“He’s definitely not that,” I murmured.
He bought sticker books for his sick daughter and kept a low profile. He got in my face when he thought I was being reckless with my safety and didn’t flinch at my anger. He bought coffees and wiped down weight benches. One moment, he looked like he was going to back me up against a wall, and the next, he was maintaining a polite professional distance.
“If you stare any harder, you’re going to burn a hole in his skin,” Kelly commented lightly.
“Just trying to figure him out.”
“Uh-huh.”
I rolled my eyes.
“You two have been circling each other since the day he started. It’s like watching the two most flirt-avoidant people in the universe trying to figure out how to speak to each other.”
I tossed a used wipe at her, and she laughed.
Aiden’s attention moved in our direction, and with the T-shirt folded in his hand, I felt a little like he was studying me in the same way I was studying him.
The next day, I was off.
And the one after that, I added Kombucha to the list of drinks that Aiden did not drink in the morning.
It wasn’t matcha either, which tasted like dirt, according to him.
The routine we settled into over the next week held a strange sort of tension, different than it had been at the beginning. Maybe because we were on more equal footing, or maybe because I wasn’t doing my very best to avoid him anymore.
And what I found, as I watched him interact with his growing list of clients, with the new trainers we hired, with the rest of us, was that I liked him as much as I wanted him.
His sense of humor was there, hidden underneath the reserve.
“Lemon water?” he asked. He held the cup up and gave it a dirty look.
“Apparently I’m not very good at this.” I watched him over the edge of the computer monitor.
“Tastes like I’m drinking Pledge.”
I rolled my eyes, and Aiden watched me carefully.
“Do you want some help with that?” he asked, nodding at all the boxes I was still unpacking. We’d ordered new shelves, new racks to match the new branding, and it was taking longer than I thought while I trained the new hires.
I shook my head. “It’s okay. Besides, you’ve got a new client coming at nine. All her paperwork is on your desk.”
“The soccer player?” he asked.
With a nod, I turned to grab another stack of shirts. They were just out of my reach, and he leaned down to push the stack closer to me. I smiled.
“How do you know her?” I asked.
“Same agent. Or my former agent, at least.”
I slid a neatly folded stack of shirts into the correct bin for their size. “You don’t need an agent anymore?”
Aiden shook his head. A lot of athletes, especially if they were high-profile enough, maintained a steady stream of endorsement income after retiring. He was watching me, eyes considering, like he somehow knew how hard this was for me. But he also didn’t share anything further.
I took a deep breath and glanced up at him. “You’d probably make easier money than what you’re doing here, if you still had one.”
Aiden’s mouth softened, but he didn’t smile.
He glanced at the gym, and I liked the way his eyes warmed when he looked at the space, the equipment. Like it was something more. “I probably would, Ward.”
When he disappeared into his office, I buried my face into the shirt and tried to calm the racing of my heart.
Normal twenty-five-year-old women could flirt and laugh and ask a handsome man questions without triggering an anxiety attack, but not me.
Not Isabel Ward, the girl who could handle anything in the entire world except those three things.
His new client came, and I did very well not fangirling when she introduced herself.
“Welcome to Hennessy’s,” I told her, handing her a membership card. “Aiden will meet you back by the treadmills in just a minute.”
As I approached his office, I shook the jitters out of my hands.
One day at a time. Even if he was only ever my boss, even if we never repeated what happened in the open space in the middle of the gym, this was how relationships of any kind were built.
Gently, I knocked on the open door.
“Come in,” he said.
Aiden was sitting in front of his monitor, and my throat went dry because he’d slid black-framed glasses over his face. Not once in my entire life had I found glasses appealing, but apparently, I had a new fetish.
Former fighter turned businessman was a whole mood, and I really, really liked it.
His eyebrows raised expectantly.
“Right.” I cleared my throat. “She’s here for her session.”
Aiden stood and tossed the glasses onto the desk. I stepped back so he could leave his office, but he paused in the doorway, his frame filling the space. His client stood over by the treadmill, stretching her legs, knee wrapped in a black brace. When she hurt it in the last World Cup, I almost cried.
“It’s a big deal,” I heard myself say.
He wasn’t a world-famous trainer. He wasn’t a loud social media presence or someone whose name was mentioned often anymore. But still, she was here to become stronger.
He didn’t ask what I meant. “It is.”
My gaze lingered on his profile. And when he turned, eyes locked on mine, I didn’t look away.
“That’s why,” he said quietly. “This isn’t easy money. But at this point in my life, I want to build something that matters.”
Then he walked away, and I was left wondering if I wasn’t completely making things worse by trying to understand him better.
He was in the middle of his session when the twins showed up, gym bags slung over their shoulders.
“I didn’t know you two were coming today,” I told them.
Lia hooked a thumb at Claire. “Her idea.”
I glanced at Claire. “It’s never your idea to work out.”
Claire held up her hands. “Not for that.”
My eyebrows rose. “For what then?”
