Chapter 20
I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the edge of my sleeve, grateful Nina had convinced me to tag along this morning.
It had been a while since I’d stepped foot in a gym, and even longer since I’d felt like myself inside one.
But something about moving my body–pushing through reps, feeling the burn in my legs–cleared the fog in my head.
“Well, well, look who’s still got it,” Nina said, smirking at me from the squat rack. “You sure you’ve been out of the gym for a year? Because your ass is out here trying to sign an endorsement deal.”
I snorted, grabbing my water bottle. “They’d probably settle for not cramping halfway up the stairs.”
We made our way toward the open gym area, weaving between benches and machines, when Nina suddenly grabbed my arm and whispered, “Incoming.”
“What?”
She jerked her chin discreetly toward the free weights.
Ryan.
Shirt damp with sweat. Sleeves shoved up his forearms. Hair a little messy. That focused expression on his face as he curled a weight in one hand, bicep flexing under the strain like it was straight out of a damn sports commercial.
I nearly tripped over my own shoelace.
“Jesus,” I muttered, blinking rapidly and looking anywhere but directly at him. “Is that legal?”
Nina grinned. “Pretty sure he’s the reason the mirrors fog up in here.”
Next to Ryan, Shane was doing something with a medicine ball–grunting and throwing it at the wall like it had personally offended him. Ryan, on the other hand, was calm, controlled. Like he didn’t even realize the number of heads turning his way.
And mine was spinning.
His shirt was just barely clinging to his back, riding up enough to reveal that godforsaken dip at the base of his spine–the one I’d tried very hard not to notice the other night when he bent over to fix the pillow fort.
He glanced up mid-set and spotted us.
And just like that, I forgot how to breathe.
His eyes landed on mine and his whole face lit up. A smile tugged at his lips–lazy, knowing, like he’d caught me staring and was absolutely enjoying it.
I turned quickly to Nina.
Nina, not missing a beat, grinned like a devil. “Looking good, Ryan,” she called out.
I wanted to melt into the rubber flooring.
Shane turned first, tossing the medicine ball down with a dramatic huff. “Hey, what about me?”
Nina rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. No one’s looking at you when Coach over here is strutting around like a GQ model.”
“Rude.” Shane said, raising both arms in mock offence.
Ryan walked over, grabbing a towel to swipe at his face, then slinging it over his shoulder. “Didn’t expect to see you two here this early.”
His voice was low and rough, the kind that made it feel like I was the only one in the room.
I gave a weak wave. “Nina dragged me. I was promised coffee after.”
“She’s lying,” Nina said cheerfully. “She’s the one who suggested it.”
Ryan raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. “You? Suggested the gym?”
I shrugged, pretending my knees weren’t currently jelly. “I have layers.”
“Mm,” he said, lips twitching. “Dangerous ones.”
I didn’t know what to say to that. Mostly because my brain was short-circuiting from the way his voice wrapped around the word dangerous.
Shane leaned against a bench and looked at Nina. “You staying for cardio or just here to collect compliments from the weight room?”
She grinned. “Oh, I already did that when I walked in.”
As they launched into some ridiculous banter about protein shakes and squat form, Ryan stepped a little closer to me.
“How’s it going?” he asked, voice quieter now.
“Good,” I said, nodding. “You?”
He gave a half-shrug. “Better now.”
My stomach flipped.
Before I could say anything else, Shane’s voice cut through the moment like a barbell dropping. “So are you two going to do an actual workout at some point today, or what?”
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me,” he said, grinning like the smug menace he was. “Looked like you were doing some light stretching and some aimless wandering to me.”
Nina raised an eyebrow. “Careful, O’Connell. I could take you on.”
Shane’s grin widened. “In what? A race to the juice bar?”
Nina snorted. “Please. You’re just scared I’ll beat you. Again.”
He cocked his head. “Is this like that time at the lake when you swore you could hold your breath longer than me and nearly passed out trying to prove it?”
“You mean the time I did hold it longer, and you faked a cramp because your ego couldn’t handle losing to a girl?”
“It’s on.”
“Oh, it is so on."
And somehow, just like that, I was looped in too.
“Alright, Harp,” Nina said, turning to me like I’d volunteered. “Let’s show these boys what we can do.”
“I–what?” I blinked. “I thought we were done!”
Ryan was already chuckling beside me. “C’mon, I’ll be your partner. We’ll suffer together.”
Before I could protest, Shane clapped his hands like a personal trainer straight from hell. “Alright, team: circuit time. Three rounds. No whining, no mercy.”
“Define mercy,” I muttered.
