Page 76 of Lavish

I saw Reese by the ring. He gave me a sly grin. “You made it!” he shouted above the gym din.

“This ain’t poker.” I went to give Reese a fist bump. “I didn’t know this place was even around.”

Growing up, the Ashbournes and the Kings were basically mortal enemies. I didn’t hate the guy, but I stayed away from him out of out of respect for loyalty to Erik and the Kings. Now that everything was cool, we would hang out if we ran into each other in town, we both knew what it was like to be an outcast in Lush.

“My buddy Ronin owns the place. I think you’ll like him.” Reese gestured toward a burly guy in the ring with dreads down his back engaged in an intense sparring match.

“Ronin, huh?” I scanned the gym, taking in the raw energy and grit of the place. “The heavyweight boxer who killed a guy?”

“He didn’t kill him. Those are just false allegations.” Reese laughed. “Laurie’s been nesting so hard, I’m scared to even breathe wrong in her space, let alone sneak in my poker table. After the wedding, though, well, I thought I’ll check in with you. How’s it going?”

“Oh, it’s going,” I muttered, my voice more tired than I intended.

Reese raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. “Is it going…well?”

“What did Laurene tell you to find out from me?”

“What?” He had the nerve to try to look innocent. “I’m getting to know my new brother-in-law.”

Reese stood up, grabbing a pair of gloves and tossing them to me. “Alright, we can talk later. Let’s see if you’ve still got some fight in you.”

I caught the gloves, slipping them on.

He jabbed lightly. “You know,” he said between punches, “I can tell you love her. Did you say it yet?”

“Please tell me Laurene put you up to this.” I dodged his punch and countered, landing a hit on his arm. “Y’all don’t have anything else to do?”

He smirked, but it faded as his gaze sharpened. “Serena, the Kings, your family’s company…it’s a lot to handle. I had my own shit with my father and brother. At least I had Laurie there with me for most of the mess. Serena… Well, she’s interesting, but I think it’s great if you both love each other.”

“That’s a big assumption that I love her at all.”

Liar, you did at one point.

Reese stopped and looked at me. “I can tell. You had the same look in your eyes, the way I used to look at Laurie.”

That made me a bit uncomfortable. Didn’t Laurene say something similar?

I laughed, ducking under his next swing. “Did Erik give you this speech too?”

“Nah. Erik threatened to beat my ass.”

“Sounds about right.”

We’d been at it for a good twenty minutes, and I was starting to feel the burn in my muscles, the kind that reminded me I was alive. But just as I was about to throw another jab, Reese stopped moving.

He lowered his hands, his grin fading into something unreadable.

“What’s up? You getting tired already?” I asked, wiping the sweat off my brow.

Reese didn’t answer. He just nodded behind me.

I slowly turned. Erik.

His expression was guarded, his jaw tight.

I wondered if Reese had dragged me to the gym just to arrange this meeting.

“You did this?”