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She didn’t offer anything more about what she’d gone through that had left her feeling lost, and he didn’t push. It was none of his business anyway. Even with this brand-new arrangement pretending to be her boyfriend, there were boundaries he wouldn’t cross.
“You’re not stretching.” Lyric scrambled to get up and stood over him, her hand pressed against his calf.
“Ow.” Yes, that was a stretch. Suddenly the back of his leg was on fire.
“Breathe deep,” Lyric reminded him.
He tried, but breathing didn’t take the edge off the agony. And he was all too aware of her hands on him.
“Why is this upcoming competition so important to you?”
He stopped wincing to peer up at her. “I told you. I have a lot to prove.” And just like her, he would withhold the details of his own experience with being lost. “My brother will be here. We’ve always had a sibling-rivalry thing.” That had peaked when Liam had married Sienna. Since then, the two of them had hardly talked. They’d been in the same room plenty, they just opted not to have any meaningful conversations.
“So you’re going through all this pain because of a little sibling rivalry?” Lyric let go of his right leg and motioned for him to raise the left.
Did he have to? “It’s not just a little rivalry.” He grunted when she pushed him into the stretch. “We haven’t spoken much in eight years.”
The pressure on his leg subsided as the woman angled her body so she could see his face. “You haven’t spoken to your brother in eight years? What happened?”
“It doesn’t matter.” Thatch brought his leg down and pushed off the floor. He shouldn’t have even brought up Liam. “I need to run. I promised my mom I’d call tonight. It’s her birthday.” He’d sent her a pair of earrings from a fancy jewelry shop in Jackson, but a phone call always meant more. Plus that gave him the perfect excuse to take off. Before he bared any more of his soul to Lyric.
“Right. Okay. Sure.” Lyric knelt down to roll up their mats before he could read her face. “That was a good firstsession,” she said formally while Thatch pulled on his shoes.
“I wasn’t good.” He grinned at her. As long as they could keep things light, he would do his best not to get any ideas in his head about this fake-relationship thing becoming real. “But the session was good. I’ll try to do better next time.” He got up off the bench and followed her out the door.
Lyric shot him an evil grin over her shoulder. “I didn’t exactly go easy on you. I’d say you held your own—”
“What’re you two doing here?”
Thatch jerked his head to see Kyra standing behind the reception counter in the main lobby of the clinic. “Uh, um…”
An awkward pause pounded his ears before Lyric threaded her arm around his waist. “It’s okay, hon. We should tell her.”
“Tell me what?” their friend asked in a high-pitched screech.
Yes. Tell her what? Alarm itched on the back of his neck. They couldn’t seriously convince their friends they were together, could they?
“We’re dating,” Lyric announced.
He had no idea how she could say those words so casually. They seemed to roll right off her tongue. He sucked at pretending. He wouldn’t be able to say anything to anyone about this supposed relationship without stumbling over every word.
“I knew it was only a matter of time!” Kyra flew to them and hugged Lyric, squealing. “I’m so happy!” She pulled back and hugged him next.
Thatch returned the embrace, grateful she couldn’t see his face.
“Does Aiden know yet?” she asked when all the hugging ended.
“No.” That question he could answer. “We’re trying to keep this on the down low.” Staying quiet would be best for him. Silas and Aiden knew him. They were basically his brothers. They’d spent months together on covert missions. They’d dodged bullets in some pretty sketchy situations. If he tried to lie to them face-to-face, they’d see right through him.
“But you’re going to tell him, right?” Kyra desperately tugged on his arm. “Because I can’t keep this from him. I can’t! I mean, he’ll be thrilled! He’s talked about you two getting together forever now. Actually, we all have.”
Yeah. He’d heard the talk. Which was why he’d asked Lyric out at the Christmas party.Surely she’ll say yes, they always told him. Everyone else thought they should give it a try. Just not the person who’d mattered the most. She’d said no. She didn’t want him. Not for real. He couldn’t lose sight of that fact in this facade.
“Why don’t you share the news with Aiden for us?” Lyric suggested. “But tell him not to make a big deal about it or anything.”
“Yes. You tell Aiden.” And then he’d avoid his friend as much as possible for the next month.
“Of course I’ll tell him.” Kyra rushed back behind the desk and slipped on her coat. “I was just getting ready to go home anyway. Had some paperwork to finish up. But I’ll tell him right when I see him.” She hardly took a breath between the words.