“Not relevant,” Shane said, already tossing medicine balls around like he was running boot camp.
The next thirty minutes was a blur of push-ups, burpees, weighted squats, and what Shane called “light cardio,” which was basically sprinting up and down the gym hallway while he barked encouragement like a drill sergeant.
By round two, I was pretty sure my soul had left my body. Nina was red-faced but still trash-talking. Ryan, the traitor, looked mildly out of breath and entirely too amused. And me?
I was dying.
Like actually dying.
I collapsed on the mat after our final plank hold, arms shaking, sweat dripping down my temples. “If I don’t make it,” I panted, “tell Connor I love him. And to never trust anyone named Shane.”
Shane leaned over, offering me a smug smile and a hand. “You did great, Harper. Real proud.”
I swatted at him weakly. “I hope you step on a LEGO.”
He just laughed, helping me up. “Can’t handle a little challenge?”
“Can’t handle you,” I groaned.
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” he shot back.
Ryan handed me a water bottle, eyes sparkling. “To be fair, I think you crushed it.”
I squinted at him. “You’re a liar. But thank you.”
He grinned. “Anytime.”
And despite the jelly legs and oxygen-deprived brain, I found myself smiling too. Because somehow–despite the pain, despite Shane’s sadism–it had actually been kind of fun.
The plan was to meet at the brunch cafe down the street after everyone had showered and changed, but apparently, Nina and Shane were running late.
Which left me alone with Ryan. Again.
He was already seated at a high-top table when I arrived, freshly showered, damp hair curling slightly at the ends, wearing a dark grey henley that did dangerous things to my self-control.
The sleeves hugged his biceps just enough to be distracting, and the way he leaned back casually in his seat, one arm draped over the backrest like he owned the place. Yeah. I was in trouble.
He looked up from his drink and grinned. “If it isn’t the woman who nearly dropped a dumbbell on her foot.”
I dropped my bag next to the chair and slid into the seat across from him. “That was your fault. You made me do Shane’s crazy workout.”
“My fault?” He leaned forward, feigning innocence. “We rescued you. You were doing those half-hearted lunges like someone avoiding leg day.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I was pacing myself. Didn’t realize I was about to be drafted into a boot camp.”
Then I smirked. “Also–how would you even know my lunges were half-hearted? Were you watching me, Coach?”
He didn’t miss a beat. “Purely for quality control.”
“Mmhmm,” I said, leaning back. “Pretty sure I caught you staring when I was doing deadlifts, too.”
His grin turned wolfish. “Can you blame me?”
I laughed, resting my elbows on the table. “My quads may never recover. I’m filing a formal complaint.”
“With who? Shane? He’ll frame it.”
“You,” I said, pointing at him. “You’re his accomplice.”
Ryan leaned back, smug. “Guilty. I have to say, though, you did nearly crush him with that medicine ball throw. I’ve never been prouder.”
“I wasn’t aiming,” I deadpanned.
“Sure you weren’t.” His eyes sparkled as he sipped his drink. “Still. You were kind of badass out there.”
I rolled my eyes, not stopping the smile that tugged at my lips. “You’re just saying that because I didn’t puke.”
“That too,” he said with a wink. “But mostly because you made it through. That workout would’ve killed most people.”
I snorted. “Good to know I’ve met your standard for survival.”
His grin softened slightly, gaze lingering. “More than that.”
And for a moment, everything felt still–buzzing quietly with something unspoken.
“I think we’ve been stood up,” I said, glancing at my phone.
Ryan sipped his smoothie and smirked. “Fine by me. I kind of like having you all to myself.”
My heart skipped.
“You always this smooth?” I asked, arching a brow.
His smile deepened. “Only when it works.”
I snorted, the heat rising to my cheeks betraying me. “Well, don’t get cocky. I haven’t decided if it’s working yet.”
“Oh, it’s working,” he said, gaze dropping to my mouth for just a second–quick, but unmistakable.
My breath hitched.
He noticed.
The shift was subtle, and everything slowed.
Ryan leaned in, just a little. Not enough to draw attention, but enough that I felt it.
The air between us tightened, the rest of the cafe falling away until it was just the two of us.
His smoothie sat untouched, forgotten, while his forearms rested on the table like he needed the anchor.
His fingers twitched near mine–hovering, unsure, like he was fighting some internal war.
“Harper…”
The way he said my name–low, rough, like it had caught in his throat–sent a shiver down my spine. My breath caught.
No one had ever said it like that.
Like it meant something. Like I meant something.
I should’ve looked away. Should’ve laughed it off, made a joke, broken the tension before it swallowed us whole. But I didn’t.
I couldn’t.