Lia held up two fingers. “We wanted a glimpse at him because you’re still being awfully cagey, and two, Molly told us about your fight.”
“It wasn’t a fight, per se,” I hedged.
Claire set a hand on Lia’s arm. “We get it. And we’re not taking sides. I just wanted to check on you because we haven’t seen much of you lately.”
Standing from the stool, I joined them as they walked back toward the bags. “No taking sides, huh? You’re saying I’m the only one not thrilled at the prospect of seeing her.”
“If I thought she’d actually come, I’d probably need to medicate,” Lia said.
Claire smiled. “I could go either way. But I tend to agree.”
Aiden glanced over while I sat on the ground with them as they began stretching. But his client started a new rep, and he pulled his gaze from me and the twins.
“I’d just rather not think about her coming or not coming,” I told them. “I hate that hanging over the day.”
Claire wrapped her hands around the bottom of her shoe and leaned forward. “Just don’t fight that discomfort, you know? Ignoring your feelings about it will only make it worse.”
“Thank you, Miss Future Therapist.”
She smiled. “Plus, even if she does come, no one says you have to engage with her at all.”
Lia pressed her arm over her chest and stretched. “She’s not gonna show. No way she has the guts.”
When I shifted on the floor, Claire gave her twin a look. “We’ve got plenty of time to figure it out.”
Apparently, my desire to talk about Brooke was stamped pretty clearly on my face.
Lia snuck a look over her shoulder, where Aiden was guiding his client in some lunges. He pointed out something in her form, and she nodded, immediately adjusting. “Holy shit, is that Allie Catalano?”
I nodded.
She whistled. “I can’t wait to tell Jude.”
“How’s it going with him?” Claire asked carefully.
I gave her a look. “Perfectly fine, thank you.”
Claire smiled. “Has he talked about his wife much? I can’t imagine how hard it must be to start over like that.”
“Just once,” I said, watching him again. His eyes found mine and held.
Instead of looking away, like I might have before, I took a deep breath and gave him a small smile.
“Not really the kind of topic you can push if someone doesn’t want to discuss it,” Lia said. “Imagine if Logan lost Paige. He wouldn’t be able to talk easily about her either.”
The three of us went quiet. My heart went a little pinched, a little achy at the thought of it. He’d never be ready. Never.
Maybe that was the kind of marriage Aiden had too. The kind he’d never get over.
One day at a time, I reminded myself.
The twins left.
His client left.
A class started and ended while I continued to work.
And I found myself unable to stop thinking about what Lia had said. What this fresh start might mean to him.
As I thought it, a giant truck pulled up in front of the building and I hopped up off the floor to go to Aiden’s office.
“Got a minute?” I asked, popping my head around the corner.
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “For you, yeah.”
My cheeks went warm, and in the light of his office, I thought maybe his did too.
“The guys are here to install the new sign.” I gave him a tiny smile. “Want to watch?”
He studied me. “If you’ll join me.”
Carefully, I nodded, and left his office while he followed.
Chapter Fourteen
Aiden
I’d almost convinced myself that the invitation for her to join me meant nothing. Almost. Because as we walked side by side, a low, humming awareness arced between her body and mine even though we didn’t touch.
Nothing more would ever be possible with her, I’d come to realize. But it was tolerable, at least for my own sanity, as long as it didn’t progress past this.
It was that awareness that had me stepping just a little farther away from her, because the last thing I needed was to ruin the ease we’d found in the recent stretch of days.
“Lemonade?” she asked.
In my head, I laughed out loud. But I kept my face even as I answered. “Nope.”
When I glanced in her direction, she was frowning.
“It’s not fair, you know,” she said lightly. “I know you asked Amy what to get us.”
I pushed open the gym door and gestured for her to exit the building in front of me. “Life never is fair, is it, Ward?”
She snorted.
The men standing in the cherry picker affixed the sign with precision as Isabel, and I found a spot to stand and watch. The edges of the H appeared, a vivid blue that would glow brightly when the lights turned on at night.
Next to me, Isabel shaded her eyes and watched them work.
Her frame expanded on a deep inhale, and I found myself waiting to see if she’d speak, what she’d say.
“Before I came here for the first time, I had no idea how to handle all the things I’d shoved down. At fourteen, I didn’t know it was just … anger waiting to get out.” She licked her lips as more of the sign appeared. “Fear too, I guess. I ended my first workout a sobbing mess.” She paused, a rueful expression on her beautiful face, and I couldn’t tear my eyes from her. “I hate crying. But this place gave me something safe. Somewhere safe to put all the things that were too big for my body.”
It was easy to imagine her at that age, blazing eyes and emotions exploding out of her.
The workers moved to the other side, half of the sign now visible.
“I have never loved a place more than the home where my brother raised us,” she continued. “Until I walked through those doors.” Isabel turned to me, eyes soft and solemn. “I’m really proud to be a part of what you’re building here, Aiden. You’re taking something I love, and you’re treating it with the same care that I would if it were mine.”
