Page 55 of The Savior

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Only two more.Two more pull-ups would be impossible, but that was how many Chelsea had assigned to forget aboutallthe men in her life—Mac, Calhoun,andLiam. Two more pull-ups could erase her thoughts, including how she’d tried to call her dead best friend.

Her lungs burned, and her arms faltered. “Two—” So close, but she didn’t let go. She growled, gritting her teeth and cursing with the wrath of cupcakes and coconuts until she inched her chin over the bar then dropped.

One left.

At that point, she would rather die on a pull-up bar than fail. Fire bit her grip, and burnout shook her muscles, but she ignored the stars threatening to form in her eyes and refused to give up.

“You’ve got this.” Liam stepped into her peripheral vision.

If Chelsea had the strength to order him away with the grinding of clamped molars and pure determination, he would’ve disappeared in a poof of transporting magic.

Instead, she clung to his encouragement and rose above the bar, huffing. “One.”

She lowered, retaining as much control as she had left, then let go.

Stars danced, her limp arm muscles dangled, and the blood rushed in her head. A dizzy spell jeopardized her ability to remain upright. But she turned toward Liam, wanting to know if he was starring in her epic hallucinations or if he was really there.

He extended a hand as if she might topple over. “Overdoing it a bit?”

She tried to steady her breathing. Offering a simplenoseemed harder than her oxygen-deprived mind would allow. But she wouldn’t let him gawk as if she were near respiratory arrest. Chelsea shook out her arms and reached for her water, semi-sure she’d remain standing. “What are you doing here?”

“I left my card at the bar last night.”

She cut a questioning glance. The gym was most definitely not the bar.

He gestured in the direction of Smokey’s. “But they’re not open yet.”

Still, that didn’t explain why he was in the gym.

“And I saw your Jeep.” He ran a hand over the stubble on his jaw. It was a shade darker than his hair, and it added an unmistakable edge that she’d never noticed before. His intense eyes settled on her as if he’d said all the explanation he had to give.

The look pinned her in place, but not in an uncomfortable way. More in a way where she consciously had to remind her lungs to work.Inhale, exhale. Don’t, for all that was good and holy, pass out under his scrutiny.

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Decided on a sick day?”

“No. I…” Well, she didn’t want to explain what had transpired earlier.

“Am I supposed to guess?”

She focused on her water bottle. “My boss sent me home.” Then Chelsea snuck a quick peek at him.

Liam remained like a statue, silent and waiting for her to continue.

The idea of sharing Calhoun’s ridiculous accusation was irritating. She huffed. “Apparently, I might have a drinking problem.”

Liam pressed his lips together trying to stifle his laughter.

“Hey!” It wasn’t funny.

But he chuckled.

Chelsea smacked his shoulder. “It’s not funny.”

He snickered. “Yeah, well, it kind of is.”

“How?”

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