Icouldn’t believe I’d told Grace about Sarah. The woman had pulled my darkest secret out of me. But it was like a weight had been lifted off my damn heart. Now, I was determined to get back from Sabine the cherished photo of Sarah that was in my folder.
I had one thing to do before I flew to Nashville tomorrow. I’d sped back to Boston after having breakfast with Fran. Grace hadn’t joined us. She didn’t have a change of clothes, and we both felt it wouldn’t have been appropriate for Fran to see Grace in the same attire she’d worn the night of the banquet.
I hadn’t been comfortable with Grace traveling the two-plus hours back to Boston by herself, given what she’d shared with me. But I wasn’t about to treat her like Duke did. I had to trust she could handle herself in a bad situation. She’d been training in self-defense for the last ten years. She knew how to use a weapon, although she couldn’t legally carry one anymore. But her Taser would do in a pinch, at least to slow down anyone who dared try to hurt her.
I arrived at Duke’s gym and stormed through it after confirming he was there. I headed up the stairs toward his office,ready to battle, if it came down to it. I was ready to deal with Duke, no matter the consequences. He had to understand that I deserved to be happy as much as he did. Any good friend would want that for me.
I understood the bro code. If Sarah were alive, she would be a stunning thirty-four-year- old. If Duke pursuedmysister, I might react the same way he was. But the older I got, the more I learned that family stuck together no matter what, and Duke was family. He’d been like a brother to me from the minute we’d met.
I walked through the open doorway, not bothering to knock. Dillon had said he would tell Duke that Grace had been safe last night in my hotel room.
I was certain my best friend hadn’t slept a wink when he found that out. And if Grace and I had stayed another day in Connecticut, I had no doubt Duke would’ve driven there to read me the riot act.
He glanced up from the computer monitor, looking confused for a mere second until it must have clicked that I was stomping in like a soldier going to war.
“It’s time we hash things out,” I said in a tone that could easily slice through metal.
Not missing a beat and true to his nature, he rose, circled his desk, and got in my face. “You lied to me. You broke our trust.”
“I’ve never lied to you.”
“Then you in a hotel room with my sister isn’t lying?”
“You aren’t going to believe anything I say,” I stated matter-of-factly. “Which is why I’ve been avoiding you. So calm the fuck down and listen for once.”
He backed off to lean against his desk, crossing his arms over his chest.
I stretched my neck. “I’ve held back from not asking Grace out. I knew I couldn’t make a play. I value our friendship too fucking much to break a promise or lose your trust. I love youlike a brother. I would die protecting you and everyone in your family. That day, two weeks ago when I entered your gym and saw Grace in the ring with you, something snapped in me. It didn’t help that she seemed to be flirting with me, which I found odd until I learned she’s had a thing for me since she was twelve.”
I took a breath, my gaze never wavering from his.
He was wearing that blank expression he was famous for, leading me to believe he already knew what I was telling him. Either that, or he was trying to rattle my nerves. That was working, considering how I was carrying guilt around about how I felt about Grace. But I was done.
“And you’re here to tell me you slept with her.”
“Fuck, no. Kissed her, yes. Look, man, I have feelings for her. I don’t need your permission, but I would really like you to be onboard.”
He scratched his jaw. “It’s hard for me to wrap my head around you and Grace. You’ve always been a player.”
I let out a deranged chuckle. “Says the guy who was one as well. We both had the same motto. No love. Don’t sleep with the same woman more than twice. You remember that. You remember when we made that pact after I got Shayla pregnant. Hell, I only slept with her one time, though. No matter. You know as well as I do that your heart chooses the woman for you.”
Cue in, a notorious criminal meets an ATF agent, falls in love, has a child, and lives happily ever after. Shocking.
“What is it about my sister?”
I rolled my eyes. “I know what you’re doing. So don’t play coy.” I realized that he wanted to know if I was in love with Grace. Was I? Probably. I thought about her constantly and had even before I moved back to Boston. And since we’d shared those kisses, I wanted more. Like a lifetime of kisses.
He stood nose to nose with me. “I’m not playing anything. You want me to be onboard, then answer the question.”
Anger crept up from the pit of my stomach to burn my face and clench my jaw. But as soon as I realized I was letting him get to me, I stepped off, creating distance between us.
“My intentions are pure, Duke.” I crossed the room to look out his window that overlooked the gym. “I remember the day that she stopped me in my tracks. Remember that Thanksgiving, a month before you went to jail? We were at Denim’s place. Grace and Fran were talking about dress shopping because Fran had the father-daughter dance?”
He sidled up to me, seemingly not as tense. “I do. That was the day I was caught kissing Fallyn in the bathroom.” A smile broke free on his face. “Good times.”
“Well, I want good times, Duke. That day I saw something in your sister as she talked to Fran. Grace is gentle, caring, determined, strong, and has a heart of gold. She’s fierce, and that is something I love in a woman.”
“I hear you,” he said. “I just felt like you betrayed me. Why didn’t you tell me this from the start?”
