Looks like progress on all fronts.
We eat breakfast together and talk about nothing important. She tells me about a client who's been driving her crazy. I tell her about Gavin's latest disaster. Apparently, he got into a bar fight yesterday and has a black eye to prove it.
It's easy and the kind of morning I never thought I'd have with anyone, let alone a woman I was forced to marry a few weeks ago.
“I should shower,” she says finally. “And you should go to your gym thing before your brothers think you've been murdered.”
“They'd never think that. They'd assume I was having too much fun to leave.”
She tilts her head. “And would they be right?”
I look at her... messy bun, no makeup, wearing my t-shirt while my dog cuddles against her leg.
“Yeah,” I say, walking toward her. “They'd be right.”
I snake an arm around her waist and lift her into my arms. “Now how about that shower?”
The MMA gym is a converted warehouse in Dorchester. It doesn’t have any fancy equipment, and there’s no smoothie bar. It’s just mats, bags, a cage, and guys who know how to hurt each other.
Cillian's already warming up when I walk in. Gavin's sprawled on a bench, scrolling through his phone, a fresh bruise glaring at me from his cheekbone.
“There he is.” Cillian grins, bouncing on his toes. “The newlywed.”
“Don't start.”
“Too late. I started hours ago when you didn't answer any texts.” He narrows his eyes at me. “You look different.”
“Yeah, because I actually got some sleep,” I say.
“Uh-huh.” He exchanges a look with Gavin, who sits up straight and drops his phone onto the bench.
“Youslept,”Gavin says, grinning through his busted lip. “At your apartment. With your wife. Whom you've been making heart-eyes at for weeks.”
“I don't make heart-eyes. Don’t be an asshole.”
“Bro, you absolutely make heart-eyes. It's fucking embarrassing.” Gavin waggles his eyebrows. “You fucked your hot wife, didn’t you? That’s why you’re so late.”
“We're not discussing this,” I say, dropping my bag on the floor.
“Oh, the fuck we aren’t,” Cillian says. “I totally called it, by the way. It was only a matter of time.”
“You didn't call anything. I haven’t even seen you since we met at the bar a couple of weeks ago.”
“Yep, that’s when I called it. Right after you said that you’d been cyber-stalking her. Ask G. I said, ‘They're gonna hook up before the month is out.’ And here we fucking are."
“Get in the cage,” I say. “I'm going to pound your fucking ass.”
“Worth it.” Cillian's grin is blinding. “So are we getting details? How was it? Is she as intense in bed as she is in a boardroom?” He chuckles. “You know, allegedly.”
I throw a roll of hand wrap at his head. He ducks, laughing.
“Okay, okay.” Gavin holds up his hands. “Leave him alone, C. He's clearly pussy-whipped. Let him have his moment.”
“I’m not,” I grunt, grabbing the hand wraps.
“Bullshit. You should see your face. It’s like you just won the lottery. The sex lottery.” Gavin snickers.
I focus on covering my hands. Tight enough to protect, loose enough to move. And then I’m gonna hammer my brothers into the floor.
