Page 64 of Make or Break

“Not today. Ivy’s coming, and her friend Kristen might join us too.”

“What time and where?” I asked.

“For now, the clubhouse. Ivy wants to Doordash some food so her friend can see the clubhouse.”

I debated for a moment. From what Tundra said, I didn’t get the impression it would take him long to grab what he needed from his room. Even if we were eating early, lunch was another three hours from now.

“I’m swimming laps for the next hour, maybe an hour and a half. I’ll swing by after I shower.”

“Cool. One of these days, I need to come out there with you.”

I grinned. “You do. Today could be that day.”

She laughed. “Yeah, but I have no suit. See you at eleven-thirty.”

My favorite part about being in the pool was that it was me against the water, and the clock. Swimming laps took me out of my head - normally.

But nothing had been normal in my life since Tundra and I got together.

London had it right - we needed Ryan to come around. It was one thing for him to be protective of me. It was another to hide his judgment behind his protective nature, and that was the impression I was getting. Worse, I wondered if he’d feel the same way if Killian caught the eye of an older woman. Something told me he wouldn’t care, which would be a double standard.

I didn’t want to lose the close relationship I had with my brother, but I also didn’t want to give up what I was building with Tundra to appease my triplet.

This felt like we were tinkering with a hornet’s nest. No matter what angle we took, Tundra and I were bound to get stung.

I reached the wall of the pool and stopped to catch my breath. The water splashed in the lane next to me. I looked in that direction to see Killian smiling back at me.

“Thought I’d find you here,” he said, grabbing his goggles from the pool ledge.

With effort, I kept my expression stoic. A visit from both of them in the same morning struck me as being very suspect.

“Wait a minute. It’s one thing that you’re back to riding your Harley, but did your doctor approve swimming? It seems a little soon considering it’s been four months since you were in the hospital.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m not swimming laps like you, Miss State Champion.”

I shook my head. “You exaggerate. It was one event.”

He widened his eyes. “Yeah, and you were the best in Mississippi. Don’t worry, I’m gonna float, maybe try the backstroke.”

The digital timer was close to resetting, making it easier for me to time myself. “Have at it,” I said, then pushed off to swim a breaststroke lap. It had been a long time since I swam as fast as I did in high school. I checked the clock when I finished and found I was shy of my personal best by five seconds.

“What’s your boyfriend’s name?” Killian asked.

I pulled my goggles off. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

He flicked some water at me. “There’s not a chance in hell you only perfected half of an omelet flip. Ryan knew something was up, but he didn’t pressure you. I would have dragged him out to meet me. So…what’s his name?”

“That’s why you’re here. Not to try the backstroke, but to insist I spill the tea about a boyfriend I don’t have.”

“You’ve never been a good liar, Mick.”

I scoffed. “I’m not lying, I’m annoyed that I have two overbearing brothers. Jeez, Dad wouldn’t even be up in my business like this. You know, considering that I’m a twenty-four year old woman.”

Killian lowered his chin. “Yeah, he would be.”

I shook my head. “You two are making an assumption based on my ability to flip a freaking omelet.”

My brother chuckled. “Nope. There was a knife on the other place mat…where your boyfriend was sitting.”