Chapter Twenty-Six
THE NEXT MORNING Jana was on fire during boxing practice. She felt lighter on her feet, invigorated with enthusiasm. Every punch felt stronger, more effective, and her mind was less cluttered. And she realized as she wrapped up the last thirty seconds of a sparring match that she no longer felt trapped.
“That was awesome,” Brock said as she and her sparring partner knocked gloves and left the ring. “You were strong in there today. Quicker, less aggressive but more focused.”
She removed her gloves and mouthpiece and gulped down water.
“My life is finally falling into place. It feels good.” She looked up at her big brother and realized she hadn’t told him about Hunter yet. She waited for panic to set in, and when all that came was a nervous flutter in her stomach, she knew she’d made the right decision—about the space for the studio and about Hunter.
“I accepted Hunter’s offer for the space on Route 6.”
“Jana, that’s great.” Brock wrapped her in his strong arms.
“Yeah, now all I have to do is give Marco my notice. I’m not looking forward to that, but I’m doing it today so I don’t chicken out.”
“You never chicken out of anything.” Brock picked up her gear and she followed him up to the front of the gym.
“That’s not exactly true.”
“Pfft. Right. Jana, you wanted to do musicals, so you learned how to sing and dance—when you were six. You wanted to prove you could fight, and you nailed it. And now you want your own studio, and you’re going for it.” He touched the tip of her nose as he’d done a million times when she was a little girl and said, “You’re unstoppable.”
She gathered her courage, and before she could overthink his potential responses, she said, “I’m seeing Hunter.”
“Tell me something I don’t know,” Brock said with a serious tone.
“You knew?” Did everyone know?
“The guy called me at six thirty in the morning that day you were drunk out of your mind, remember? I can put two and two together. I wouldn’t have batted an eye if Sky had called me, but Hunter? Come on.” He laughed. “I was sort of tipped off when Sawyer asked if Hunter got you home safely, too. I’m not an idiot.”
“Apparently I’m the only idiot around, because I was trying to save our friendships and not clue anyone in, but everyone apparently already knew.” She grabbed her bag from the counter. “So? Aren’t you going to tell me all the reasons I shouldn’t date him?”
Brock smiled and began leafing through papers on the desk. “Nope.”
“Why not?”
“Because a certain someone told me to stay out of her personal life. For what it’s worth, I like Hunter. And from what I can tell, he’s really into you.”
“What makes you say that?”
He leaned across the counter so they were nose to nose. “Hunter left about ten minutes before you arrived this morning and asked me if I would mind if he dated you.”
Jana’s jaw dropped open. “He came to see you when I was trying to keep it quiet? That little—”
“Before you go all batty on him, he said you’d already told everyone else. Besides, if you told him not to speak to me specifically, then you’ve got to give the guy credit. He’s got more guts than most.”
“I never told him not to talk to you specifically, and I told him last night that I already told the girls.”
“Listen, if it helps, I already knew that you two were together, like I said. The guy risked the wrath of the Beast coming down on him, which is bad enough. But it sounds like he also risked an argument with you for asking. Want to hear what he said that won me over?”
“I’m not sure.” Jana closed her eyes for a beat. When she opened them Brock was chuckling. “Just for the record, he’s going to be sorry for going behind my back.” She was only half kidding.
“Hey, the guy did a stand-up thing. And it sounds like he waited until you told everyone else.” Brock narrowed his eyes. “Which, by the way, tells me where I stand with you, little sister.”
“No, it doesn’t. I just hadn’t seen you since I told the girls. Besides, they pretty much guessed. It’s not like I announced it.”
“Fair enough.” Brock smiled, and she knew his feelings weren’t really hurt. “He said he’d wanted to talk to me sooner but that you weren’t ready, and he apologized for keeping it from me. He could have hidden your relationship forever, but now that I know that it was you trying to keep it a secret, I guess I can see how that would be hard for a guy like Hunter.”
“What does that mean? A guy like Hunter?” Feeling protective of Hunter, her fingers curled tightly around her bag.
“Just that he said hiding your relationship wasn’t in the game plan for him. That he used to be a guy who would do that, but that with you, he wanted to be a better man. A stand-up guy was how he put it. And while he might not have told me the whole truth—that you two were already dating—what he did say, baby sister, said it all.”
