Page 18 of Icing on Top
“Her scumbag ex did after he saw the picture of her and Lincoln on your website. He came here accusing her of trying to ruin his career and told her that Lincoln wouldn’t date a cow like her!”
I tried to reel in my anger so that I didn’t take it out on Stef, even though she was taking hers out on me. She may be in high school, but I appreciated that she had Nova’s back regardless. “So he is a Triple Tech employee? What’s his name, and where is Nova?” I would find out everything there was to know aboutthis cocksucker. If he thought his career was in jeopardy before, it certainly was now.
“His name is Paul Altman, and she isn’t here. I assume she went home,” Stef replied. I turn to leave without another word. I needed to find Nova and repair the damage this asswipe did.
“If she isn’t home, check the park bridge,” Jared called after me. “She likes to go there to think.” I heard a smack. “Ouch! What the fuck was that for, Stef?”
“Maybe she doesn’t want to be found. Did you ever think of that?” Stef replied with a huff.
As angry as I was, I couldn’t help but smile at her steadfast loyalty to our girl. I liked that kid. I jumped in my car and headed to Nova’s to first check for her. On the way, I called Joel to pull Paul’s employee file. Nova’s car wasn’t in her driveway, so I went to the park next. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw her car in the lot. I parked and hurried to the bridge. I slowed my approach once I saw her leaning on the railing, watching the creek babble with a to-go cup of coffee in her hand. I pause to watch her, stunned once again by her beauty. She looked like someone kicked her puppy.
She turned to look at me as my feet hit the wooden boards of the bridge. “What are you doing here?”
“I stopped by your shop, and your employees told me where to find you. They also told me about the espresso cupcakes and your ex stopping by for a visit,” I replied as I leaned against the railing facing her.
“My employees need to learn to keep their traps shut,” she huffed.
“They care about you and were worried. Believe me, Stef gave me an ass chewing.”
That made Nova smile a little. “Still. They need to learn to mind their businesses instead of mine.”
An awkward silence fell between us until I finally said the only thing going through my mind on the way here. “You’re not a cow!” I blurted. Her eyes widened, and she looked taken aback by my bluntness. Distrust and confusion swirled within her baby blues. “Fuck, Doll. The four of us are the only ones whose opinions matter in this relationship. And of the four of us, you’re the only one who has a problem with your weight. If you’re unhappy about how you look, I am more than willing to exercise with you, but only if it’s something you want to do to feel better about yourself. Don’t do it for anyone but you because we like you just the way you are, and fuck what that asshole has to say about it.”
Doubt still lingered in her eyes, and I was at a loss of how else to convince her that we meant what we said and weren’t fucking with her. All we could do was show her repeatedly that we desired her. I just hoped she would still let us.
Now That's a Workout
Nova
Ben’s words seemed genuine. Could I believe him? Linc certainly didn’t have an issue touching me yesterday. You can’t fake how hot we were for each other, can you?
“I… I think I would like that,” I replied. “It would be nice to feel good about myself again. Because, apart from how you guys have made me feel over the last week, I haven’t for a long time,” I admitted. “I don’t know when Paul’s words started breaking me down, but one day, I realized that I could barely stand to look at myself in the mirror.”
Ben’s hands moved toward me, then dropped as if he changed his mind before he cursed softly and wrapped his arms around me to pull me tight against him. I let myself relax into his embrace and take comfort from it. “I’m sorry he treated you so poorly and made you feel like this. I’m going to do everything in my power to help you see yourself how we see you,” he whispered into my hair. Tears sprung to my eyes, and I blinked them away, stubbornly refusing to let them fall. No more self-pity. As if he sensed my struggle, his arms tightened more. “The plus side to this is working out together will help me test the tracker. That was why I had initially stopped by. I wanted to see if you were up for some testing. Plus, I wanted to see you in yoga pants.”
I giggled at his comment, and he chuckled with me.
“That’s better. I hate seeing you sad,” Ben said, kissing my cheek and stepping back to look at me. He held my hand and tugged it to get me to follow him back to the parking lot. “So, if you’d like to start today, we have a home gym in our basement. You could come over, and we could work out and then have dinner with us. I’ll cook!”
“You can cook?” The surprise in my voice was evident. I just didn’t peg any of them as the domestic type.
“Of course I can cook,” he teased. “We weren’t always rich. If you want to eat, you must know how to cook.”
“Well, that sounds lovely. I’ll run home and change and meet you there?”
“Can’t wait,” Ben replied, kissing me softly before opening my door.
I drove home feeling better than I had going to the park. It was time to stop letting Paul dictate my self-worth. I felt empowered and chose workout clothes that were a little tighter than I should have been wearing, but I refused to let myself change. I grabbed leggings and an oversized sweater to change into after the workout and followed my GPS to their house.
The gate was open when I arrived, which was good because Ben hadn’t given me a code. They lived in a mansion, which I had known, but I’d never been beyond the gate before. A large manicured lawn surrounded the large drive that led to the house. I drove around the angel fountain and parked near the steps leading to the door.
I climbed the steps, wondering why the hell I was so nervous, and rang the doorbell. Seconds later, Ben swung the door open, and his eyes widened when he saw me. I had a moment of uncomfortableness before he dragged me inside and pressed me against the door.
“Fucking hell, I wasn’t ready for you to come dressed like this, Doll. What do you say we skip the traditional workout for a more natural form of cardio?” His hands trailed from my hips over my ass and then up my torso to rest on my rib cage, grazing the bottom of my breasts.
“I think we better focus on the purpose of my visit and maybe revisit your suggestion later,” I replied, determined to see this through.
“Ok. Either way, I get to make you sweat. And anticipation is half the fun anyway,” he replied. I tried not to gawk at their house as he led me through it to the basement steps. These weren’t your usual creepy, dark, rickety basement steps either. The stairwell was wider like you might find in an office, and bright white. I followed him down the steps and through a door halfway down the hall. My jaw dropped as I took in the room. When someone says “home gym,” you generally envision a weight bench, treadmill, and other equipment like an elliptical. This was not that gym.
