Page 66 of Between Commitment and Betrayal
I waved them on. “Let’s go before someone gets their feelings hurt.”
“Po knows I’ve got great balance. Next season, I’m going to kick your ass,” Noah pouted and I figured this was the commentary I’d have to listen to through this spring and summer during their offseason.
Wes glanced over at me with a smile and dragged his finger down his cheek. “They’re such babies,” he whispered to me as we walked to the studio, but Noah overheard him.
“Like a quarterback could take one of us on?”
“I could take either of you.” Wes puffed up, but Po and Noah didn’t even give him time to defend himself. They cracked up and elbowed one another.
I stood outside the room to swipe my watch, increase the temperature on the thermostat, and log that we were utilizing the studio. I typed in the time and who would be in there with me.
Just as I was finishing it up, Gianni waved at me from the ring in the center of the gym. “You opening a hot yoga class?”
I shrugged. “For those who want a quick workout.”
He hopped out of the ring and combed a hand through his dark hair. At six two, he was a tall soccer player, but he moved nimbly from what I’d heard, and was good at the game—better than most, actually.
I waved him in right as the locker room door opened and Declan walked out. With the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the ocean as his backdrop, he strode down the gym hallway, and I had a hard time looking away. “Hot yoga then, huh?”
“What?”
He tapped his watch. “I’m ready for the workout.”
“Declan, this is for—”
“Anyone who wants it, so the schedule says.” He breezed past me into the room, and I squeezed my eyes shut.
Great.
It took only ten minutes to warm up the room and stretch. After twenty minutes, everyone was sweating with the poses.
“Gianni, if you came to learn yoga, quit staring at me and get into downward dog.” I didn’t say blatantly that he was staring at my ass, but he was too obvious not to call out.
“Evie, you know I can’t help it,” he whined. “Your ass looks like you’ve been doing yoga your whole life.” In his defense, I think he was truly led around in life only by his dick, even if he did have a good heart. The first time I’d met him, he’d hit on me and then completely respected my refusal, explaining we could still be friends. Then, he’d called a girl two minutes later who sounded like she was happy to meet him for a hookup later that same day.
He also was great about immediately yelling at others for doing the same thing. “Wes, you can quit looking at her ass too.”
“Fuck you, man. Evie and I have a different sort of relationship.”
“And exactly what type of relationship is that, Wes?” Declan hadn’t said a word all class though I’d felt his eyes on me. I was aware of the tension in his muscles, and I swear I was attuned to the blood in his veins boiling at this point.
“Aw, man. Can we get past our bullshit? You two are obviously friends, okay? I get it. She’s going to be my girl one of these days though.” He looked at me with puppy eyes. “Can we go out tonight? It’s been too long, babe. And after—”
“After staring at your ass this whole time like a damn creep, he feels deprived,” Noah threw out because he loved giving Wes hell.
No one responded to him though because our watches all buzzed at the same time. We didn’t brush off the alert because it could be a change in schedule or… big news. Big HEAT news that is. In this particular case, though, it was epic, devastating, catastrophic news.
“HEAT Heiress Everly Belafonte Married to Declan Hardy”
The HEAT PR team released the following statement this afternoon: “Declan Hardy is officially off-limits. He and Everly Belafonte were wed in a small ceremony at an undisclosed location shortly after Carl Milton passed. Sources claim they are committed to their marriage and request privacy as they enjoy their time as newlyweds.”
That explains why Everly has been driven to work by Declan and why they’ve been seen together so often. The biggest question on everyone’s minds, though, is how long have they been dating and how did Everly steal him right out from under all of us without anyone being the wiser? Details to come…
My eyes flew to Declan’s as each of the men in the room turned his way. Even Wes shrank back with the rest of them. It was as if the alpha dog came to the party and suddenly none of the betas wanted to challenge him.
Declan didn’t say anything. I wasn’t even sure he’d looked at his watch. Instead, he just crossed his arms and stood there bigger than life, like he ruled the studio, gym, and empire he presided over with utter confidence and power.
“Sorry about commenting on your wife’s ass,” Gianni grumbled as he literally backed up toward the door. “I respect you and your athleticism. You’ve done great things for every professional sports league in the country, and I want you to know I didn’t mean any disrespect.” Then, much like a dog with its tail between its legs, he rushed out.
