Chapter Forty-One
Brooklyn
Instinctively I knew something was off. At first I thought I was only disoriented because I was in Shane’s bed, his warm body wrapped around mine. But then it hit me. The extra bright sunlight and the fact that I felt so rested as opposed to being ripped out of my deep sleep.
I shot up in bed. “What time is it?”
Shane groaned.
I reached over to the bedside table and grabbed my phone. “Shit.” I shook Shane. “Weren’t you supposed to be at the gym early this morning?”
He opened one eye, and when I thrust my phone into his face to show him it was nine thirty already, he swore and climbed out of bed. His movements were stiff, and I could tell his muscles were, too. “I was supposed to spar with a guy from another gym at nine. I’ll call Liam and hope he’s in a good mood. Considering I’m already thirty minutes late, I doubt I’ll get that lucky.”
“Three texts and one message,” he said as he picked up his phone. “Yeah, today’s going to suck.”
Grunts accompanied his getting dressed, and I noticed a bruise on his hip that I hadn’t seen last night. Did they really have to push him that hard? Or were they punishing him because he’d dared to start a relationship with me? Liam and Finn thought they were looking out for me, more overprotective than spiteful, but Dad was another story, and I wouldn’t be surprised if his anger was over Shane not being a good little soldier. Or me not being one.
I finished getting dressed and met Shane in the living room.
He already had his duffel bag packed and ready to go. “You want to ride with me? Or you could stay. I don’t have time for breakfast, but you’re welcome to anything you find.”
“I’ll run home and shower.” Not that people wouldn’t know I’d spent the night with him, but wearing yesterday’s clothes screamed walk-of-shame, and I wanted to give my family fewer reasons to be irritated. “Wait. Do you think they’ll be harsher without me there? If so, I’ll come with you.”
A resigned smile spread across his face. “It won’t make a difference, but I love that you worry about me.” He paused for a quick kiss. “I’ll be fine. I’ll prove my dedication to the team and to my training, even if it kills me first.”
“See, that would be funnier if you didn’t grunt every time you moved.”
“We cavemen type just do that. No more worrying, okay?”
“Okay,” I said, although we both knew I was lying. “I’ll be in soon.”
The second the door closed behind him, my gut dropped. One night. One night of official coupledom and we’d gotten too comfortable and screwed up. No excuse would be good enough in my family’s eyes, and while I’d reassured myself that a relationship didn’t have to get in the way of Shane’s training and upcoming fight, that belief cracked. The idea that we could work despite the odds stacked against us fractured as well, the two broken notions mixing together and making a hell of an argument for quitting while we were ahead.
But I didn’t feel ahead, and my brain didn’t want to listen, since it was contrary to everything it wanted. So I decided that the name of the game today would be denial. Hey, it seemed as good a way to get through the day as any.
…
Denial would be a lot easier if the universe wasn’t determined to rub my face in all the ways I was wrong.
My desk chair creaked as I leaned forward and skimmed through the email pulled up on my laptop again. I should be excited. I was excited. The Golden City Art Exhibition only offered two highly coveted spots to unknown artists, and I had landed one of them. The exhibition garnered tons of attention from the art world; it would be an impressive addition to my portfolio, one that would make galleries take a closer look. It was a huge break for me, and it validated that I was good enough. Apparently they’d emailed me a couple of weeks ago, but when they didn’t hear from me, they looked up my information again and found they’d used “Brooke” instead of “Brooklyn” in my email address.
My gaze snagged on the date again, and while completely ridiculous, I hoped that it’d somehow changed. My first thought had been You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me. Karma had to be playing a joke on me, and since I always tried to live on the up-and-up and spread cheer around, I couldn’t figure out why it was picking on me.
“Hey, gorgeous.”
I glanced up at Shane. He was sweat-covered and breathing heavy and sexy as hell. His smile dropped. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” I said, too quickly.
“I’m fine, you know that, right? The sparring session went well, and sure, your brother’s still pissed at me, but that’s nothing new. I figure at least now he has a good reason.”
I laughed, and it came out a little too forced. Ugh, if this had happened a couple of weeks ago, I’d be sprinting around the gym, pumping my fists like I was champion of the world. Instead it felt a little too déjà vu for my tastes.
“So glad to see that your relationship isn’t distracting,” Liam said, his words dripping with sarcasm.
Shane turned and gave him a wide grin. “Don’t be jealous. You were my second pick, if it makes you feel any better.”
My laugh wasn’t forced this time, but Liam’s glare made me clamp it down.
“Talk later,” Shane said, giving me a nod before heading across the gym.
I rounded my desk and tugged on the back of Liam’s shirt before he could escape. “Please don’t be too hard on him. Everyone makes mistakes. Except for maybe you, but since you won’t tell me what happened with the person I can’t mention, I can’t be sure.”
He gritted his teeth. “She left for a job, and I wished her good luck, which I meant and still do. People move. Things change—that’s the only thing that stays the same.”
“Wow. If things don’t work out here, you’ve got a future in writing cards for Hallmark.”
He gave a short, humorless laugh, so obviously none of my jokes ever lightened the mood. “If things don’t change, we’re all going to be looking for new jobs. Sometimes I regret letting Finn and Dad talk me into getting you back here for the summer to help. You got out, and now we’re just pulling you into a mess. This life, this job… In order to make it, it requires being selfish, not to mention sacrifice after sacrifice.” His eyes met mine. “Nothing’s guaranteed, Brooklyn. So make sure you’re doing what makes you happy.”
I opened my mouth, and he quickly said, “And don’t say Knox, or I might seriously blow a gasket.”
I laughed, so at least one of us was. “I so wouldn’t go there. Mostly because I’m already afraid you’ll kill him.”
“Yeah, me, too.” He shook his head and took a step away before abruptly turning around. “The fact of the matter is, I like the guy. And I want you to be happy.”
Something about his words made the hairs on my arm rise. All good, yet there was an underlying but.
He stepped closer and the way he dropped his voice only made a sense of foreboding crawl over my skin. “I’m not just being the grouchy, overprotective big brother. This is more than that. I didn’t step in when you threw away everything you wanted to be with that prick who—”
I flinched, and he left it hanging, because we both knew what the guy did.
“I’m not going to stand by this time. Whether it’s Dad pushing you for what he wants you to do, or if it’s Shane. If you stepped back from the situation and really looked at it, you’d see that you’re risking too much on a temporary situation. Only it’s not just you and your feelings at risk. The future of the gym and Knox’s career are thrown into the mix, too. If you were staying, then maybe I could see you both taking that risk. But last I heard, you’re leaving us here pretty quick…”
Maybe even sooner than I originally thought, depending on a lot of variables that I hadn’t had time to fully think through.
“Has that changed?” Liam challenged.
I shook my head, even though a tiny, weak part of me wanted to say maybe. Which in turn, made me wonder if I was losing myself again. How could I even be considering staying? Giving up everything I’d worked for the past four years…?
“So, you’re taking a chance on a guy for a couple of weeks, and he’s taking a chance on you that could determine his whole career. Brooklyn, if Knox goes all in, I know he can go far, even farther than he climbed the first time. The question is, are you going to help him, or hold him back?”