Total pages in book: 64
Estimated words: 62095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62095 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
“Assumed I was a lesbian,” I said slowly. Was he for fucking real? I didn’t know whether to laugh or… Actually, I definitely wanted to laugh. This was the first glimpse of Ethan as the man Gray had described. Arrogant and whatnot. “I’m seeing you in a whole new light, Coach.”
He shot me a little look at that. “I understand I come off as a douchebag, but it’s the truth. Eight times out of ten, I have women gawking at me in the gym.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
What the actual fuck?
“I didn’t know what to say, so I just laughed it off and continued walking,” I admitted. “I’m still blown away.”
Thank fuck for girls’ night at Chloe’s house the following day. I’d needed to vent, and my sister, Adeline, and Isla were good listeners.
“Uh, yeah. I’m kinda speechless too,” Isla chuckled. “Wow.”
Adeline hopped up to sit on the kitchen island, and she refilled her wine. “Makes total sense. If you don’t fawn over him, you must be gay. My God. Some men, I swear.”
Chloe had gotten her initial shock out of the way—not to mention a laugh or two—and now she had her thinking cap on while she prepared our snack board.
“What do you think, sis?” I had to ask. “Because on the one hand, I don’t want to be the hypocrite who laughs at him for something I think most women are painfully familiar with—being gawked at and bothered at the gym. But on the other hand…how often do you get hit on in order for you to legit believe someone is a lesbian if they don’t flirt with you? Not even if every single resident in this town flirted with me would I assume a guy is gay if he doesn’t make a move.”
Isla laughed. “Seriously.”
Chloe pursed her lips and placed a small bowl of olives next to the marinated artichokes. “See, my mind went there too—about the hypocrisy. Like, we don’t know what he’s been through and so on. But…” She shook her head. “Everything I know about Ethan Quinn… He loves the attention. I’m sure there are men who take their shirts off simply because they’re hot, but he’s not one of them. He does it for likes, for attention, and for compliments.”
That was what I feared, and it was such an unsexy attribute. It was unfathomable too. Ethan Quinn was handsome, successful, clearly driven, and he had several wonderful traits. He was kind, funny, thoughtful, knowledgeable, and helpful. Why on earth was he chasing validation?
Like many people, I could be super judgy at times, something I hated about myself. And he was making it extremely difficult not to judge. Because no matter the circumstances and unknowns, it took a special level of arrogance to assume someone was gay because they hadn’t flirted with him.
Excuse me, I was there to get healthy and achieve goals. Not flirt with my PT.
“By the way, please don’t talk about Ethan being my PT with others,” I said. “He and I haven’t addressed the fact that my nephew and his brother are together. And at this stage, I feel weird bringing it up.”
Chloe tilted her head, curious. “You mean, you haven’t even mentioned that you’re part of each other’s extended family? That’s a bit strange, doll. You will attend the same birthday party for Jayden next Saturday.”
Yeah…
I scratched the side of my head. “Well, when you put it that way…”
“In addition, are you sure he knows?” she pressed. “While I talk about my darlin’ sister all the time, I wouldn’t bet on my four boys doing so—and they see Ethan much more often than I do.”
Fair point. I actually didn’t know if Ethan realized I was related to Gray. He must’ve considered it since he knew our last name, but perhaps he was waiting for me to bring it up. Or the thought hadn’t even occurred to him! Who knew?
“I guess I’ll talk to him on Monday,” I sighed.
Morning, Natalie. How was your girls’ night? You mentioned on Friday that you might struggle to make healthy choices in social situations. Did you?
I yawned and squinted at the display.
Christ. He’d sent the text at seven in the freaking morning—over an hour ago. It was Sunday! Did he ever rest?
I rolled onto my side and locked the screen so it wouldn’t flip while I responded.
Morning, Coach. It was easier than I thought it would be to limit my wine intake. I didn’t go overboard with the cheese and snacks either, but then my sister put out her strawberry pie. It’s one of my favorites, and I can’t lie, I had two servings. I don’t feel too bad, though. I was enjoying myself, and I decided to take an extra-long walk today.
I sent it off and slipped the phone under my pillow.