Apollo looks at Elio, who doesn’t seem surprised. “Care to comment, brother?”
“Melani’s family has been less than kind to Rayna,” he says cagily. “It’s nothing to worry about, and not my story to tell. I assume it’ll come out eventually, but Rayna won’t act on whatever negative feelings she harbors. At least not physically. She’s good at keeping her resentment hidden.” He smirks at Apollo. “Unless it’s directed at you, brother.”
I try not to crack up, only letting out a chuckle. “Martha was tickled pink when I told her a woman shouted at you. I think she and Dad are planning your wedding as we speak. Looks like they want you to marry someone who isn’t afraid to knock you down a peg.”
“I’m not going to dignify your little theory with a response.”
Huffing, I roll my eyes. “Thatwasa response.”
“Perhaps I should start planningyourwedding,” he suggests, voice dripping with threat.
“Jeez,” I wince. “No need to be so touchy.”
“Get some water and take a break.” Armani’s voice breaks up our conversation. “You did good. It takes a while to correct bad habits but so far you haven’t pissed me off—and almost every student does.”
Yordan fucking beams, taking in Armani’s compliment with a bright smile. “I’ll try to continue and keep you un-pissed.”
Armani dips his head. “Good man.”
“You can make him extra happy by inviting him to suit shopping after this,” Elio calls out to Yordan with a chuckle. “Just be advised, hewillbe snobby about every single thing you try on.”
Armani can’t hide his excitement, a huge smile lighting up his face. “Suit shopping, you say?”
“Hey, thank you for buying Rayna’s clothes by the way,” Yordan says to Armani. “She was pretty uncomfortable with the whole idea and I doubt she would have bought more than a few things. She probably won’t admit it for a while, but I think she’s excited to have a whole closet again.”
“It was a pleasure.” Armani takes a bow with his hands together, obviously proud of himself. “I would have gotten her more but I didn’t want to buy a bunch of shit and have her hate it all. I tend to go overboard.”
“That’s an understatement,” I chime in, amused. “There’s a whole guest room of clothes you’ve bought Jade and Ana that they haven’t even gone through entirely yet.” Not to mention the amount of designer baby dresses he buys for Isobella.
“Women have so many more fun options.” He pouts. Turning back to Yordan, his smile twists into a frown. “Hey, are you drinking just regular water? You should really use an electrolyte packet, you’ve sweat a lot. Here, let me get you a good one.”
Elio laughs. “Oh good, another person for the hydration king to pester. Run while you can, Yordan.”
Yordan shrugs, unbothered. “I’ll take all the help I can get.”
Armani grins. “Good answer, kid.”
Apollo has clearly had enough of our chatting and tells Yordan, “Get showered after your drink, and grab something to eat from the kitchen. We’ll leave within the hour.”
Yordan looks down at himself and grimaces at the amount of sweat he’s covered in. His blue shirt has gone from cornflower to cobalt, soaked all the way through. “Where do I go to shower?”
I’m about to offer to let him use my room when Apollo makes my jaw drop. “Guest room on the first floor off the kitchen and down at the end of the hall, it’s yours now.”
Yordan freezes. “Seriously?”
Seriously?I almost echo.
Apollo grunts in confirmation. “You’ll be training here a lot, you’ll need your own bathroom and your own space. It’s unused. It’s yours.”
“I—thank you,” Yordan says, swallowing and looking away. Fuck, he looks like he could cry.
“I need a shower too,” I announce, trying to take the attention away from him in case he actually needs to shed a few tears. “Come on, Yordan, this house is a maze. I’ll walk with you so you don’t get lost and end up in the security office or something.”
No one objects as I clap him on the shoulder and usher him out of the gun range. The basement of this massive house is split between the gym, the armory, and the gun range, but luckily, there’s a staircase on either end of it. I lead Yordan up the closest one and into the kitchen.
“You want to grab food after you wash up, or now?”
“After is fine,” Yordan replies, more relaxed now than before. “I’m pretty sure I smell too gross to eat.”
