Confused by Jack’s abrupt exit, Brooke glanced around to confirm that no one had chased him away. Nope. Weird. She reread the list of challenges he’d given her. Some would be very difficult. Thirty minutes on a stair climber with a thirty-pound bag? She could barely manage five minutes without a weight last time she’d tried, which had been a good eighteen months ago. But she wouldn’t let this list defeat her. She’d known achieving her mission wouldn’t be easy, and now she had a series of steps to get her there. Nothing motivated her like the satisfaction of crossing something off a list. Except, perhaps, the satisfaction of proving someone wrong. She’d spent her whole life doing that, and didn’t intend to stop now. Especially not when her legion of readers were counting on her to pave the way and show them what they were capable of.
She made her way to her bedroom, unloaded her backpack, and tidied her gear away. Then she shrugged into a light jersey and returned to the garden with her phone, tapping in Bex’s number. While the phone rang, she plucked weeds from amongst the roses.
“Hi, Brooke,” Bex said when she answered.
“Hey!” Brooke winced at the high note in her voice and dialed it back a notch. “I have a favor to ask. I’d like some help with a personal training program.”
“Okay, sure thing. Have you run this by a doctor?”
“Yes, months ago, and it’s fine, as long as someone monitors me. What time does Izzy go to bed?” Izzy was Bex’s epically cute diva of a daughter. Six-years-old and enough sass to give any Hollywood leading lady a run for her money. “Perhaps I can come over and we can talk?”
“Better idea,” Bex said. “I’m teaching an art class at Sanctuary tomorrow. I can come over early, drop Izzy off with Shane and Hunter for DIY Saturday, and we can catch up then.”
Brooke would rather do it tonight, but she also didn’t want to be pushy. “That sounds great.”
Bex chuckled, the sound low and husky. “Girl, the best things come to those who wait.”
Apparently, her low-key act wasn’t fooling anyone. “If you say so. I’ll see you tomorrow. Kiss that sweet girl of yours for me.”
“Bye, now.”
They hung up and Brooke stayed in the garden for a while longer, until it was time for dinner. She inserted herself into a group of travelers—the better to distract herself—and later worked on her thesis before bed. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem to matter how tired her body or her mind was, she was too worked up about the coming day to fall asleep.
Jack was the last to arrive at Logan’s apartment above The Den for poker night. Seated around the table were Logan, Sterling, Tione, Shane, and Kyle. Logan, with his shaggy mane of gold hair, owned the pub and was Jack’s best friend. Shane taught at the local school, and was permanently frazzled. Jack dropped into the empty chair between Shane and Kyle—Logan’s younger brother. The men fell silent.
“What is it?” he asked, glancing from one face to another.
Logan cleared his throat. “We were just congratulating Sterling on reconciling with Kat,” he said, looking awkward.
Oh. Suddenly the furtive expressions and lowered voices made sense. They feared he’d take it badly because he’d never made a secret of the fact that he wanted a chance with Kat if she was ever on the market. Fortunately, he was long past any misguided thoughts of he and Kat as a couple. They had a lot in common and got along well, but the truth was, she didn’t set him on fire. Not like her frustratingly unsuitable friend did.
“Yeah, congrats,” he said, reaching out to grab Sterling’s hand and give it a brisk shake. “Good for you. You’d better treat her well.”
“I will,” Sterling said, expression earnest. He’d changed so much since the first time he’d come to poker night, all closed off and icy. “I know how lucky I am.”
Tione clapped him on the shoulder. “He also knows that he’ll answer to us if he doesn’t. Right, mate?”
“It won’t come to that,” Kyle said. “He knows a good thing when he’s got it.”
“Great.” Logan held up the pack of cards. “Now that the celebration is over, who’s dealing?”
Shane took them and started shuffling. “You’re seriously not bothered about Kat and Sterling?” he asked Jack, quietly enough to avoid being heard by anyone else. Not that they were listening. Logan was handing out beers while Tione emptied bags of popcorn and pretzels into bowls.
Jack shrugged. “Nah, I’m really not. Shocker, right?”
Shane smiled. “Glad to hear it. Couldn’t tell if you were putting on a brave face.”
“Can we not talk about our feelings please?”
“You’d rather just grunt and drink beer?”
“Uh, yeah.”
“Suit yourself.” Shane dealt the cards, and Jack and Kyle laid out the small and big blind. Then the game began. Three hands later, only Kyle and Sterling remained in play. Giving into impulse, Jack finally asked the question he’d been dying to since he arrived.
“Hey, Kyle, I saw you out with that pretty blonde the other day. Is she your girlfriend?”
Four pairs of eyes shifted to Kyle, who stared at Jack in the strangest way. Almost like he could see right into his mind.
“You mean Brooke?” he asked.
Jack sensed Tione peering at him and ignored it. “That’s right.”
“We’re not dating,” Kyle said. “We’re just friends.”
Just friends. Yeah, how many times had he heard that before? Usually when one of the people in question had been hopelessly friend-zoned by the other. He wondered, in this case, who’d friend-zoned who.
“You seemed pretty close.”
“We’re close friends,” Kyle said, his gaze becoming wary. “We’re both addicted to sci-fi shows, so we like to watch them together.” Some of the tension eased from Jack’s shoulders, then Kyle added, “And we did share a place for a while, which is a surefire way to either cement a friendship or end it.”
They’d lived together? Why hadn’t he heard about this? Surely he’d have known if Kyle was rooming with a woman. Heck, the whole town would have known.
“Are you pulling my leg?”
Kyle’s head tilted to the side and he studied Jack. Behind his wire-framed glasses, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. “Why would I do that?”
“For the hell of it,” Tione suggested.
“Brooke and I roomed at university,” Kyle explained. “We were in the same hall of residence and a group of us moved in with each other afterward.”
“Kyle, it’s your turn,” Shane prompted. Kyle called, and so did Sterling.
“Kyle’s playing the long game,” Logan said, snatching a handful of pretzels and crunching into them. “The really long game.”
“I’m not playing the long game,” Kyle muttered as he turned over his cards.
“Then why did you forbid me from making a move on her?” Logan demanded. “Wasn’t that you staking your claim?”
Jack’s stomach lurched and his beer bottle slipped from his grip. He caught it before it hit the floor, and when he looked up, Kyle was staring at him again.