Page 21 of Man Advantage

“Good.” He paused. “Err, I mean, not that you don’t want the surgery. I…” He waved his hand. “That’s your choice, of course. I meant ‘good’ like I’m glad you stuck to what you really wanted. Not whathewanted.”

I smiled. “I know what you meant. And I agree.” I gestured at my left arm. “The only lasting mark I have from him is this tattoo, and I plan to get it removed or covered up as soon as I can afford it.”

Trev craned his neck a little, peering at the intricately detailed shark covering most of my upper arm. “Damn. It’s a cool tattoo.”

“It is.” I ran my fingers over it. “I love the work she did, and it cost a fucking fortune. But…” I shook my head. “Every time I see it, I can hear Daniel badgering me to get matching tattoos.” I tsked and rolled my eyes again. “I still can’t believe I let him talk me into it.”

Trev made a face. “Well, at least it can be removed and redone. Any idea what you’ll get instead?”

“I don’t know yet. I kind of don’t want to make a decision until I actually get it removed. Like, let the skin be bare for a while so I know for sure that my next tattoo is because I want it, not because I’m eager to replace the shark.”

“That’s… That’s a really smart way to approach it.”

“Smarter than getting the tattoo in the first place,” I said dryly.

“Eh, live and learn.” He shifted around and pulled one foot up under himself on the couch. “So what was the straw that finally broke the camel’s back?” He paused. “Jake said the fucker worked you over and put you in the situation you were in when I reached out to you. What happened?”

I took a deep breath and slouched against the cushion. “He cheated on me. With one of my clients.”

Trev’s eyes widened. “No shit?”

“No shit.” I laughed bitterly. “And they both acted like I was overreacting when I dumped Daniel and refused to continue working with the client.” My humor, what little there was, died away, and I exhaled. “The thing is, Daniel worked at the samegym, and he and his fuckboy concocted a story about me stealing from the till.” I pinched the bridge of my nose as the memory and its ensuing fallout pressed down on my shoulder. Letting my hand fall into my lap, I added, “Got me fired and blacklisted from pretty much the entire fitness community in Portland. A good chunk of it in Seattle, too.”

“Holy shit,” Trev whispered.

I met his gaze as fatigue worked its way into my voice. “I swear to God, those allegations are bullshit. I think they all knew it, too, because no one pressed charges. So if you’re worried about me doing?—”

“Cam.” Trev shook his head emphatically. “I wouldn’t be moving you into my house to take care of my kids if I was worried about that. I know you.”

I swallowed. For all he’d known, I’d been avoiding him like the plague for the past several years because I didn’t want him in my life, but somehow, that hadn’t tarnished his view of me.

“I know you,” he said again. “I’m not worried. And I won’t lie—getting to see you again was part of what made me reach out.”

“It… It was?”

He nodded. “Once I knew you were in a bind, I’d have done anything I could to help. And I was in a bind myself, so there’s that. But the chance to reconnect? That was on the list too.”

Warmth rushed through me, and I smiled. “That was definitely a perk for me too. Not that I was in any position to turn anything down, but…”

Trev’s tired but genuine smile chased away all the bitterness about my ex. Yeah, the last several years had sucked. Yeah, it had taken way too long to get out from under Daniel’s thumb.

But I was getting back on my feet now.

And on top of that, I was with my best friend again.

For the first time in a long time, I could believe that everything would be okay.

CHAPTER 7

TREV

What a day.

Lying in bed that night, staring up at the ceiling, I was both wide awake and utterly exhausted.

I’d introduced Bryan and Cam. That had gone about as well as could be expected. This evening, my ex and I had texted back and forth to coordinate, and we’d agreed I could start my custody week two days early. That would give the boys a chance to spend time with Cam before I had to be gone for the long hours of training camp. When the preseason kicked off, Bryan would take two extra days. In theory, this would ease everyone into Cam taking care of the boys while I was gone.

So, I’d go pick up the twins tomorrow. They’d meet Cam.

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