My reaction to her words, her admission, wasn’t peaceful or soothing, and it took everything in me to hold still, not to reach for her hand, simply to find an anchor in the moment. “Thank you,” I said in a gruff voice.
Through the sound of the drills they used, the loud tinkering of metal on metal, Isabel and I fell into a comfortable silence.
I closed my eyes as the sun warmed my skin, and I imagined Beth seeing this. She’d be proud, in this home I’d found, this haven I was building.
The workers pulled the last of the protective coverings down, and as the cherry picker lowered, I finally saw the name in full.
“Looks good,” she said quietly.
The words were slow to crawl up my throat, past the hard-edges of emotion crowding the space. “It does.”
Somehow, it felt right that it was just her and I witnessing this moment, and I refused to dig into why.
“You didn’t want to have a big ribbon-cutting or anything?” she asked.
I shook my head.
“You know, you keep surprising me.”
Glancing at her, I found her attention still focused on the sign. “Yeah?”
“I’ve known a lot of athletes, current and former. Even if they don’t love the spotlight, they know how to use it to their advantage when necessary. I figured you’d do that here.”
I hummed, folding my arms over my chest. “A few years ago, I think I might’ve.”
Isabel gave me a quick look, then turned back to the front of the building.
“It might not be like this for everyone,” I continued, “but when my wife died, I hated the attention that came with it. With my decision to leave the sport. Being the center of everyone’s focus at the worst time in your life changed everything. Nothing about it appealed to me anymore.” I stared at the letters in blue. “I know it sounds crazy.”
“Not crazy.” She gave me a look, wisps of her almost-black hair slipping across her face in the breeze. “But you deserve to celebrate this. Your family and friends do too.”
My hands itched to slide the hair behind her ears. I left them where they were. “You think so?”
Her lips pulled at the edges, the start of a sly grin. “Well, if someone were to plan a party, they should have plenty of notice.”
“Ahh. If someone were to agree, I’ll let you know.” I raised an eyebrow. “Nothing big though, if we do. I’ve got someone I can reach out to for a little press though.”
“Okay.” She bit down on her bottom lip, sent a quick glance in my direction. “Hot chocolate?”
“Nope,” I murmured.
Isabel huffed quietly, and as she walked back into the gym, I found myself smiling.
Isabel
The next morning, Aiden looked tired and a little grumpy when he came in, but at the sight of an empty glass filled with ice on the front desk, his eyes warmed.
“So close.”
“Well, I’m running out of options.”
“Maybe you just need to try harder, Ward.”
I allowed a tiny eye roll and turned back to the computer screen, where an email popped up and had me smiling.
“Good news?” Aiden asked.
“Yeah.” I scrolled down the email. “It’s from the dean of student life at UDub. She’s going to work with us on spreading the news about our self-defense class. She thought it was a great idea, and if we get enough people to sign up, we could offer a few different sessions so we don’t overload the space.”
Aiden glanced at the gym, and I could tell he was trying to picture it.
I stood, gesturing beyond the ring. “We could push some of the equipment to the far side, and remove a few bags to temporarily open some space. But I think for the first class, we should cap the sign-ups at twenty to make sure w
e have enough room to move around.”
He nodded. “Sounds good.”
I sucked in a slow breath. “We charging for the class?”
His eyes were bright and clear when he moved his gaze back to me. “What do you think?”
My lips twitched at his perfectly even, perfectly annoyed that I’d even ask tone. “In general? Or about this?”
“Ward,” he growled.
I felt like I was poking a giant bear, but hell if I didn’t practically feel high being able to get just a little mouthy with him. We’d come far, I realized with no small amount of pride. “I assumed I knew the answer, but I didn’t want to do anything without your permission.”
His eyes flared. “You mean like when you tried to kick me in the head a couple of weeks ago?”
Heart hammering at the warmth in his tone, I was very proud of myself when I coolly, so coolly raised an eyebrow. “Not my fault you weren’t paying attention.”
He gave me a long look, and it stretched just long enough that my belly flipped dangerously. Sitting back down on the stool, I cursed the warmth in my cheeks.
Aiden was quiet for a few moments, and I found myself holding my breath for what he’d say next.
It was the first mention of that night, and he’d been the one to bring it up. That had to be significant, right?
“Electrician should be here in about thirty to start setting up the scanning system for the door,” he said. “Feel free to send him back to my office when he gets here.”
I kept my tone light. “You got it, boss.”
My hand had a slight tremble as I clicked on another email, and he was still behind me.
But when he walked away, I let out a slow breath and got back to work.
The rest of the day went smoothly. I taught a class and had a training session. The electrician installed our new system, and Emily and I worked for the next two days to figure out the distribution of the new card system to all members.
I set a carton of milk on Aiden’s desk when I returned after a day off, and his lips twitched.
“Oh, come on,” I said.
He leaned back in his chair, hands braced behind his head. “Eventually, you’ll get it because you’ll run out of options.”
Forbidden: A Ward Sisters Sisters Novel Page 13