Half an hour later Jana walked into Hunter’s shop, determined to talk to him about telling Brock before she had a chance to. Regardless of the wonderful things he’d said, she was still slightly annoyed.
“Hey, Jana.” Clark turned from where he was working on the computer. “Thanks for helping Hunter out the other night. Nina and I really appreciated the time together.”
“It was fun. Billy is really cute, and I hope you and Nina are doing okay.” She glanced at the photo on the desk of Clark, Nina, and Billy, and it warmed her to see them smiling.
“We’re working on it. At least we’re talking now. That’s a start.” He rose from his seat and pushed open the door to the shop. “Go on back. Just stay away from the forge.”
Jana peeked around him at the interior of the shop. She’d always been fascinated by their work and had been thrilled when Hunter told her that he’d designed the dresser handles and curtain rod she had in her bedroom. But she’d never actually seen Hunter in action. She’d never been inside his workshop, and it was nothing like she’d expected. The walls were made of old barn wood and the floors were concrete. She thought it would feel cold, because she’d always assimilated metal with cold in her mind, but there was nothing cold about the space. Besides the large pieces of equipment that looked complicated and sturdy, there were several long tables, both wooden and metal. Heavy anvils were set upon enormous tree trunks, giving the workshop an old-fashioned feel.
She spotted Grayson first, standing at the forge, holding something over the red-hot coals, and then she saw Hunter leaning over a table near the back of the room. His back was to her, his shirt stretched tight over his muscles. She suddenly felt like she was interrupting him for something that wasn’t nearly as important as concentrating on his work.
Grayson turned to set the glowing red metal clamped in the end of what looked like heavy iron tongs on an anvil. He lifted his safety goggles and raised his chin. “Hey, Jana. Come on back.”
Hunter turned, and the surprise in his eyes quickly faded as a smile spread across his lips, instantly warming her all over. Her annoyance at his talking to Brock faded with each step as he closed the distance between them.
“Hey there.” He leaned in for a kiss. “I wasn’t expecting to see you. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, I, um. I just came from boxing practice.”
“Ah,” he said, as if he knew why she’d come. “Let’s go into my office and talk.” He turned to his brother and said, “We’ll be right back.”
He led her around the equipment, and when they passed the table he’d been leaning over, she glanced over and stopped to get a better look.
Hunter followed her gaze. “It’s just something I was working on for you.”
“For me?” she asked softly, her eyes focusing on the script lettering, which read, Jana’s Dance Studio. Her eyes shot to his. Ohmygosh.
“There’s only you, pretty girl.” He placed his hand on the small of her back and guided her toward the table.
Her heartbeat quickened as she took in the distressed metal mounted on planks of rustic wood. Delicate metal flowers were sprinkled over the upper right corner of the sign, and beautiful lettering that curled at the edges spelled out her hopes and dreams. Hunter had created an image of a dancer with her hand over her head and her legs crossed as she stood on her toes and arched back gracefully. The time he must have put into the sign and the thoughtfulness of the design brought her emotions rushing forth. Her eyes dampened, and when she lifted her gaze to his, she felt herself tumbling into the well of affection she saw there.
“Do you like it?” His eyes filled with hope.
“Hunter,” she said breathlessly. “Like doesn’t even come close to how much I adore it. You must be so busy, and you still went to all this trouble.”
He stepped closer, tucking the lock of hair she was nervously twirling behind her ear. “Baby, you have revitalized my creativity.” He lowered his voice and said, “In more ways than one,” with a seductive tone. “There’s nothing I’d rather do than make a sign for my girl.”
My girl. The words swirled inside her.
“Thank you. I…No one has ever done anything like this for me before, and you’ve already given so much of yourself. You’re letting me rent the space, and—”
“Baby, don’t you get it?” He searched her eyes. He did that a lot lately, searching for answers that she thought only he could see. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.” He lowered his lips to hers.
“Grayson?” she said against his mouth, wondering how she could have ever doubted that they were right for each other.
Hunter smiled. “He left when you looked at me like you wanted to tear my clothes off.”
His mouth moved over hers, swallowing her laugh in a smoldering kiss that left her head spinning and her body humming.
“What did you come to tell me?” he asked, gazing at her sweetly.
His words were still swirling in her mind—Baby, don’t you get it? There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you—making any further thought, beyond her need for another kiss, impossible.
“Nothing important,” she whispered as she went up on her toes, and he met her in another soul-binding kiss.