Page 7

As I lower myself into the only open kitchen chair, I groan in frustration.

All the others are littered with random things that need to be put away, but I’ll get to them, eventually.

Right now, my focus shifts to making the pain in my leg subside; once I accomplish that, I can get back to unpacking my new place.

After living with this ache for over eight years, I should’ve known better than to overdo it.

Every single time I move to a new place, this always happens.

I somehow get in my head that I can accomplish anything and that chronic pain isn’t something I have to worry about.

Only to be proven wrong before the end of the day.

I should have grabbed an icepack from the freezer before I sat down, but it’s too far away now.

Instead, I gently massage the upper part of my calf, hoping some of the tension will melt away.

I never would have guessed that, at thirty-four, parts of my body would already be betraying me.

I’ve always taken care of myself, worked hard to stay in shape and eat healthy, but there are some things we can’t control.

Like the consequences that come from a decision that wasn’t your own .

My phone rings on the table by my elbow, Bryce Clark’s name flashing across the screen. I grab it, fumbling for just a second before I accept the call. “Hey, man.”

“Hey, how’s it going?” Instead of a normal greeting, Bryce tends to get to the point. Which makes things easier if you’re working for him. Which I am, or will be, in two weeks. “Are you sure you don’t want some help getting moved in?”

I look around at the chaotic space and let out a small groan. More than anything, I want to be able to handle this on my own, but I know I can’t. “Actually, I think I could use some help.”

“That’s great news,” he happily replies, “because Carter and I are already here!”

Nothing about the statement surprises me, but I still laugh. Bryce has always been the kind of guy who anticipates what you need and gives it to you long before you ever ask. When it came to his own well-being and mental health, he was more resistant, but he’ll never let a friend suffer in silence.

“And we brought pizza!” I let out another laugh at Carter’s excited voice in the background.

“Just let yourselves in. It’s unlocked,” I tell them. “I just sat down and am not getting up for at least five minutes. I’m in the kitchen.”

I toss my phone back onto the table once Bryce hangs up.

A second later, I can hear them pushing their way into the house, declarations about how awesome the place is meeting my ears.

I find myself looking around, trying to see it from their perspective.

It’s all sleek lines and modern edges that almost make it feel sterile.

It was in my budget, though, and was the only house in the endless lineup of wealthy-bachelor-pad houses my realtor showed me that I actually kind of liked.

The house had potential, which is what drew me in.

It’s in a great neighborhood, had a huge yard, and was close enough to the pool to make commuting easy.

If someone wanted to make it a home, it could easily be done with some remodeling, but that’s not what I’m here to do.

Settling down is so far outside my nature, I’m not sure I’ll ever do it.

I stay in a place long enough to accomplish what I needed to do, then I move on.

“This place is insane,” Bryce compliments with a low whistle as soon as he steps into view. “Out of all the places you’ve lived, this might be my favorite.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty nice,” I agree with a nod. “There’s a huge backyard for Lezak to run around in.”

“I bet he lost his shit when he saw it.” I turn in time to see Bryce’s gaze drift from where I’m working the sore muscle in my leg to my face, eyebrow raised. “You good, dude?”

I shrug, trying to hide any grimace of pain that might leak through. “Just overdid it a bit. It’ll be fine in a minute.”

Carter comes wandering in behind him, dropping the pizza boxes to the only free space on the table. “Then I suggest we eat first.”

“You won’t hear me argue.”

Carter helps push some things off to the side, giving us more room. He doesn’t even attempt to find plates, instead grabbing a stack of napkins off the counter. On his way to grab beers, the excited sound of a barking at the backdoor cuts through our small talk.

Bryce stops by the door, looking over at me with a raised brow.

I nod. “Just do not feed him any pizza.”

“Why?” Carter asks with an amused grin. “’Cause that’s your job?”

I roll my eyes, bending at the excited golden retriever puppy that comes barreling toward me. He’s a mess of fur, aggressive tail wagging, and four limbs that still don’t seem to work in any kind of synchronization. And he’s the best thing to happen to me in literal years .

