“Who is it?” She waves a waiter over and orders a fresh coffee. I ask for one of my own.
Butterflies winging around my stomach, I lean onto my forearms and lower my voice. “Is it going to bother you to talk about Seth?”
She gazes at me thoughtfully. “No, but I’m curious what he has to do with it. Does he disapprove?”
I pause, trying to figure out how to phrase this. Ashlin is the closest thing to a best friend I’ve ever had, and I don’t want her to think poorly of me for jumping straight from a relationship with one man on the professional fighting scene to another. “I’m seeing Devon Green.”
One perfectly arched brow shoots up. “As in, ‘Dangerous’ Devon Green? The guy Seth trains?”
I nod to confirm. “Yeah, that’s him.”
“Ah.” Her tone says she understands, but then she adds, “I’ve seen photos of him. He’s hot.”
“Fun, too. And sweet.”
She mimics my pose, leaning toward me on her elbows. “Seth doesn’t like you dating one of his guys.”
“No,” I admit. “He specifically asked me not to.”
“Oh, Harley.”
“We told him this morning, and he basically said one of us had to leave the gym because he won’t train us both. He thinks it’ll get too messy if we break up.”
She winces. “He has a point.”
“I know.” Ducking my head, I do my best to ignore the logic because I don’t want to think about me and Devon breaking up. “I don’t think that will happen though. Devon is… well, he’s special.”
She tilts her head and studies me. “He must be, for you to risk falling out with Seth over him.” She purses her lips. “He’s probably just as married to the sport as Seth is.”
“Fine by me. Remember, I lived at a gym for eight years.”
“So you did.” The crinkles around her eyes deepen. “Perhaps it’s a match made in heaven. Except for the whole ultimatum thing. Do you love him?”
“I don’t know.” I shrug helplessly. “How are you supposed to figure stuff like that out?”
“Well…” She holds my gaze, searching for something in it, but I’m not sure what. “If you can’t picture the future without him, and the thought of losing him makes you want to cry, then it’s probably love.”
I consider this. The fact is, I do tend to imagine him when I think of the future these days, and the idea of him getting tired of my hang-ups and leaving makes my chest tight. Do I want to cry? No, not really. But then, I don’t often cry. It’s not the way I cope with things. Ashlin, on the other hand, is far more emotionally driven than me.
“Thanks, Ash. Is that how you—” I bite my tongue. It’s none of my business how she felt about Seth, or whether she still thinks of him. Yeah, maybe I loved having her as my sister but that doesn’t give me the right to poke into her life.
Her expression softens. “Yeah. But on a different note, what is it you want my help with?”
“Figuring out how to talk Seth around.”
The waitress arrives with our coffees, and I wrap my hands around mine, warming my fingers, which are colder than usual.
“That’s not going to be easy.” She blows on the surface of her drink, then sips it. “You know how stubborn he is once he makes a decision.”
I do, but that doesn’t mean I can’t hope for something better. “Any suggestions?”
She shrugs. “It’s been years since I saw him. He could have changed since then.”
I snort. “Doubt it. He’s like an immovable object. Everything changes around him, but he stays the same.”
She smiles softly, something a little wistful in her expression. “He’s not a bad guy. He just has a certain view of the world, and he prefers not to talk about awkward topics if he can avoid it.”
“I know.” Despite our difficulties, I love him. He always filled the role of my protector and I suppose it’s hard to ask him to drop it now.
