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Rachel gave me a look. “Really?” One of her dark blond brows inched up. “Have you seen her lately?”
Yes, I had. All of her. Naked, beautiful, and vulnerable. Curves and grace. Irresistible heart glimmering inside her greenish-blue eyes. I wanted to hold her heart in my hands, protect and defend her from now through eternity.
“She’s even prettier now,” Rachel said, watching me closely for my reaction to that. But, of course, I already knew. “She doesn’t see it. That hasn’t changed. She has this tragic aura surrounding her. Men want to bed her and be her hero, but she doesn’t give any of them the time of day.”
“But this guy at the gym,” I said impatiently, bringing Rachel back to the subject at hand.Me. I was the guy at the gym. “What happened with him?”
I had a plan. I knew what I was going to do about Addy, but I’d been waiting on this meeting with Rachel before I implemented it.
“He broke her heart,” she said. “Shattered it completely. She fell apart in my arms last week.”
Fucking hell.She’d shattered me too.
“Sucks because the gym was her only outlet other than work, and she hasn’t been back since. I could tell this guy got in there.” Rachel pointed to her chest. She was wearing a hot pink Footit T-shirt. Obviously, she was headed straight to work after meeting with me. “It’s a miracle he got in at all, considering there’s been no men since Paul.”
“Who the fuck is Paul?”
“A guy she dated about seven years ago, but she broke it off before it got serious.”
I exhaled my relief.
“That’s not normal.” Rachel shook her head. “And I know who’s to blame.”
“Martin,” I said. “That fucking asshole.”
She nodded. Her hands balled up just like mine. “I hate that man.”
“That makes two of us.”
“Three. Addy despises him.”
“Right.” I gave that a grim nod.
“So, you still care about her?” Rachel asked.
“I do.”
Days, nights, and all the moments in between, it was only Addy in my thoughts. Only her, I desired. But I needed more information. Information I hoped Rachel might have, because too many things still didn’t add up in my mind.
“Are you finally going to make your move?” she asked.
I’d made my move and blown it. But I wasn’t done. I wouldn’t be done until I had Addy where she belonged. With me.
“Won’t be easy.” Rachel continued, not waiting for my answer, or already knowing it. “The gym guy—”
“The gym guy is me, Rach.”
“Holy shit!” Her eyes rounded.
“Your sister insisted on us being private. I think in her mind what we were doing was temporary.” I frowned at that thought. “But a temporary relationship with your sister is never what I had in mind.”
“She’s an idiot,” Rachel muttered.
“She’s hurting,” I said, defending Addy. It was as natural as breathing for me. “She thinks she’s too damaged to be loved anymore.”
“I understand that sentiment totally.”
I covered Rachel’s hand where it rested beside her empty cup, and she loosened her fist. “You’ll find love again.”
