Page 74 of Hearts on the Table
“It’sDoctorMcDaniels.” Jasmine waddled from the back office. She and Will exchanged a look. In an instant, his features flattened. His charming customer-service smile disappeared. Jasmine leaned against the desk. “Good to see you again, doctor.” Jas’s smile conveyed only the bare minimum level of politeness.
Katie flushed as she glanced between all the Reeses, who were doing a heck of a job icing her out. Even Sam stood rigid, his usually easy going demeanor evaporating into the air.
“I really was just looking for a gym. I didn’t know…I should go.”
“No, it’s fine.” Katie stopped short at my words. Honestly, I was shocked myself. But looking around at all my allies made me feel magnanimous.
Jas was sucking her teeth. Across the gym, Tess’s brow furrowed from the warm-up mats. Will probably didn’t even know what the heck was going on and here he was, arms crossed, giving Katie the evil-eye. And Sam…Sam was helping me close a wound I’d thought had healed years ago.
It felt right to have his calm, quiet presence beside me. Correct and necessary in a way I’d never felt before. It felt strong.Ifelt strong.
Katie’s betrayal would always sting, but standing here now, faced with a situation that would have featured in my worst nightmares just a few weeks ago, I realized I’d allowed her and Nate to dictate how I lived my life and what I thought I deserved for too long. Frankly, I was tired of defining myself and my worth based on their crappy actions.
The thought cracked something open in my mind. In an instant, the person in front of me wasn’t Kate, the woman who’d cheated with my boyfriend for months. She was just Katie, seemingly overwhelmed and a little nervous.
“It’s fine,” I repeated. “You already paid. Will puts on a great class. You should stay.” I eyed the Reeses around me. “Shouldn’t she?”
They grudgingly mumbled an affirmative, which made me want to sweep them all up into a group hug. Katie still looked like she was mentally halfway out the door, hand gripping the strap of her bag. I felt an unexpected pang of empathy. There was a time when I was also new to this town with no clue who to trust. I was familiar with the feeling of being surrounded by potential enemies.
“Come on. I’ll show you around.”
Awkward wasn’t a strong enough word to describe the next hour. I introduced Katie to Tess, whose smile turned rigid when she shook Katie’s hand. Her eyes darted to mine, widening for a second when Katie turned away. I tried to look as reassuring as possible. This was fine. It wasfine.
And it was. Katie kept to herself for most of the class, only asking Tess a few questions here and there. At my request, Will graciously agreed to work in a kickboxing warm up, modified for Katie’s growing tummy.
Any time I found my attention drifting to where she was, a quick scan of the room reminded me I had friends here. She was the one intruding on my life; I didn’t have to run scared.Ididn’thave to be defined by her actions. The thought was freeing. Revolutionary. Despite the strained, clumsy energy around our group, I was practically bouncing by the end of the hour.
“Good work, everyone. Carmichael, next time you take drugs before class, make sure to bring some for everyone.” Will glared at me while I grinned.
“Seriously, can I have whatever you’re having?” Jas grumbled, bouncing on a yoga ball behind the front desk. “I can’t believe how chipper you are whileshe’shere.” She threw an evil-eye across the gym as Katie packed up her water bottle and towel.
“It’s not that bad.” I only hesitated a second before reaching out to rub Jasmine’s shoulder. “You’re a good friend, Jas.”
“I know.” She winked. “You are, too. Speaking of, as soon as this baby pops out, please tell me we can go to Molido and convince Tiago to make us some margaritas.”
Sam leaned on the desk beside me, whistling. “Make sure you know what you’re signing up for. He makes them strong. Lethal, even.”
“I’m in. We’ll get Tess in on it, too. I hope you’re down for a good time,” I told Jas, eyeing Sam. “Tequila makes me a little wild.”
He took the bait, looking me up and down, hungry. “Very interested to see what wild looks like on you.” I leaned into him without thinking about it, loving the way he wrapped his arm around me, stroking up and down my spine. Jas pretended to gag, and I was sure we looked like little emojis with hearts for eyes.
But I didn’t care. That little voice screaming for me to slow this down had quieted to hardly a whisper. One I could usually silence by turning over in bed to cuddle under Sam’s arm. He always let me in. His fingers would stroke the skin at the top ofmy thigh, or the curve of my butt, and it was like a mute button for my insecurities.
“Oh, um, sorry. I just wanted to say…um…” Katie trailed off when Sam drew back.
“I’m gonna go check on Conner,” he muttered, walking away woodenly. I cursed myself for getting swept up in the moment and forgetting that someone from our hospital was here. We’d been so careful in public, but the gym felt like a sacred space. It lulled me into a false sense of security.
It didn’t help we’d been spending so much time together at his house that I’d gotten used to how he touched me constantly. Gotten used to it and discovered how much I loved it. Like, ate it up. I felt like he couldn’t get enough of me either. For someone who’d only had a few dalliances here and there for the last few years, I soaked up the attention, starved for it.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt.” She tracked where Sam was disappearing into the physical therapy half of the building, separated by frosted glass panels and a pony wall. Despite putting on my biggest big girl panties earlier tonight, seeing her watch him made me want to snap my fingers in front of her face, or grip her ear and wrench her eyes away. Instead, I pulled harder on my proverbial panties.
“Ah, you weren’t. He’s just…ah…a good friend.”
“I can see that.” Katie’s eyes twinkled. I pointedly did not look at Jasmine, who I’m pretty sure was scowling.
“You wanted to tell me something?” I changed the subject, wary of engaging my ex-best friend in a discussion about the man I was quickly falling head over heels for. Our track record wasn’t great there.
“I just wanted to say thank you. If I were you, I don’t think I’d be able to be so, um, gracious.” She chuckled, surveying the gym. “It’s too bad. This place is pretty killer. But it’s probably best if I don’t come back. I’ll tell Nate to steer clear, too.”
