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There was her cheerful Grumpzilla.
“Yes, Sir.”
Oops. She hadn’t meant to let that slip out. But as she glanced up at him, she thought she saw relief on his face.
Maybe she wasn’t the only one feeling super awkward and worried.
“Were you having trouble sleeping?” she asked him.
“Yes.” That was all he said, but she understood. They all had their own demons.
They reached the gym, which was unsurprisingly empty.
“Stretch first,” he barked.
She rolled her eyes, but started stretching without a word. As she got on the treadmill relief filled her. She started at a slow jog, then ran faster. She preferred running outside, but she knew he was right.
It wouldn’t have been safe outside.
Sweat coated her skin. Her breathing grew faster and her muscles burned.
More. She needed more. She was so close to reaching that point of exhaustion.
“Slow down now.”
She ignored the order.
“Chloe. Slow. Down.”
Like he was going to do anything if she kept going.
Suddenly, he slammed his hand down on the emergency stop and grabbed her around the waist so she didn’t fall backward off the treadmill.
“Hey! What the heck!”
Gathering her up in his arms, he drew her off the treadmill and walked with her over to the bench.
“What are you doing?” She started fighting against him. “I wasn’t finished.”
“You are.”
“Judd! Put me down.”
He set her down on her feet, and she slapped the palms of her hands against his chest. Then she stared down at her stinging hands in shock. Why had she done that?
He gently grasped hold of her hands, pulling them away.
Shoot. Had she hurt him?
“Judd, I . . . I’m sorry.”
“You will not hurt yourself. I won’t allow it.”
“I didn’t hurt myself. Did I hurt you? I . . . I didn’t mean to hit you like that.”
“You didn’t hurt me. I barely felt it. But you could have harmed yourself. So you won’t do that again, understand?” He gave her a stern look.
“Of course not. I would never . . . I’m so sorry.”
“Look at me.” He placed a finger under her chin. “You owed me that and worse for when I hit you.”
“That was an accident! You didn’t mean to. What I just did . . .” She felt herself growing ill. “Maybe I’m like him. Perhaps I have his temper.”
“No!”
His answer was so loud that she jumped.
“You are not like him.”
“I’m his daughter,” she whispered.
“You are not like him. You say that again and I will spank you.”
She huffed out a breath. “I don’t think that’s a rule.”
“You’re speaking badly of yourself. And if you’re like him just because you’re his daughter, then I guess we’re all doomed to become our fathers.”
“What? No! Of course you aren’t. I just . . . I can’t believe I did that.”
“You were upset,” he told her. He moved to a small fridge and pulled out two bottles of water.
“Yes, but I’ve never done that before. I’m so ashamed.”
“You’re bottling everything up. It’s bound to come out, eventually. You’re holding yourself back.”
It was what Owen had been saying to her. She swallowed heavily and reached out for the bottle he handed her. She gulped some down.
“You need to tell us what you want, Blue. We’re dumb bastards, we can’t read your mind. And keeping a lid on everything . . . it’s not helping anyone.”
Damn. When did he get so insightful? She sat on a bench. He wasn’t wrong, though. She was like a shaken can of soda, about to explode.
Closing her eyes, she leaned her forearms on her thighs and dropped her head down.
He was quiet for a long moment before grasping her chin and raising her head. She opened her eyes, looking into his as he crouched in front of her.
“We can do this, Baby Blue. But it’s going to be hard. You know I find it difficult to open up. To let people see my vulnerable side. I’ve told you about Ester, but I also had this girlfriend in high school. Mary. We were both young, so I should have known it wouldn’t work out. But I foolishly thought we had a future together. It wasn’t until we were about to graduate that she told me that she was going off to college and I wasn’t invited. That I’d been fun to mess around with, but she needed to grow up and find someone acceptable.”
“Oh, Judd,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry.” A surge of anger filled her. “What a bitch! Have you told Owen about her?”
“Oh yeah, he’s known for a long time. Don’t worry, she’s living a miserable life with a man who has a good family name and money, but doesn’t give a shit about her. I actually feel sorry for her.”
“I don’t,” she said fiercely. “She deserves a miserable life.”
“And you deserve the world. You deserve better than me.”
“That is not true. Do I have to spank you?”
