Fix Her Up (Hot & Hammered #1)(92)

“Sorry, it’s a new club rule. All sexual exploits are to be discussed in great detail. Added it to the agenda this morning.”

“You’re out of control.”

Rosie reached them, the flush still painting her cheeks and neck. “Good morning.” She looked everywhere but their faces. “I need this today.”

“You need something,” Bethany muttered.

Georgie hip checked her sister. “Bethany.”

“What? I’m just supposed to pretend I didn’t witness them air fucking?”

“Ma’am,” prompted an exasperated voice to their right. “If you’re checking in, I need to see some identification.”

Red-faced, Bethany unzipped the pocket of her running pants and handed over her driver’s license. Rosie and Georgie followed suit, trying not to die of mortification in the process. When all three of them were checked in and had been handed their official paper badges, they scooted off to the side to wait for the rest of the Just Us League members to do the same.

“Sorry about before, Rosie,” Bethany said, using the safety pins to affix the number to the front of her shirt. “I have boundary issues.”

“No, don’t apologize.” Rosie shook her head. “I’ve known for a long time something is off with Dominic and me. Like really off. But seeing your reactions only confirms it.” She narrowed her gaze on something over Georgie’s shoulder. Georgie turned to find Dominic watching his wife from the edge of the crowd, a cigarette tucked between his fingers. The hunger in his expression was nothing short of ferocious. “If you want to know the truth . . .”

Bethany and Georgie waited.

“The truth is we don’t talk. We avoid each other. He’s angry. I’m getting angrier by the day. But the attraction . . . it’s a monster. Sometimes the buildup goes on for weeks until we finally give in. We’re just about there now.” Rosie let out a shaky puff of air. “Obviously.” With a shrug, she broke eye contact with her husband. “And then the vicious cycle starts again.”

“Hey.” Georgie squeezed Rosie’s hand. “You have a long history with Dominic and no one knows your relationship better than you. But we’re here if you want help. Or just to talk.”

“I know. Thank you.” Rosie jogged in place, the redness beginning to fade from her skin. “Without your help, I never would have launched my Kickstarter last night. Help fund Rosie’s Empanada Factory. I already passed the thousand-dollar mark this morning.” She was practically trembling with excitement. “If you hadn’t put my empanadas on a tray at the meeting, Georgie, I probably wouldn’t have had the balls.”

In disbelief, Georgie released a rush of breath, feeling Bethany’s hand rubbing circles onto her back. “Who needs balls when you have flaky dough filled with meat?”

“Indeed.” Rosie’s lips spread into a smile, more optimistic than Georgie had ever seen it. “Right now, I just want to kick ass and take names.”

Bethany threw back her head and whooped. “We got that covered!”

By mile two, they wanted to burrow beneath the mud and let the earth reclaim their bodies as compost.

“Oh my God,” Georgie wheezed, trotting over yet another mound. So many mounds. She hadn’t trained for mounds. “Whose idea was this?”

Bethany made a strangled sound. “It was a collective—”

“No. No, it was you.” Georgie splattered through a deep pit of mud. “You owe me new shoes and two hours of my life back.”

“It’s not so bad,” Rosie panted, threading through the sisters on a spurt of momentum, then immediately slowing down. “Okay, it’s that bad. But we’re going to hit our second wind soon. I read about it.”

They all screeched to a halt when a blond ball of light sped past them. “Hey, ladies. Sorry I’m late!” Kristin turned and jogged backward, somehow navigating the uneven terrain without looking. “Isn’t it a beautiful day? Strawberry tarts at the finish line!”

“I’m going to kill her,” Georgie growled. “Who’s with me?”

Both women raised their hands, then doubled over from the physical effort.

“That’s it. That’s our motivation for finishing the race.” Georgie took Bethany’s and Rosie’s arms and tugged them along. “We’re going to murder my sister-in-law. Just keep repeating it to yourself like a mantra.”

Somehow Bethany, Georgie, and Rosie made it through three miles of running. Ah, but then came the obstacle course. Several of the Just Us League members had caught up to them by that time. The desire to help each and every one of the women over the climbing wall and through the army crawl distracted Georgie from the pain of exertion. She’d expected a feeling of accomplishment. Satisfaction. But straddling her high school physics teacher and bodily dragging her through a mud pit while both of them laughed? It bonded them. Crossing the monkey bars, then jogging back to help Bethany prop up Rosie as she did the same? She wasn’t just part of a team, she was leading it.

Georgie wasn’t sure what made her turn and look at the row of spectators lining the makeshift fence. Maybe it was the sparkle at the back of her neck. But when she glanced over, Travis stood there in a ball cap, his beloved face softened with a smile. And it was too much. The explosion of camaraderie. Her boyfriend’s support. The love she’d been keeping locked up inside herself for so long. The glue holding her together started to evaporate.