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Kip walked back over to him. “And you know what I mean.”
Mantis stayed on the porch after his dad went inside. As much as he wished it were that simple, it wasn’t. He couldn’t be that man any more than he could be the man who could stand by their side as a couple.
“Breakfast is ready,” Alegria said, coming out to join him on the porch. “Everything okay?”
Mantis stood in front of her. “Not really.”
“I shouldn’t be here. I knew this was a bad idea.”
“That isn’t it,” he said, reaching out to cup her cheek. “They’re having a hard time accepting we aren’t together anymore. To be honest, they aren’t the only ones.”
“Mantis—”
He took his hand away. “I get it, and I’m sorry. I promised not to cross the line, and I just did.” He met her gaze. “Forgive me?”
—:—
Before she opened the door to go back inside, Alegria looked over her shoulder. “It isn’t easy for me either.”
She didn’t stop in the kitchen. Instead she went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face.
She’d almost kissed him. It was only his apology that had stopped her. If he hadn’t said it, she would’ve put her hands on either side of his face and kissed him as hard as she knew he wanted to kiss her.
How in the hell were they going to keep this as “just friends”? They hadn’t been together twenty-four hours, and she was ready to kiss him. Not just that—she was ready to crawl into bed next to him.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” Minnie asked when Alegria came back in and joined them at the table.
“Yeah. I’m fine, thanks. So, coach,” she said, looking at Mantis. “You ready to hit the gym today?”
He smiled that million-kilowatt smile of his, and she was ready to go back and splash her entire body with cold water. Heaven, help her. Mantis was the sexiest man she’d ever known, and she was about to go to the gym with him and his too short shorts and his too tight t-shirts.
He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket when they got in the car. “Look this over and tell me if there’s anything on it you’re not supposed to do.”
V-crunches, planks, hip lifts, sit ups, side crunches, bicycle kicks. It all looked standard to her.
“Turn it over.”
Her eyes opened wide when she looked at the other side.
“Too much?”
“Um…no.”
“You’re sure?”
It was way too much, but she’d never admit it. Even if it landed her back in the hospital.
“That’s enough for today,” Mantis said ninety minutes later.
He’d pushed her, but not as far as she originally thought he would.
Mantis put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “You won’t get cleared if you let yourself get another injury on top of what you’re already dealing with.”
“I know,” she muttered, wishing her body was strong enough to do the kind of workouts she’d done before she’d gotten shot.
“How about a run?” she asked.