“I never saw you as a dog person, Ronan, but this dude is cute.” Bryce sets an open beer in front of each of us. “Does Lezak know he has a dog named after him?”

My eyes roll. “I guarantee you I’m not the only person to have named a pet after him, but he did turn about seven different shades of red when I told him.”

Both Carter and Bryce burst into laughter, probably picturing the exact reaction the older Olympian had when I told him.

Jason Lezak, a freestyler like me, pulled off one of the greatest comebacks the sport has ever seen.

He anchored the men’s 4x100-meter freestyle at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

He’d been a full-body length behind France at the start of his leg and didn’t pull ahead until the final twenty-five meters.

Team USA walked away with a gold medal and a new world record, and Lezak kind of went down in history.

“We told the girls about you joining the team yesterday.” Bryce’s swift change of subject nearly makes me choke on the bite of pizza I’d taken, but I can quickly wash it down with a swig of beer. “Mia seemed pretty upset about the news.”

The name sends a cold shiver down my spine.

Out of everyone I’d known back when I was professionally swimming, she was the one I didn’t think I’d ever see again.

At least, not in this capacity. Maybe in passing.

Maybe at Bryce’s wedding if he ever got his head out of his ass and told Josie Martin, her best friend, how he felt (thankfully, he did).

Being in the same world, the same life, as her again, was a weird feeling.

Mostly because I’m not sure what happened.

How did we go from an amazing night of sex, followed by a year of talking whenever we could, to her randomly deciding to hate me a year later?

It became obvious no one knew anything about what happened between us in Omaha.

If she had told Josie, I’m sure Bryce or Carter would have heard.

Following Olympic Trials, I spent the next few months constantly around the two men, and neither one of them said anything to me.

No one in this group is necessarily great at minding their own business.

I know Bryce and Carter are going to be looking for answers, but those are answers I can’t give.

She stopped talking to me a couple of days into the National Championship meet in Indianapolis a year later, but those first few encounters had been completely normal and then a wall of ice went up.

One I could never chisel my way through.

And no one seemed to know what happened.

“Are we surprised by that?” I ask Bryce, who shrugs. “I’ve told you this before, and nothing has changed since. I don’t know what happened. She just got mad at me out of nowhere.”

“Which would seem strange for most people, but somehow, with Mia, it makes sense.” Both of us frown at Carter, who shrugs. “What? You know I love Mia, but if anyone is capable of hating someone and keeping those reasons completely to herself, it’s Mia.”

“Oh, she hates me now?” That’s news to me. In the past, it’s mostly been strong disdain and ignoring my existence. “Well, I guess that’s good to know.”

“‘Hate’ might be too strong of a word,” Bryce counters.

“And I was thinking it’s not strong enough.” Bryce shoots Carter a glare. “Again, we all know Mia, and the capabilities that woman has. She scares me, guys.”

Shaking his head, Bryce reaches for another piece of pizza. “Don’t pretend like you and her aren’t best friends.”

“Exactly, I’m on her good side, which means I know what it means to be on her bad side. That’s not something I’d really wish on anyone.”

I know exactly what Carter means. There was a time when I was on her good side.

Something I’m not sure Bryce has ever known.

It’s not that Mia is mean. It’s more that she’s a fierce force of nature and she’s not to be messed with.

She’s fiercely protective of the people she loves, and fiercely protective of her own heart.

Those who are lucky enough to be let in get to see a whole other side of her.

She always reminded me of a sunflower in the way it turns toward light when it’s ready to be nourished.

And when the light is on her, that woman shines brighter than anything I’ve ever seen.

“We wanted to give you a heads-up that things will probably be tense for a while,” Bryce finishes.

“Whatever, dude.” I’m attempting, and failing, to brush it off, but they don’t need to know that.

“I’m here to do a job—help you build up Adair Swim Club and establish a scholarship fund.

That’s what my focus is going to be on; I don’t want to get caught up in whatever drama is left over from the past.”

My plan for my time at Adair is to do what I’ve always done: accomplish the job I came here to do and move on. It’s never good to get feelings messed up with that.