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5
NOAH
Braden isin the ring with Tinsley when I get to the gym. He towers over her, pads on his waiting hands as he yells sequences of numbers in her direction. His daughter punches and swings her body every which way in time with his commands, eyes narrowed with concentration.
This is Tinsley in her purest form. Fierce, attention-grabbing, fearless. Each sharp breath pushed from her lips is perfectly timed, the rise and fall of her shoulders steady. She appears almost superhuman.
I cross my arms and watch them dance, my gaze never straying from Tinsley. Despite the gnawing feeling of jealousy in my gut at her training with someone who is not me, I don’t step in. Don’t make my presence known. Not when she’s in her zone.
Despite his age, her father keeps up with her just fine. It’s annoying as fuck because I would have loved to witness him get his ass beat by his daughter. I’m sure he’s still praying for the day he gets to see her beat my ass too. The dislike between us is just too thick, too everlasting, to want much else.
I don’t know when it began for him. The moment I was born or at the same time my father grew to hate me. There’s no doubt that my dad played a part regardless. They’ve been friends for decades. I assume there aren’t many more secrets between them than there are between my mom and Sierra, Tinsley’s mother.
Not that any of that matters. The only approval I’ve ever wanted is Tinsley’s.
“Good! Take a break and drink some water,” Braden demands, patting Tinsley on the shoulder.
Tiny sets her hands on her hips and smiles, nodding once before he slips between the ropes and hops off the training platform. Her posture is slightly hunched as she catches her breath. My chest grows tight the moment she notices I’m here. Her silver eyes meet mine, coming to life as her smile grows into a bright grin.
“Hey!” she calls, waving me toward her. Unluckily for me, Braden follows her stare to find me waiting. He scowls, jaw tightening.
With my arms still folded across my chest, I stroll toward them, stopping when I can grip the ropes, leaning my weight on them. I look at Tinsley, aware that even without smiling at her, she can tell how relieved I am to see her.
“Hey.”
“Noah,” Braden grunts, hovering in the same spot as if he still doesn’t trust me alone with his daughter. At least he has good common sense.
If it weren’t for Tiny watching, I would have ignored him completely. But, not wanting to upset her, I glance at him and offer a weak “Braden.”
“Phew, that’s a lot of testosterone in the air. It reeks,” Tinsley huffs.
Braden laughs under his breath. “Sorry, sweetheart. I’m going to make my rounds while you break.” He glares at me with a silent warning.
“Sounds good, Dad.”
I watch him finally walk away toward the pair of guys sparring on the training mats. Once he’s out of earshot, I tighten my hold on the ropes and pull myself up and through them. It’s alarming how beautiful Tinsley is from afar, but up close, she’s devastatingly so. I clench my fingers before shoving them into the pockets of my jeans. Not the time to touch her.Not my right.
“What have you been up to this morning? Been busy?” she asks.
Instead of answering her right away, I search the platform for her water bottle and then silently pick it up. Her smile is soft when I hand it over.
“Thank you.”
I make a rough noise in the back of my throat. “Had a meeting with the label today. The tour dates are set.”
She sucks in a breath. “And?”
“You’re coming with me.” Simple as that.
“We just talked about this,” she sighs, sounding exhausted. It hurts me to see her that way. I don’t like it.
I take a stilted step toward her before stopping, rolling my jaw as I become frustrated with my lack of control. “I’m not demanding it of you again. I’m telling you that you can come. The dates work.”
She gapes up at me. “This isn’t some type of sick joke?”
“No.”
A squeal, and then she’s in my arms, wrapped around me like a koala. I hold her up with a tight grip on her thighs, savoring the feel of her flush against my front and her warm skin beneath my fingertips. Swallowing a groan, I watch her grin from ear to ear with such a pure happiness that I almost join her in the act.
