding each other on the dance floor. She had dreamed of being swept off her feet in Ryder’s arms.
     
    But this dance wasn’t the stuff of her dreams. Ryder wasn’t gathering her close and whispering softly in her ear. Instead, he felt stiff and tense. He couldn’t be nervous. Was he wishing he was with Tatum instead?
     
    “One dance,” Katie promised, hating how her mouth trembled as she held back her emotions, “and I’ll get you back to your date safe and sound.”
     
    “Tatum is not my date.”
     
    The relief rolled through Katie so violently that she wanted to sag against him. Instead she gave a quick look at where Tatum stood. The blonde glared at her before ordering another drink. Katie looked back at Ryder. “But she said she was here with you.”
     
    “She’s crashing the party and walked in the same time I did. We’re not dating, Katie. We’re just friends.”
     
    Yeah, right. And how convenient. Tatum was probably hiding in the shrubbery until Ryder showed up. Was it evil to hope that Tatum had waited for hours and suffered frostbite? “Crashing this party? Now there’s someone desperate for entertainment.”
     
    The edge of his mouth twitched in a smile. “Crystal Bend doesn’t have a whole lot to offer.”
     
    Her stomach took another sickening dip. Was that why Ryder was leaving? There was nothing here to keep him? She wished she were enough. Katie lowered her eyes, shielding her hurt. “I didn’t catch the whole announcement. Where are you moving to?”
     
    There was an infinitesimal pause. “Dubai.”
     
    She jerked her head up and stared at him. “Dubai? As in . . . the other side of the world?”
     
    “I have a friend there. He says the real estate market is booming and they could always use more carpenters.”
     
    Katie continued to stare at him. “Dubai?”
     
    “It’s in the U.A.E.” He watched her, probably waiting for the comprehension to hit. “It’s right next to Saudi Arabia. It’ll be an adventure.”
     
    “I know where Dubai is,” Katie claimed. Well, she had a vague idea where it was located. “When were you going to tell me? Were you planning to sneak out?”
     
    Ryder frowned and a muscle bunched in his cheek. “No.”
     
    His gruff tone clearly indicated he didn’t like her wording, but in Katie’s view he was doing exactly that. “Then what?”
     
    Ryder gave a long-suffering sigh. “I was going to tell everyone later this week, but Tatum overheard Jake saying something about it.”
     
    “Later this week?” He only had eight days before he left. Unless . . . Katie narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “Like the day before you left?”
     
    Ryder shrugged. “I just didn’t want to make a big deal out of it. I hate good-byes.”
     
    Her heart galloped, as if she had dodged a bullet. As much as it pained her, she was thankful for Tatum’s big mouth. Otherwise she wouldn’t have found out until it was too late.
     
    “How long are you going to be there?”
     
    “I don’t know. The way my friend talks about Dubai, I may never