Holding Strong
Page 128

Armie smiled. “Glad to hear it.”
She noticed Armie didn’t offer her any reassurance on Denver’s feelings. “The last thing I want is to interfere with his training.”
“I doubt he’d let you. Denver is good. Really good. If I was a betting man, I’d put my money on him. The guy he’s fighting though, he specializes in phone-booth warfare.”
Cherry gave him a blank stare.
“Fighting close,” Armie explained. “He stays right up in your grill, which is going to make it tough for Denver to get in much kicking, or to do a takedown. So he needs to do fine-tuning on some stuff.”
“And I’m bothering him?”
Armie laughed. “Doll, you’ll keep him bothered no matter what. But you could lighten the load a little by telling him how you feel.”
She threw up her hands. “I have.” Denver was the one who kept her guessing.
“Pfft. I ain’t buying it.” He shoulder-bumped her. “Know what I think you should do?”
“What?”
“First, quit letting Carver and his thug brothers get to you. You’re not a stupid girl, so you’re not going to go off on your own anywhere, which means he can’t touch you.”
No, maybe not. But what about everyone else?
“Second...” He paused for dramatic effect. “Drop the love bomb on Denver.”
Tell Denver how she felt? Leave herself that exposed. And what if he rejected her?
She leaned into Armie’s shoulder and whispered, “He might not feel the same.”
“If you ignore the temporary insanity you’ve caused him, Denver is a real standup guy. He’s got his shit together with this whole plan for the future and money in the bank and attainable goals. All that. If he wasn’t figuring on fitting you in, he wouldn’t still be with you. And he wouldn’t want to fit you in if he didn’t care an awful lot.”
Wow, that made sense, didn’t it? Happy to use Armie as a sounding board, she said, “Okay, let’s say he cares, but—”
“He does.”
“—what if he isn’t sure about the whole lifetime-commitment route yet? If I tell him how I feel, wouldn’t that pressure him?”
“The pressure was you not trusting him. I’m guessing he broke that barrier, though.”
“What makes you think so?”
Glancing toward Denver, Armie rolled one bare shoulder. “He looks more relaxed today.”
His statement so surprised her, she barked a laugh. Even from where she stood, she could see the angry set to Denver’s muscled frame. “He’s furious.”
“Yeah, sure. This cowardly stuff enrages everyone. But there’s still a difference. He’s not as edgy.” Armie eyed her. “I won’t pry, but there was stuff in your background you didn’t want to share?”
Turning her face away, she nodded. “Yes.”
“I get it. I have my own tainted background, ya know?”
That got her gaze back on Armie. No, she hadn’t known.
“I see where you’re coming from. But I’m glad you opened up to Denver. That sort of thing is real important to him.”
“But not to you?”
His rascal’s grin returned. “Now, Cherry Pie, you know I don’t do romantic relationships. And when it comes to one-night stands, no, I don’t want to hear some chick’s baggage any more than she wants to hear mine. Trust me, we have better ground to cover than history.”
Cherry was still thinking about that, specifically how it might affect Merissa, when her pocket buzzed and she almost leaped out of her skin.
Armie caught her arm, unsure what had happened, but she laughed and withdrew her phone.
“Sorry. It just startled me.” Feeling sheepish, she answered without thinking—and without checking the caller ID. “Hello?”
Carver said, “Little sister, how you doin’?”
Anger took her two steps away from Armie, before he caught her arm again. Ignoring him, she said, “Carver, what did you do?”
“No idea what you mean, sis.”
“Are you dense? I am not and have never been your sister.”
Suddenly Denver was beside her, too. She realized she was drawing attention and tried to turn her back on all of them.
Denver stopped her.
“Name-calling, Cherry? You’re going to regret that.”
“Another threat?”
“Now why would I threaten you? I just want you to come home.”
“Not my home, Carver.”