Page 37 of Ruck Me Harder

His eyes dart to mine, then away again. “Cari, then?”

“Not your sister.”

This time, when his rich brown eyes meet mine, there’s a quiet vulnerability shining in their depths.

“I’m sorry for being a dick to you when we first met,” I say quietly. “I was hurt. Seeing you again… it brought up a lot of bad memories, things I hadn’t properly dealt with.”

“And have you?” he asks. “Dealt with them?”

“I’m working on it,” I admit. “I’d like a do-over.”

Slowly, a brilliant smile spreads across his face. “Hey. I’m Tony. It’s nice to see you again.” He holds his hand out for a shake.

“I’m Viv.” Sliding my hand into his feels like coming home.

Tony flips my hand over, tracing his thumb over my palm. “Vivienne.”

I shake my head. “No. Call me Viv.”

To my surprise, he presses a kiss to my palm. “You’ve always been Vivienne to me.”

My breath catches.

Then Tony grimaces. “I don’t have a lot of free time, but I’d like to take you out. Properly, this time.”

“I can make that happen. Cari said you work in the North End?”

He nods. “Yeah. Between there, the shelter, and training, I don’t have a lot of time for myself, much less for another person.”

“How did you get started at the shelter?” When he pauses, I add in quickly: “You don’t have to tell me.”

“I’ve been volunteering there since high school,” Tony finally says. “I want to go to vet school.”

“That’s awesome!”

His small smile is pained. “Yeah, well, in order to do that, I need to retire.”

Oh.

“There’s no way to do gymnastics while you’re in school?”

He shakes his head. “It takes up too much time. And my body’s giving up on me.” His lips quirk into a half-smile. “I’ve already decided to retire after I turn thirty.”

“Oh? When’s that?”

“March. They’ll name next summer’s Olympic team at the national championships in June, but I don’t know if I’m going to push for that,” Tony admits quietly. “I just…”

I glance around the coffee shop, but nobody is paying attention to us. “After the Olympics next summer, I’m done,” I tell him, just as quietly.

As long as I stay healthy and keep to my regular standard of play, I’m a shoo-in for the team, or so Alycia says. I’m certainly not ready to be done entirely. I want one more chance to prove my worth and bring that gold medal home. If I fail, I fail, but I’ll have done it knowing I’ve given the sport my all.

His eyes snap to mine.

“My contract with the Revolution expires at the end of the season and I’m not going to renew it. I’ve already decided I want to move on to something new.” I laugh awkwardly. “I don’t know what it’ll be yet, just that it’ll be something different.”

Tony gulps loudly. “I’m guessing this isn’t public knowledge.”

I shake my head. “Only my agent knows. I haven’t told the team or my friends. I haven’t even told my family.”