Page 31 of Frozen Flames

She’s watching me do repetitions when she tells me, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that. It wasn’t professional.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I keep going through the exercise routine as she eyes me in silence. We stare at each other once, and then twice, before Gemma’s face comes to mind and coaxes me to glance down.

The rest of the afternoon is spent outside, and Claire urges me to take more steps to different areas. Then I shower and play video games until I hear Gemma come home.

I feel like there’s something on her mind tonight at dinner—she’s quieter than usual, and her smile doesn’t reach her eyes.

The words are on the tip of my tongue, that I’m proud of her, that she deserves to travel the world the way she’s always wanted to.

Yet I can’t bring myself to say them.

The fear is real that I’ll lose her. That she’ll realize I’m holding her back. That all the things we dreamed of experiencing together post-college were just that—dreams.

“How was your day?” I ask her instead as she swirls spaghetti around her fork. I grab a bite of my own, her gaze avoiding mine.

“It was pretty busy, but it was good. I’m getting the hang of things,” she says after swallowing her food.

“That’s great.”

“Sure, yeah.” My heart flutters when her smile reaches her eyes. Once upon a time, I would’ve done anything to see her smile. I catch sight of her cute little ear when she pushes her hair behind it.

“How was yours?” she asks in return.

I think about the progress I’m making, walking without holding on to the bars, then I think of the hug Claire gave me.

“It was… The training was good.” I’m surprised when she simply puts her hand on mine and tells me that she’s glad. Where are her obnoxious twenty questions about what I did today or if Claire followed Stefan’s plan? She throws none of those my way, and I quietly exhale at the thought of our having a normal dinner together without her feeling the need to bombard me with questions about my progress.

After dinner, she gets ready for her workday and her work trip tomorrow while I game online against one of my college buddies who’s studying abroad before calling it a night.

I’m exhausted.

I fall asleep rapidly thinking of two redheads. One happy angel with the darkest eyes, and the other a green-eyed siren.

Best of all, I don’t forget Claire’s hug.

It’s Thursday evening, and Gemma’s on her flight to LA for work.

“Pizza’s ordered,” Claire says, sitting on the other end of the couch. “So I wanted to ask you…are you happy with your PT so far?” She crosses her legs.

“Yeah, of course.”

She nods, angling her body to face me. “How come Gemma doesn’t know? She’s asking questions, and I’m not sure what to tell her.”

I look away, sighing. “I don’t want her to know until the change is here to stay. You know how these things can go.”

“You’re doing great, Harv. You were doing great even before I came along—”

“Iknowthat. And Iwantto do more. There’s just no point in getting anyone’s hopes up.”

“Alright.”

“Alright?” I ask, surprised she agreed so easily.

She smiles. “Yes, I’ll tell her you’re building your strength and muscle mass.”

“Thanks,” I say, grateful.

“Want to keep reading?” she asks me, changing the subject with her book in hand.

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