Page 55 of I Love a Good Challenge

“Lily, I’m gonna call it. You win.”

“What? No.” Without realizing it, she reaches for me like she did that day at the moving truck. While all I’ve ever wanted since I turned down her explanation was for her to need me in her life again like she did long ago, this isn’t how I want it to occur.

I nod my head in affirmation. “I used to pride myself on my winning streak in the courtroom, but I think this may be a case I’ll never resolve. If you’re not ready to tell me why you felt it best to walk away from what we had, I’m finally—really—okay with it.”

To be clear, I’m not okay with it, but Lily’s well-being will always be more important than my own. It must be.

“What about our challenges?”

I feel myself sink a bit. I’ve fallen for this tiny town. I can see myself living here long term. But I’ve never not fallen for the woman before me even more. I know things can’t continue this way. Something has to change for us both.

“I’ll look for a new place soon. Maybe Liam or someone in town will want my current space. It’s a nice apartment.”

She wraps her arms around herself and stares out the back window. It has a glimpse of the river rushing by us, upset and high from a recent spring storm.

“It’s okay, Lily,” I continue. “Let’s just leave it here. Because I’m . . . tired.” I turn away from her to hide the emotion I feel creeping across my face. I duck to slink through the ropes and down from the platform when her voice cuts through the sharp air.

“No!”

I freeze in my tracks.

“Don’t you dare, George!” Her jump from the ring and the sound of her footsteps hurry to follow. She pops up in front of me, cheeks red from emotion. “We shook on it!”

“It wasn’t a binding contract.”

“It was to me.” Her eyes flare.

“Lily, we can’t keep doing this. Do you understand that? Can you respect that?” I see when the thrill of the fight hits her system.

She lifts her chin in defiance. “We almost kissed.”

A figurative punch hits my stomach. “We . . . yes, okay?”

“And then you ran away.”

“I didn’t—okay yes, but I only walked out quickly . . .” There’s something else she isn’t adding. With everything that has already been exposed, I let it slide.

“You’re not quitting, George. We still have the wedding to get through . . . so this isn’t over.” She says the last part of the sentence with extra force, her voice a hoarse whisper as Edgar strides over to the main part of the gym, carrying his laptop in one hand.

I stuff down the hope that sparks in my heart, releasing an unamused laugh instead. She’s got me again. “Fine, but Lily? This is the last time.”

She glances over at Edgar and then to my chest, never making eye contact and no doubt trying to assess just how much he can hear of our conversation. “Look, you wanna say I messed up? Say it. I know I did.”

A drop of sweat falls from the side of her forehead and blends in with a tear that slips out. She goes to brush it with the back of her hand but can’t quite catch it from the awkwardness of the gloves. “And I’m paying for it. But you messed up too.”

Before I can overthink it, I rip off my gloves and throw them to the floor. My hand lifts to cup the side of her jaw. I use my thumb to wipe away the rogue tear. She doesn’t fight me, the grey in her eyes overtaking any lavender edges.

“Lily, what are you talking about?” My eyes scan hers, and I watch as she squeezes them shut, another tear slipping out at the edges. She hates to cry, which is how I know this goes soul deep.

“I’m just so . . . mad.”

The world keeps spinning, but I’m reeling in my own universe. The force of her words pushes me back as if I just went from zero to eighty on a roller coaster. Not that I’ve been on many of those. But the one time, yeah, that’s similar to this feeling. Rather than follow up on what she just said, she goes back to punching the bag with more force than before.

“Sweetheart, you’re going to hurt yourself if you keep doing that.”

“Edgar!” Lily yells, pulling us out of the moment. He pokes his head around his computer screen precariously hovering on the edge of a fallen punching bag that I’m pretty sure he uses as a makeshift desk. “I need five.”

Somehow, Edgar knows what this means and is fine enough with it to walk toward the rear changing room and disappear. I turn back to her, refusing to let this moment pass if I finally have a trail of the truth to follow.

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