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Nodding to the guard on duty, I slipped inside the gym from the side door. There were a few low lights on in the cavernous room, and the star of all my fantasies stood on a yoga mat, going through a series of movements, her pert butt sticking up into the air. It looked like yoga, but since I’d never practiced it, I couldn’t be sure. She hadn’t noticed me yet, and I stayed in the shadows, drinking in the sight of her.
I didn’t know which part of this I should feel worse about: lusting after another man’s woman or my client. Both were equally wrong.
Her movements were fluid, her muscles defined, her curves hard to look away from. But if I stood here for much longer, I’d have a whole other problem since my pants were getting tight.
Readjusting myself, I cleared my throat and called out to her. “Hey.”
She jumped, and one of her legs went the wrong way, causing her to crash to the ground with a yelp.
I rushed up to her, going down on my haunches, my hands hovering over her crumpled form. “Shit, sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. Did you hurt yourself?”
Pushing herself up to all fours, then sitting back on her ass, Thea brushed the hair out of her face. “I’m good. Just didn’t expect anyone else to be here this late.”
“Neither did I. What are you doing here?”
Biting her lip, she blinked her beautiful, big eyes at me. “Probably the same as you. Tiring myself out enough to sleep.”
“Where’s William?” I couldn’t help but ask, regretting it immediately when she flinched.
“Sleeping, I presume.”
“You should talk to him about what’s going on. I’m sure he doesn’t want you to toss and turn all night. Then it won’t only be you not getting any sleep but him as well.”
Her cleavage and neck flushed bright red, and she stood up. “He’s fine. We don’t sleep in the same bed anyway.”
Drawing my brows together, I got up as well. Maybe sleeping in separate beds was a rich people thing.
I took a step away from her. “Okay then. I’ll leave you to your workout.”
Making my way to the treadmill, I planned to start with cardio, then finish off with weights.
Staring at her reflection in the window, I studied her still form, her hands cradled to her chest. The need to find out why she married a stranger only weeks after I’d left for college burned a hole in my chest. And I figured it was now or never. “Why did you get married to someone so much older than you? Someone you barely knew?”
She seemed to curl even further in on herself. “I was a twenty-five-year-old waitress who barely scraped by. I had no future. And I was on my way to becoming just like my mom. And there is nothing I wouldn’t have done to stop that from happening.”
The naïve kid who would have done anything for her was gone. In his place was a man who had to learn how to live half a life. And that man still couldn’t understand why she’d marry for money instead of love. “From where I’m looking, you did exactly what your mom always did. Find someone else to solve your problems for you.” The words were out before I could think about them.
Flinching at her hurt expression, I approached with halting steps. Her face was drawn tight, tears brimming in her eyes. I felt like the biggest jackass.
“You’re a bastard.”
Unable to stop myself, I took her hands in mine, pressing the backs of them to my chest. “I didn’t mean it. Thea, I’m so fucking sorry. You’re nothing like your mom.”
God, I am a bastard.
A lonely tear made its way down her cheek, nearly bringing me to my knees. I rested my forehead on her downturned head, inhaling her scent. She used to smell like strawberries. Now she smelled like expensive shampoo. I missed the strawberries.
Taking a shuddering inhale, her body tensed. “It’s fine. It’s getting late. I should go to bed.”
“Tell me how to make this right.”
I knew I sounded desperate, but I didn’t care. I never wanted to be the reason for her tears because of my careless words.
She stepped back, but I refused to release her hands. She met my gaze with a defiant one of her own.
“I did what I had to. I don’t expect you to understand. But William saved me.”
The words hurt more than her tears. Another man was able to do what I couldn’t. I’d always dreamed of getting her out of her mom’s clutches and away from that life. But in the end, I lost her because instead of putting her first I’d left her behind to go to college.
