Worth It (Forbidden Men 6)

If I’d never met her in the woods and spent an entire summer learning what love was, I might’ve been a lot more hostile. I might’ve been filled with more hate than Rocket was. But there were so many better things to hold on to than animosity. The part of me that clung to the love we’d once shared would never let me stoop to Rocket’s bitter level.

“No,” was all I could tell her. There was dark shit in me, but I wasn’t filled with hatred.

She sent me a small smile and nodded. “Good.” When she turned toward her room, I said, “You need to stay away from him.”

She glanced back at me as if I’d lost my mind. “Excuse me?”

“I didn’t like the way he glared at you. He thinks you’re one of them, and he’d probably have no qualms about seeking his misplaced sense of justice by going after you.”

Shaking her head, she said, “What’re you saying? You think he’s the person leaving the ‘death threats’ on my locker?”

“I don’t know. But I’m going to find out.”

An impasse seemed to sprout between Knox and me the night following his encounter with his brother. I stopped pressing him for more and he stopped pushing me away. But there was still a distance between us I couldn’t stand.

He was gone Saturday morning when I woke, probably working out at the gym he’d yet to tell me he frequented. But he’d brewed my coffee, and it was waiting in its carafe for me when I stumbled into the kitchen. I tried not to let that affect me, but I was still touched by his thoughtfulness.

The rest of the day, I hung out in my room, only coming out when I heard him leave the kitchen or bathroom, and he seemed to do the same. The living room had become a no man’s land where neither of us spent any time.

It was pretty depressing, and I wondered how long we could keep this up. It didn’t feel as if it could last forever. In fact, the entire day felt like the calm before a storm.

I just had no idea the storm would come in the form of a perky brunette named Reese. She called early Sunday morning.

“Hey, I was just curious if you and Knox could come a little earlier to lunch today?”

Sitting up in bed and yawning as I scratched my scalp, I tried to wake my brain enough to figure out what the heck Mason’s girlfriend was talking about. I’d only spoken to her a handful of times when she’d visited the club. I couldn’t figure out why she was calling me or even why she was talking about me and Knox together. So I finally just said, “What lunch?”

“Oh!” She let out an embarrassed sound. “Sorry, did he not tell you about the invite? Such a guy. I should’ve called you Thursday and followed up on the details. Anyway, everyone is invited to our place today for some good eats. But I was hoping you two could come just a wee bit earlier. I have some...information for him.”

I frowned, really confused and twice as curious. “You know Knox?”

“Uh...no. We’ve never met. But...still. I’d really like to meet him today.”

“Well...” I looked around my room, trying to wake up fully. “Okay. I guess. What time did you want us there?”

After we finalized the details, I hung up. And then I realized what I’d just done. Knox probably wasn’t going to like me making plans for him without his permission. Worried what kind of reaction he was going to have, I stumbled out of bed, fully awake.

But he was already gone. In the kitchen, my coffee was waiting, but today he’d even set out my favorite mug next to it. I made myself some breakfast, ate it, and then cleaned up after myself before he returned.

When he finally opened the front door, I was sitting on the couch, the one and only piece of furniture we had in the living room, and sipping on my third cup.

He paused when he saw me.

“Morning,” I offered with a vague smile. “How was your workout today?”

Surprise colored his features, but he finally said, “Fine.” He slowly shut the door behind him, then leaned against it as he eyed me warily. “I’ve been working with a boxing trainer.”

I totally wasn’t expecting him to just volunteer a piece of information, so I almost cried when he did. After a deep breath of barely keeping it together, I nodded. “So you box now?”

He shrugged. “I guess.” He glanced away, and I swear I saw his cheeks flush. “I kind of like it.”

Wow. Two rare gems of information from him...all within thirty seconds of each other, too. This must be my lucky day. “Do you think you’ll take it up professionally?”

“I don’t know,” he mumbled. “Maybe. My trainer seems to think I have promise.”

I smiled, glad he’d found something he liked and was good at. It was a far cry from opening a tree nursery, but he was no longer that boy, and I was slowly adjusting to the person he’d become.

“Then you should do it,” I encouraged.