Page 25 of The No Try Zone
So I plaster on a smile, extend my hand, and grit out, “Nice to meet you.”
He meets my gaze as our hands touch, and immediately another memory hits me. Looking into his eyes, an endless shade of dark blue, made brighter by a starburst of gold around the pupil, as a coin flips.
I gasp as the world nearly tilts beneath me again, but he grips my palm, steadying me. Same as I remember he did that night.
“Nice to meet you, too,” he says. Then his voice comes into focus, too. Sharp and honeyed, assured and courteous. A walking contradiction.
A liar.
Ollie looks between us, absolutely stoked. “Told you he’s the best.”
All Colin and I can do is stare at each other.
Ansel steps in from the sidelines, seeming to sense the awkwardness. “Sam, good to see you again. You and Coach started the same day, but I guess you didn’t run into each other until now, huh?”
“No, we didn’t,” I manage, still trying to get a handle on the absolute insanity that’s right in front of me. The whole thing is like looking at the world upside down. I know this is real, but it’s so far beyond comprehension that it also can’t possibly be real.
“Coach, you remember I was talking about my sister?” Ollie prompts. “Really can’t wait for you two to work together. She’s way more than just a physical therapist – back home, she started in overall fitness. Whipped me into shape, didn’t you, Sam?”
The look my brother gives me is heart-breaking. It’s only taken one week, but he absolutely adores this man. In what universe am I married to my brother’s coach? What did I do to piss fate off like this?
“Sam?” Ollie prompts.
“Oh, right,” I stammer, pulling myself back to reality. “I’ve done work in a lot of areas: yoga, Pilates, weight training, injury prevention and recovery, of course…” I trail off. “Lots of stuff.”
Any other time, I’d be absolutely mortified at this answer; ‘lots of stuff’ doesn’t really inspire confidence. But right now, it’s all I can do not to lunge atColinand wring his neck. So I’m going to take this as a win.
“Right,” Ansel says, studying me thoughtfully. “I know Elodie is thrilled you’re joining the team because it means you’re staying here for a while.”
I nod. “At least through the season.”
“Looking forward to seeing you around,” Colin says, his attention still hyper-focused on me. “Can I get you anything? A beer? Water?”
There’s no stopping the sarcastic laugh that comes out of me. Did he really just offer me abeer? The fury I’d tamped down for my brother’s sake immediately returns to a boil. “Sure. Yeah. Water,” I say, stressing the word as he begins to step away. “In fact, I’ll come with you.”
He coughs. “Sure thing.”
“See you in a bit, Sam?”
I nod distractedly as Ollie waves us on, a broad smile on his face, utterly oblivious to the rage coursing through me.
Chapter9
Sam
IFOLLOW THE absolute coward into his enormous house, my entire body shaking with the effort of holding in the anger that courses through me. All the shock and disbelief have bled out, leaving only a crystalized, icy fury in its place. He leads me to the kitchen, which isn’t the best place in my mind, but I’m too furious to care. I launch. “Want to tell me how the hell you’re here,Matthew?”
He turns to me, a look of utter shame on his stupidly handsome face. “I need to apologize. I’m so sorry, Sam.”
I dig my fingernails so hard into my palms they nearly break the skin. I want to throttle him. “You’re sorry? You’resorry? You make me break the most important rule I have, but you’re sorry? Do you have any idea –”
“I messed up,” he interrupts, holding his palms up in surrender. With a deep sigh, he meets my gaze. “I know how badly I messed up. I’ve been trying to fix it, I promise.”
A sarcastic laugh bursts out of me. “No. This isn’t something you get to apologize for and think I’m going to forgive you. Absolutely not. I can’t even –” I stop, horrified that I almost let it slip that I can’t remember that night. Seeing him has definitely made me remember a few more things, and none of them make me feel any better.“What’ll it be, Sunshine? Heads or tails?”
Yeah. Fuck this guy.
“I’ve been trying to figure out a way to get this annulled. But so far, I’m coming up empty.”
