BEN
Skyler walksinto the gym a full twenty minutes before her shift is supposed to start, looking gorgeous as ever with her hair pulled up high and away from her face. I’m about to greet her with what I hope is a work-appropriate level of enthusiasm when I catch sight of her anxious expression. Immediately, I stop what I’m doing and make my way over to her.
“Skye, what’s wrong?” I ask in a low voice, trying not to draw attention from the buzzing patrons around us.
“I...” Her gaze darts to a concerned-looking Moodie at the front desk.
I nod in the direction of my office. “In there.”
She nods and follows quietly behind me. It kills me that I can’t take her hand in mine and give it a reassuring squeeze. The knots in my stomach grow tighter with each step I take. Seeing Skyler so distraught has me officially on-edge, and I desperately want to know what’s going on.
Once we’re inside my office with the door shut behind us, I immediately place my hands on her shoulders.
“What’s wrong, Baby Bird?” I gently rub her upper arms in a soothing motion that seems to alleviate some of the tension in her muscles, if not her mind.
She bites her bottom lip and shakes her head, tears welling in her eyes.
“Come on,” I coax, cupping her cheek in my hand. “You know you can tell Daddy anything.”
Her lips quiver. “Crystal stopped by my apartment earlier. She knows.”
I sigh heavily. I’d hoped we’d have a little more time to strategize about how we wanted to reveal our relationship to my family and the rest of the Gold Standard crew. “Well, the fact that Barbie isn’t in here chewing me out right now tells us Crystal hasn’t said anything to her mom yet.”
“But what if she does? What if she tells everyone?” A single tear traces down Skyler’s cheek. “What happens to us when I’m not your secret anymore?”
My eyebrows knit together in confusion. “Baby, is that what’s got you so upset? I don’t care if people know. I mean, things’ll be awkward with Crystal for a while, and Barbie’s gonna give me hell, but she’ll come around when she sees how happy we make each other.”
“Really? You wouldn’t mind if people found out?”
I stroke my thumb along her cheekbone. “Baby Bird, I’m living for the day when everyone knows that this beautiful, smart, kind, amazing woman is mine. And I’m hers.”
“Oh, Daddy.” She bursts into tears, and I instantly worry I’ve said something wrong. But then she throws her arms around neck and hugs me tightly. “I know it sounds stupid and insecure, but I was afraid you were secretly embarrassed to be with me.”
I inhale sharply at the thought of her harboring such painful fears and hug her closer to me. “Never, Baby Bird, never. You’re the most important thing in my world, Skyler. I’m so damn proud to be your Daddy.” I kiss her tear-streaked face. “And don’t worry about Crystal. I’ll talk to her, see if I can get her off your back, okay?”
I feel her nod against me before she pulls back to meet my gaze. “I know she’s your niece and that you care about her. I care about her, too. But Nate’s dug his claws so deep in her, she can’t think straight.”
“Don’t you worry. I’ll have a conversation with her mom about that asshole.” I smooth some of the loose strands away from her face. “Do you want to take the night off? Rest a little?”
Skyler shakes her head no and sighs. “Honestly, teaching a class would be a great distraction from everything else right now. Speaking of, I should probably head to the studio and start setting up.”
She stands on her toes and tilts her head back in a silent request for one last kiss. I pull her body flush against mine and oblige her, already counting down the minutes ‘til I can get her alone and remind her how much I adore every single one of my baby girl’s curves.
We head back out to the main area of the gym.
“—and you need to back the hell up, sir,” Moodie barks from around the corner.
My pulse kicks into overdrive. Level-headed Moodie’s not one to go off on a customer unprompted. I dash to the front desk to get a look at the difficult customer—and my blood boils.
Nate pounds on the desk like an overgrown toddler, his expression twisted with fury.
“I know she’s here, old man,” he yells. “She’s supposed to be teaching a class. Now where the hell is she?”
I know the moment when Nate notices us because his anger seems to multiply by ten-fold. He rounds the desk, barreling past Moodie to get to us.
“This is all your fault, you fat fucking bitch!” Nate screams, the veins in his neck protruding. “You should’ve kept your big mouth shut.”
Barbie gasps, appearing at Skyler’s side looking thoroughly appalled. “What on Earth has gotten into you, Nathan Whitney?”