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“Grant.”
She walked away from him, going to take the first orders.
After finishing up her third table, she went to the back toward Carl, where Beatrice waited for her.
“Grant’s not part of the club anymore,” Beatrice said.
“Oh, that’s odd.”
“Bull kicked him out. He’s not here to cause trouble. He’s looking for a place to stay and a job, that’s all. I can’t give him any of those things, but I can let him have a coffee while he enjoys his search. Is that okay?” Beatrice asked.
“Why are you asking me? This is your diner.”
“I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”
“Honestly, I’m fine. I’ve got no reason to be uncomfortable. He’s just … a guy.” She offered a smile.
There was no way she was going to tell Beatrice that he made her life a living hell back in high school. Besides, she was the grown-up, and could get past it. Grant was the asshole.
She walked back through the main diner, going around the counter to grab the coffee pot.
Turning back to Grant, she hesitated. She was going to ignore him, but now that she saw him, she couldn’t walk away. “Do you want some more coffee?” she asked.
“I’d love some.” He smiled at her.
She didn’t smile back.
He held out his coffee cup for her to pour.
“There’s cream and sugar there,” she said, pointing to the side of the mug.
“Wait, Maddie. I wanted to see how you were doing,” he said.
She held the handle of the coffee pot tightly. “Excuse me?”
“I know things have never been easy for us. My brother can be quite the asshole, and I get it. I understand if you don’t want to talk to me.”
Maddie smiled. “Your brother broke my heart, humiliated me, and the last thing I want to do is talk to his brother. You may be out of the club, but…” She pressed her lips together. “I don’t want to talk to you.”
Grant didn’t leave all morning.
For the most part, she ignored him, only offering him coffee when she had to. He didn’t budge.
Not once.
It was Tuesday, so she had the gym tonight. They were a few days away from Thanksgiving, and Beatrice had let her know they were going to open up the diner and offer dinner for those that didn’t feel like cooking it. She had told her it was going to be one big happy family, and it sounded like a lot of fun. Also, the prospect of spending the day alone didn’t thrill her one bit.
Grant didn’t leave all day.
By five, it was the end of her shift. She said her goodbyes to Beatrice and Carl before heading to her apartment. She didn’t shower but changed into her gym kit, then headed to see Jase.
Like always, he was at the front desk when she entered.
The moment she walked in, he held up a swimsuit. “We’re spending the next hour in the water.”
She rolled her eyes but took the swimsuit.
Entering the women’s changing rooms, she found a stall and stripped out of her clothes, quickly sliding the swimsuit into place. She hated how much of her body it showed off, but that was the point of coming to the gym.
She found a locker, stuffed her clothes inside, and secured the key around her ankle.
When she made it to the pool, Jase was already in.
A couple of people were swimming. She went to the stairs and stepped into the water, letting out a little gasp as he grabbed her hips, helping her down.
“Oh, you didn’t have to do that,” she said.
“I don’t mind.”
She moved out of his touch and went to the center of the pool where they normally were.
“How was your day?”
“Fine. You?”
“Busy.”
“Is that why we get to be in the pool?”
“Yes. I want to start getting warmed up, and then we’ll do a few laps.”
Maddie took the twenty minutes to get warmed up, following Jase’s directions, and then, she was swimming breaststroke alongside him. It didn’t take him long to get ahead of her, and she took her own pace, loving the feel of the water around her body.
Memories of Bull’s hands on her body were a little distracting, and after doing ten laps, she clung to the side of the pool, hoping to gain her composure.
Jase was behind her.
His hands pulled some of her hair off her neck. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just … a bad day, I guess.”
“Do you want to do some backstroke laps?” he asked.
She was tempted to say no, but that would be giving in, and she refused to do that. “Yes.”
“Okay, let’s do this.”
They swam together until it was her time to call an end to it. Jase gave her some cool-down exercises, and then she was free to go. She’d never been so grateful for climbing out of a pool.
She took her time changing, and Jase waited to take the swimsuit from her. He promised it got washed between sessions, and she wasn’t the only person he trained to wear it.
