shake as she tried to get her balance. “God. These things are a death trap. Hope the insurance covers broken necks. Who uses these?”
I would never wish my twin to break her neck, but I did wish she’d fall off the ball, hurt her butt, and go search out her fiancé to have him kiss it and make it better.
“By the way, Mom’s on her way in.” Quinn smirked and I groaned.
“Seriously, you called Mom?”
“Of course I did. Who else is gonna straighten you out?”
“Straighten me out?”
“Help you pull your head out of your ass and give Trey a chance,” Hadley explained.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I am giving him a chance.”
“You are?” Hadley’s spine snapped straight, then she pitched to the side, necessitating her arms shooting out to her sides to catch herself. “Seriously. What the hell is up with this ball?”
“If you had any core muscles, you’d have no problems. But you refuse to do yoga with me or even go to the gym.” I threw my hands up in exasperation. “And I can’t believe you called Mom.”
Quinn didn’t look the slightest bit repentant. Completely unfazed. I was irritated she’d called our mom to “straighten me out.”
“I have no idea why that’d shock you. The only person you listen to is her.”
That was a true statement. My sisters had given me a lot of advice over the years. So had my brother, dad, aunts, and uncles. But it was my mom’s advice and opinion I valued the most. However, I was not ready to ask for or hear Emily Walker’s wisdom. Part of that was because I was a damn adult and I was bloody tired of being treated like the baby of the family. The other reason was because I was scared to death of what her guidance would be. And I was scared because I knew without having to ask what she’d tell me to do, which was what I was doing—looking beyond all that was Trey’s outward appearance into the heart of him. She would not mean his good looks, she’d mean his rough, tough, hardened shell—the man he showed the world—to the center of him. To the parts he’d show only me. Then she’d tell me to heal what ailed him so he could be free to be the man he was meant to be.
I knew this, one-hundred percent, without a doubt. It was what she’d done for my father. It was what she’d preached to me and Hadley.
There was a knock at the gym door and I closed my eyes, not ready to face my mom. But when my lids opened, both Hadley and Quinn had big eyes and worried expressions.
Oh, crap.
I turned, fully prepared for a firing squad. But instead, I saw Bass with a big, wide smile on his face sauntering across the open room.
“Hey,” I greeted. “In the neighborhood?”
His smile got bigger and he jerked his chin.
“No, honey. I wanted to check on you,” he drawled.
Honey?
Oh, crap.
I got it, why my sisters had big eyes and worried expressions. Bass was here out of the blue and Trey was somewhere on the property. No doubt he would’ve been alerted to Bass’s car pulling into the lot.
Crap.
Bass was approaching and I was stuck, rooted, not knowing how to handle the situation. On one hand, Bass was a friend. On the other, Trey had been right that there’d been some mild flirting in the past. Obviously, that was over, and even before I was with Trey I knew nothing would ever become of me and Bass but…damn…what was I supposed to do?
Please don’t hug me.
Drat.
As soon as he got close, his arm went around my waist and he pulled me into a bear hug, smooshing me against his wide, muscled chest. My mind drifted to Trey and how much better it felt being held against his. However, that thought was fleeting and I was in the process of breaking the hug when I heard Hadley make a strangled noise from beside me. Then Quinn muttered, “Oh, shit.”
And that was right before I heard Trey’s voice boom and bounce around the room before the sound hit my ears. “You must be Bass.”
Double drat.
Bass’s arms tightened around me and my brain came unstuck. But before I could push away, Trey continued. “You mind.”
It was not a question. Not even close. He didn’t care if Bass minded, it was an order to let me go. Something that Bass didn’t do. Instead, he turned slightly