“Holy hell—why is this the first fuckin’ time I’m hearing of this?” he practically bellows.
“Christ, keep it down,” I mutter, glancing around the bar. Thankfully, no one is really paying us any attention.
“What was it like? What wasshelike?” Brian asks, his mouth gaping open.
I huff a laugh. “It was hot, okay? She was …” I blow out a slow breath, remembering the way that night went down. “Some sort of sex goddess or something.”
Brian whistles, a teasing glint in his eyes. “A sex goddess, huh? Sounds like someone wants a round two. Maybe you need to hunt her down for another romp—could help you get the rest of Jillian out of your system.”
“I wish I could, but I can’t.”
An image of Carlie flashes in my mind, her intelligent eyes and the curve of her smile.
“Funny thing is,” I start, hesitating as I try to connect the dots myself, “I met a new client today—Carlie. She reminds me of her ... but she’s sodifferent.”
“Carlie, eh?” Brian leans against the bar, his expression thoughtful. “Thinking you might ask her out?”
I think on that a moment, then shake my head. “Nah, man. I’ve learned my lesson on mixing business and pleasure. Besides, you’re one to talk about the whole dating circus,” I say, raising an eyebrow at him. “Last I checked, you weren’t exactly jumping back on the love wagon.”
He pauses, the levity draining from his face as the topic of his own love life—or lack thereof—surfaces.
“Love’s a gamble, and I’ve already lost enough at that table,” he admits, his eyes briefly clouding over with a mixture of regret and resignation.
I lean back, eyeing him. “You’ve been pretty quiet about all that,” I say cautiously. “You doing okay with everything?”
He pours himself a beer, the golden liquid cascading into the glass with a familiar hiss.
“Divorce has a way of teaching you things you never wanted to learn,” he admits quietly.
I nod, unsure of what to say. It’s a side of Brian I’ve rarely seen—vulnerable, stripped of the easygoing demeanor he wears as effortlessly as the apron around his waist.
“Honestly, man, I thought Jillian was your forever. Five years is a long time to suddenly ...” Brian trails off, not finishing the sentence, but the weight of it hangs in the air between us.
I shrug, trying to shake off the heaviness. “I thought so too. But turns out, I was just a stepping stone for her, you know? Onward to bigger and better things. Or so I was told. Repeatedly.”
“Yeah,” he says, his voice dropping an octave. “I know exactly what you mean. After my divorce, I realized some stones are best left unturned. I’m happy here, with the bar—the regulars. It’s uncomplicated. Women? They’re welcome as customers, not as heartbreakers. Not for me.”
There’s a bitterness in his laugh, a sharpness that makes me realize just how deep his wounds are. He’s not just out of the game—he’s boarded up the field.
“But you,” Brian says, pointing a finger at me. “You’re not me. You’ve got that ...thing about you.People are drawn to you. Don’t let Jillian’s mistake turn you into a cynical old bastard like me.”
I ponder over his words. “I’m not cynical, just ...cautious. I’ve seen what love can do to a person. What it did to us.”
“Cautious, huh?” Brian’s eyes hold mine, a silent understanding passing through them. “Just remember, not every risk ends with a crash and burn. Some might actually be worth the jump. Like the one to start Foxx Fitness. Get on that, man. I’m telling you, it’s your calling.”
The conversation shifts, then, to lighter topics—sports, the latest beer he’s brewing, the regulars with their quirks and stories. But his words about risks and jumps linger with me, a nagging thought that maybe I’ve been standing still for too long, trying to avoid a fall that’s already happened.
Brian might be pessimistic about love, but when it comes to taking chances on dreams, he’s a damn believer.
He makes me think that maybe,just maybe,it’s time I become one too.
CHAPTER6
Carlie
Once again, I stumble through the entrance of St. Mary’s gym, still burning from yesterday’s humiliation.
And I’m not just talking about the low-grade muscle burn from my training session, either. Because,oh yeah,that’s there.