The groan is what had the door to Amy’s office opening, the light of her small corner lamp illuminating the space. The shades were drawn over the glass that looked out over the gym, which I hadn’t noticed earlier. Amy’s head popped out. “What are you doing here?”
I stopped. “Why do you look nervous about the fact that I am?”
I’d worked for her and known her for too long to tiptoe around anything.
Amy sighed, her face falling in a look that had my stomach falling too. This was it. As soon as she looked over her shoulder and spoke to someone in her office, I knew this was the thing I’d been dreading.
A new owner.
A new boss.
I hated change. It made me all twitchy and uncomfortable.
But that was nothing on how I felt when Amy turned back to me and gave me an apologetic smile.
“I was going to do this tomorrow a bit more formally, but I should’ve known your ass would show up before sunrise on your day off.”
“I needed to do inventory,” I murmured, watching as she moved aside, and he filled the doorway.
I almost dropped my friggin’ coffee, which would have been a shame for how little I slept the night before.
Before either of them said another word, I knew.
Honestly, I knew so much about him, it was ridiculous. I knew he was six-three and in his prime fighting days, he weighed in around two forty-five, tiptoeing him into the heavyweight class that he dominated for years.
I knew what it was like to watch him fight because I’d watched every one.
I knew his eyes were dark, and his mouth never, ever curved up into a smile.
I knew he’d retired a couple of years ago, after the death of his wife, in order to care for his daughter.
Amy cleared her throat, and it broke the connection between his gaze and mine.
“Iz, you might as well be the first to know.” She gestured toward me. “This is my gym manager, Isabel. She’s indispensable.”
He took a step toward me, mouth flat but not mean, eyes dark and curious, and when he held out his massive hand, I inhaled shakily before slipping my palm against his.
When our hands touched, his brow lowered and his gaze held on that single connection point. Slowly, I pulled my hand back, hoping he didn’t feel the tremor in my fingers.
“Aiden Hennessy,” he said.
Like I didn’t fucking know his name.
When he opened his mouth again, I almost slapped my hand over those lips because I didn’t want him to say it. But my hand stayed at my side, and he spoke the words anyway, all low and dark, and I felt a shiver of foreboding at how my life was about to change.
“I’m your new boss.”
Want to read Isabel and Aiden’s story? Keep reading after the Floored bonus epilogue to binge Forbidden, the emotional, single dad sports romance.
Floored Bonus Epilogue
FLOORED BONUS EPILOGUE
A few years after
The End
Lia
“Absolutely not.”
I settled against the countertop and narrowed my eyes at my husband. “I’ll split the winnings with you.”
He laughed. “Not a chance, my love.”
“The pool is up to hundreds by now. We could go out to a really nice dinner, or buy those fancy pillows that I always say no to because they’re too expensive.”
Jude wagged a finger in my direction. “A good night’s sleep is never a waste of money.”
I dropped my head back and groaned. “You’re so stubborn.”
“Pot, meet kettle.”
He didn’t even look up when he said it, and that intensified my glare. But honestly, I don’t even know why I was trying to convince him of anything, he’d never, ever let this one go.
“You’re fighting a losing battle,” I told him.
Oof. Judging by the incredulous look that crossed his face—even hotter now than when I met him over six years earlier—I knew I’d made a huge mistake.
“He will not beat me, and if I let him win, then what kind of example am I setting for our son?” He spread his arms out. “That money is worth sacrificing your morals?”
“You’re not sacrificing your morals,” I said. “This whole thing has gotten wildly out of hand, and you know it.”
As I said it, the words still lingering in the air between us, Gabriel barreled into the kitchen, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. “Grandpa Logan got me a signed jersey, and he said we can go on the sidelines when they play Denver.” He bounced on the balls of his feet. “I get to meet my favorite player.”
I crouched down when Gabriel flung himself at me for a hug and tried to muffle my snort of laughter at the look on Jude’s face.
“Gabriel, that is amazing,” I told him. “Why don’t you go try on your jersey and show it to us?”
“Okay!” he yelled, tearing out of the kitchen and racing to the stairs that led to his bedroom.
“He is bribing our son after last weekend.” Jude held his arms out. “He’s a bloody cheat, that brother of yours.”
I rolled my lips between my teeth and gave Jude a patient look. So patient. Like … I should be up for sainthood because this thing between him and Logan was getting ridiculous. The fact that Paige bet me on the outcome only made things worse.
Then my sisters got involved.
And their husbands.
Someone on the Wolves staff got wind of it.
So did Jude’s former teammate.
Now there was over a two thousand dollar betting pool that they could successfully convince Gabriel of his favorite sport—American football versus British football.
Honestly, I couldn’t make it up even if I wanted to.
Gabriel, to his credit, never seemed to be bothered when the two most important men in his life kept asking him what his favorite sport was.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.