She pauses and looks around the empty room.
“Which I guess was too much to hope for.”
Something twists in my chest.
Not jealousy.
At least, that’s what I tell myself.
Cabe is my brother and one of my favorite humans.
If he and Jovie are finding their way back to each other, I’m happy for him.
Mostly.
“Yeah, afraid that’s gonna be a hard sell. But don’t feel bad. I got stood up too.”
“Really? By who?”
“Royce. That lazy asshole is worse than the teenagers.”
She laughs.
“You eat breakfast with Cabe every morning?” I have no idea why I asked.
She wrinkles her nose. “God, I hope not. He starts his day way too early. He just happened to have to run to town this morning, so he ate late. Stopped to get me on his way to the dining hall.”
She takes a drink from her water bottle.
“I’m sure he’ll be running late a lot this summer. Just so he can see you,” I say.
She shrugs. “Maybe. We’re both so busy. There isn’t much time to catch up.” Something softens in her expression. “So, I figured I’d make time. Even if someone had kept me up until sunrise.”
Cabe deserves people who make time for him. The guy spends every daylight hour working. Always has.
And if he wants Jovie, that’s a good thing. A really good thing.
So, why does the thought leave a sour taste in my mouth?
“Who kept who up exactly?”
She doesn’t answer, just smirks before she turns toward the stair climber and hops on.
The machine starts moving.
I continue to watch until she settles into a steady rhythm.
Then I return to my workout.
Or at least, I try.
I grab the pair of dumbbells and lie back down.
Start a set. Counting reps and trying to focus on form and breathing.
Try to focus on literally anything except the woman twenty feet away.
Unfortunately, my brain refuses to cooperate.
