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“What’s wrong?”
“Wrong?”I pant, unsure what he’s referring to.
But the second the word leaves my mouth, I hear it.There’s a quiver in my voice.My eyes are burning, my cheeks wet.
“Sorry.”I turn from him, yanking off my gloves and wiping my cheeks with my arm, removing my earbuds.“I don’t know what came over me.I guess I went somewhere else for a minute.”
“Hey.”He touches a hand to my shoulder, forcing me to face him.He envelopes me in his embrace, and I draw in a shaky breath, finding instant comfort in his warmth and familiarity.His arms remind me he’s still alive.That should be enough to settle my emotions.
Instead, it only makes me cry harder.
“You don’t have to hide from me, Esme.”He brings his fingers to my chin and tilts my head, our eyes meeting.“The news of Callie Sloane got to you, didn’t it?”
I part my lips, on the verge of telling him she’s been the furthest thing from my mind since I woke up, as horrible as that sounds.
But I’m not sure I can tell him the real reason.Not sure I can relive this particular dream right now.
“Yeah.”I force a smile, mindful to keep my gaze trained on his.“I didn’t even know her, but no one deserves to die like she did.”
“She certainly didn’t,” he agrees, not making a single move to drop his hold on me.And I don’t want him to, either.I want to stay in his arms.
It’s the only place I’ve felt even a modicum of peace over the past few months.
But it’s too risky.I can’t let Creed jeopardize his future for me.We have a plan.We need to stick to it.
I push out of his hold and grab a towel from my bag, wiping away the rest of my tears.After taking another minute to compose myself, I face him, clearing my throat.
“What brings you here?I didn’t think anyone actually came here this early, especially on the weekend.”
He shrugs, dropping his gym bag onto the floor.“Couldn’t sleep.”
I don’t have to ask why.I can only imagine what memories the news of Callie Sloane’s body dug up for Creed.
“How’s Rory handling everything?And AJ?”
He runs his long fingers through his hair, the gesture causing his shirt to lift up and reveal a sliver of that delicious little V.
My pulse kicks up, and I bite on my lower lip.It doesn’t matter I spent the other night naked with him.That I could probably draw every inch of his body from memory.He still makes my heart beat a little faster, my breathing to become a little more uneven.
I hope he always will.
“As good as can be expected.”His response forces me to snap my gaze back to him.“It wouldn’t be so bad if the news would stop showing all the archive footage of the car fire whenever reporting on Barlow’s past criminal behavior.”
“I’ve been avoiding the news all day,” I say, then blow out a laugh.“Who am I kidding?I avoid the newseveryday.”
“Probably a smart idea.”
A comfortable silence passes as we stare at each other, drinking each other in.All the tension and uncertainty that plagued me when I first arrived here less than an hour ago has vanished.
And I doubt it has anything to do with my workout.
“Well, I didn’t mean to interrupt you.I’ll give you some privacy.”He flashes me a smile, then turns, slinging his bag onto his shoulder and walking toward the door.
He only makes it a few steps before I call out, “Creed, wait.”
He pauses, glancing back at me with a single brow raised.
“You don’t have to leave on my account.I get we’re trying to be smart about this.But we can still work out together.In fact, I wouldn’t mind some extra self-defense lessons, all things considered.”
