“As long as you’ve been having a nice time,” he says, but his forced smile is tighter than posing trunks. “You better go get ready, Amz. Your class is first up again. Someone really needs to speak to the organizers about their shitty timetable.”
She laughs and then bounces off in the direction of the changing room. We both watch her leave. I track her swinging hips until she disappears from view, my chest tightening with each step she makes.
“Does she know?” Trey asks.
I shake my head.
“What the fuck, Ivan? What did I tell you about getting involved with her?”
“It wasn’t deliberate,” I snap. “It kind of just happened. We’re having a bit of fun. She told me there’s no mileage in this. A few weeks of fooling around, and it will be over.” As my excuse passes my lips, I want to snap my mouth shut. It’s not true. I don’t even believe it. This is different.
“Fucking great,” he snarls. “The way she looks at you totally says otherwise.”
“You can’t fucking tell how she feels by looking at her looking at me for the whole of ten seconds. Don’t be such a dickhead.”
“Maybe not, but I know my friend, and she doesn’t fool around. How much time have you been spending together?”
“A few days, a few nights.” I clear my throat, trying to find air.Every night this week.“She helped me out with some Christmas shopping, then we bumped into a woman who wants to jump my bones. Amy pretended to be my girlfriend.”
He raises his eyebrows and signals for me to continue with his hand.
“Then she came with me to a country club ball as my fake date.”
“You took her to the country club?” he repeats, and I nod. “You don’t take women to the country club, do you?”
I shrug. “And she came to my family Christmas Eve dinner.”
“Why? Why the fuck would you do that? We both know that you wouldn’t take a woman anywhere if you didn’t want to. This fake date excuse is a load of shit. It was a way for you to get her on her back. And it bloody worked.”
“Believe what you want,” I mutter. “We’re both adults, and it’s fuck all to do with you.”
“Perhaps, but when you break her heart, it will become my business. I warned you to stay away from her. You don’t havemany friends, Ivan, and, fucking hell, you know how to screw them over.”
“I have no intention of screwing anyone over,” I whisper angrily. My pulse thuds in my neck, hot and raw. “Or breaking anyone’s heart.” His eyes widen in surprise at my words. “It’s not just fucking. I like her. A lot. It’s her who said she thinks it’s just a bit of fun. I haven’t corrected her yet.”
He stares at me, assessing my expression. “Yet? Well, you better work out how you’re going to explain how you’ve ended up owning her fucking gym then.”
I balk. My stomach drops like I’ve missed a step on the stairs. And the fear I’ve been filing away at the back of my mind plummets into my ribs. I know this is going to be a problem.
“She won’t be so bloody keen to suck your dick once she finds out you used someone to buy it from her without her knowing.”
I really wish I hadn’t offered him the position of managing the revamped gym, but that was before anything had happened with Amy. I had no loyalty to her then, but now I do.
“None of this was planned,” I say, rubbing at my forehead. “Buying the gym was a business decision.”
“There are hundreds of empty properties. You bought that gym because she told you no. It was a challenge for you. You need to tell her. That place was her dream. She’s devastated she lost it. If she finds out you have it and didn’t tell her...” His words disappear into a huff. “I actually don’t know what she’ll do. I just know it will hurt her that you weren’t honest.”
“I’ll tell her once we get back from Thailand.”
“Thailand?” he snaps. “You’re taking her to Thailand?”
“It’s probably best you don’t ask,” I tell him, then turn and walk off in the direction of my office, my festive mood shriveling like it’s been dropped in ice water.
I’ve had plenty of opportunities to tell Amy I boughtBex’s New You?she’s spoken about it often enough?but I’ve alwayslost my bottle. Every conversation about the place ends with her crying about how she let her sister down and how she hopes it won’t reopen as a gym.
It’s too late. The contract is signed, and it opens at the end of January. Staff have been appointed and we’re putting in the finishing touches before opening. Every upgrade I sign off on feels like another betrayal.
“Ivan,” Trey calls behind me, “when do you leave?”
