Page 76 of Reckless
A laugh lurches from my chest, and it squeezes the tears from my eyes. “Fuck my life. I’m so soft now. What happened to me?”
Summer giggles, and she’s joined by another chuckle. One I know well. When I glance back, Sloane has emerged wearing leggings and ballet slippers. I didn’t realize she was here, but I should have known. She and Jasper might live at their new house on the ranch, but she still comes in to dance in the back studio. Even when she’s around, she and Jasper are constantly taking little vacations and road trips. I feel like I hardly see her these days.
“You’re happy.” She smiles. “Is it Theo? Does he make you happy?”
Summer smiles, still holding me. “Just don’t ask her about dream Theo. He’s the worst.”
“I’m melting.” I wipe my cheeks. “I’m like Frosty the Snowman.”
Summer presses her head back down on my shoulder. “Thanks for visiting.”
The door jangles, and Willa walks in, fiery mane glowing in the morning sunlight. “Why the fuck is everyone crying? Mondays aren’tthatbad.”
“Sloane’s not crying.” But when I turn to my friend, I notice there is, in fact, a tear rolling down her face. “Jesus. I think my disease is infectious.” I continue to swipe at my face. “Everyone stop.”
“Yeah, seriously.” Willa looks between the three of us. “You’re supposed to make grown men cry at this gym, not have some weirdYaya Sisterhoodcryfest at the front door. And why is there a dog on the front desk?”
Leave it to Willa to lighten the mood without trying.
“That’s Theo’s dog, Peter.”
She steps up to the desk and scratches Peter behind the ears. He licks his lips, small belly all round and full when he sits. “Like Peter North? Nice.”
“Willa. Please. No.” Summer scrubs at her face.
“What? It’s just that with the way he’s sitting, I can see that for his body size he has a pretty big—”
“Attitude,” I cut her off and let out a watery laugh. “He’s got a big attitude.”
My sister glances up at me, still pressed close. “Thank. You.”
“Willa, what are you doing here?” Sloane asks, trying to redirect the conversation.
“Cade told me to take the morning to myself. So here I am, ready to work out.”
“Work out?” I arch a brow.
“Yeah,” Summer says. “Willa has decided she wants me to train her.”
Willa gestures her chin in my direction. “Winter, you should join us. Summer is vicious. I’m ready for her to hurt me and come out with a killer bubble butt.”
I smile politely, but I don’t know if I’m ready to add that dynamic to Summer and me yet. I’m not sure if it’s what we need.
She must agree, because my sister says, “I could set you up with a different trainer. Might be good for you. I’ll watch Vivi and give you a break. If you do it at the end of the day, I can put her to bed.”
Relief washes over me because it does appeal. Maybe I could make the time.
“That might be good. I could ask Theo to watch Vivi too,” I say, stepping away from Summer to give her a grateful glance. She’s intuitive. She knows.
“WhereisVivi?” Sloane asks, and I sigh, sounding a bit like a lovesick teenager.
“She’s with Theo. We traded for the night. Actually...” I pull out my phone and hold it up so they can see the photo of Theo and Vivi in her crib.
There is a communal intake of breath before a resounding chorus of “Aww.”
“Yeah, you should definitely bang him again,” Willa says.
Summer reaches for my free hand, squeezing tight and staring up at me, even though I don’t look back.
