Page 47 of Beastly Mr. Buchanan
Mr.Carter, a man with a perpetual scowl and deeply aware eyes, steps out from the front office and crosses his arms over his chest.
The introduction goes as well as can be expected with the gym being so busy.Declan seems more reserved around so many strangers, but I can’t blame him, especially with all the members’ husbands crowding the space.
The ladies envelop me into the fold the moment I walk into the class area.
I brush off Hilary’s apology, truly forgetting any wrongdoings she may have done, before she does the same to me when I apologize for ducking out of her husband’s surprise proposal early the last time I saw her.
Millie, who joined about a month after I did when the class first started gathering, emerges from the women’s locker room.Her serene smile as she notices me fills me with peace.I give her her preferred half-hug.She asks how my half sister is handling her new medication.I answer honestly before asking if she accepted the last nanny position she told me about.
When sadness tightens her expression, my gut clenches.
“I did.The little girl was a warrior until the end,” she says.
“Oh hell, I’m sorry, Millie,” I sniffle and wrap her in a full hug.
I forgot she only takes medically complex cases, so sometimes her job requires end-of-life care for the tragically young.
The other ladies, having heard the exchange, join the hug until the number of bodies is stifling.Hilary is the last to wrap her arms around the group, her towering height a beautiful contrast to Penelope’s tiny stature.The differences in our little group fill me with pride.They accepted me despite my weight issues, and now with several members pregnant, I can live vicariously through them.
Once we’re all together, Destiny, Hilary’s newly adopted daughter, stage whispers, “So, who’s the new guy?”
I giggle and lift my hand to show off my engagement ring.
“He’s mine.Ladies, meet Declan Buchanan, my fiancé.”
They all welcome him from afar, either because their husbands stand nearby or because they joined the self-defense class because they learned firsthand how untrustworthy men can be.
We begin class a few minutes later than normal and elect to not use any of the husbands as target practice tonight.As I wait for my turn to demonstrate a technique, Declan sidles up next to me.
“You have a half sister?”he asks.
I gnaw on my bottom lip and wipe the sweat from my brow before I answer.
“Sometimes I forget real life exists outside of the happiness I feel when I’m with you.”
“Don’t flatter me, cupcake.I’m sorry I let you go back to your father’s alone.I should have known.”
I press a finger to his lips.
“My mom died in a car crash the summer before I met you.My dad fell apart.He was my first successful matchmaking attempt.They’re happy together, and I’m happy for them.”
“But they keep pulling you back to help even though they don’t help you,” he summarizes.
I nod.
“You’re never going back alone.Ever.”
His declaration lifts a weight off my shoulders and heals my heart.I kiss his beard before I push him away.
“Stop interrupting class,” I mock scold.
He smirks and strides to the far side of the room.
I lose myself in the lesson until I look up and realize everyone is staring at the sparring mats.I follow their gazes and freeze.
Declan dodges Mr.Carter with impressive speed, but the wizened old man lands a few dirty strikes.I wince and start forward, ready to break the rules of the mat if it means saving Declan.
He told me last night sparring or grappling was a hard limit for him.All the years he’s trained at the gym, he’s never allowed himself to practice against a living partner.With his past, he isn’t comfortable with the idea and worries it would be putting the other person at too much risk.
