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“Sounds good,” I text Tristan that I’m going down and to meet us there.
“I really need to let off some steam. Maybe I can spar with you?” he asks me.
“We all need to let off some steam. Sure, we can spar until Briar shows up. Then you can show her your new moves,” I chuckle.
He smiles at that. I told him before we left Florida that he was getting better. I know it’s his dream to make it big and pay back his sister. He wants Briar to be proud of him and she already is.
“You eat yet?”
“No, wasn’t hungry.”
“How did you get into our suite?” I ask him.
“Briar gave me a key, just in case,” he shrugs.
“Okay, makes sense. How about we hit the buffet before our workout?”
“Sure,” he says, following me out of the suite.
We stroll through the lobby, dropping my gym bag with the concierge to hold until I’m done. As we pass Starbucks, we see Holden.
“Hey, where’s Briar? We’re on our way to eat,” I say.
“She went to the bathroom really quick. Where are you guys going? I’ll escort her there when she gets back.”
“The buffet. Yeah, come on down. I want to kiss my fiancé.”
“As soon as she comes back, we’ll join you,” he says.
“See you in a bit,” I say before walking toward the buffet.
Briar
“Are they gone?” I ask softly.
“Yes, you can come out now,” Holden says.
I crawl out from underneath the table. I saw Kingston walking toward us and I dropped to the floor, hiding underneath the table. Kingston would have seen that I had been crying and would have demanded to know why.
“Here, this will help with the puffiness,” Holden hands me a cold, wet napkin. I pat my eyes as he soothes my hair down.
“Thank you,” I tell him, appreciating his simple acts of kindness.
“You look good and your man wants to kiss you. Shall we, m’lady?” He holds his arm out and I wrap my arm around it so we can make our way to the buffet.
“We shall,” I smile as we weave through the people.
Kingston
I see Holden and Briar walk up and I rise to pull out her seat like a gentleman.
“I missed you,” I drop a kiss to her lips, and she smiles.
“I’m sorry. I just felt like Starbucks.”
“It’s okay. I’ll get you a plate while you order a drink.” She gives me a grateful smile, though she looks sad. Did I do something? Did Holden do something? If he did, I’ll hurt him. Did Lane say something? If he did, I don’t know if I’ll be able to hold my shit together later today. I see Holden whisper something in her ear and wonder what that was all about. I make a note to pull Holden aside to find out what’s going on.
I fill her plate and make my way back to the table. As I sit down, I notice Lane staring at us from a corner booth. I don’t acknowledge him, nor do I tell the others. Briar’s been through enough. Thorn would likely go over there and start a fight and we don’t need that right now.
