When the gym came into view, I stopped dead.
Lawson sent punch after punch into a heavy bag with nothing but wrapped hands. The punching bag swung back and forth violently with each connection. His bare torso already glistened with sweat. His muscles bunched and flexed, making my mouth go dry.
But as I watched him move, I saw the anger beneath each motion. The rage. Normally, that kind of emotion would’ve sent me running back up the stairs. But Lawson didn’t scare me. He never would.
Lawson moved around the heavy bag with blow after blow until I came into his line of sight. He jerked upright, chest heaving. He simply stared at me for a long moment, then stalked toward me.
I swallowed hard but stayed exactly where I was.
He hit a button on the wall, and the rock music cut off. “Something wrong?”
The anger was still humming there, below the surface.
“Yes.”
Lawson’s deep blue eyes went on alert. “What’s going on?”
I stared at him for a moment. “Something’s eating you alive.”
That muscle beneath Lawson’s eye fluttered. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m not in your job description.”
It was a blow intended to hurt, but I wouldn’t let it stop me. I knew how he operated now. When you got too close to a vulnerability for him, Lawson shoved you back. But I wouldn’t let him do that this time.
“You saw me at my worst possible moment. Sliced to hell. Freezing to death. Scared out of my mind.”
The muscle fluttered more wildly now.
“Trust me to hold whatever’s tearing you up.”
Lawson didn’t say a word, but his eyes never left mine.
“Please, Blue.”
He sucked in a breath at the name I’d only called him two other times.
He moved in closer. So close I could smell the sweat clinging to him. “I’m trying to keep my distance, Hallie. For both our sakes.”
My heart hammered against my ribs. “What if I don’t want you to keep your distance?”
Lawson’s jaw clenched in a vicious squeeze, but his hand lifted. His knuckles skimmed across my cheek. “I don’t deserve to be close to you. To touch this skin.”
Blood roared in my ears. “Why?”
His hand dropped away. “I don’t love my ex-wife.”
My head spun at the turn of conversation.
“Thought I did once. Turned out I was just an early twenties walking hormone being led around by my dick.”
I stayed quiet. Watching. Waiting. Hoping he would explain.
“She was beautiful. So damned fun. Always looking for the next adventure. The next high.” Lawson shook his head. “Not drugs, but I guess that didn’t matter. It was a high all the same. Parties, daredevil stunts, trips at the drop of a hat. I think growing up in a small town made her feel stifled, trapped.”
He let out a long breath. “When Melody got pregnant, we weren’t expecting it. Hell, we hadn’t even talked about marriage. We were still young, barely twenty-two. But I wanted to do the right thing and have our kid grow up in a real family. So, I asked her to marry me.”
Of course, he had. Lawson would always do whatever he could to give his kids the best life possible. Even if it meant him losing out on that once-in-a-lifetime type of love.
“Melody wasn’t sure she wanted to get married, but I convinced her. She settled down for a bit once Luke was born, and we had Drew, too. She wanted me to quit my job so we could use my trust fund to travel the world. Wanted us to take off and leave the kids with my parents every weekend.”
