Perfect Match (Vice Club Nights #2)

20. Tori

Chapter twenty

Tori

G io has been erased from my life. Along with his number from my phone.

If only it was that easy. The moment he told me about his engagement to another woman, my heart cracked, and ever since, the raw wound has been infecting my whole being.

Stupidly, I thought that if I gave myself a week to mourn the end of our relationship, then I’d be able to move on. But it’s Monday afternoon of the second week, and I’ve just finished a two-hour gym workout that has left my body as weak as a baby lamb, and the hurt is still a heavy weight in my chest.

At least drowning my heartbreak in strenuous exercise has got me back to my peak fitness.

Leaving the gym, I still manage to run up the stairs to the bar to see Charli before she starts work. With her working late nights this week, catching up with her before opening is the only way we can spend some time together. The bar area is a hive of activity, with her and Ryan restocking shelves, and my sister’s tinkling laughter reaches me first. I love how good Ryan is for her.

“Hey, guys, what’s happening?” I ask, leaning over the counter to look down on them.

Dark-brown eyes the same as mine shine back up at me. And Charli jumps up to come around the end of the bar to give me a hug. It’s been a couple of days since I got one of her tight squeezes, and I sink into it. I know she’s been worried about me since Gio left after delivering the bombshell news of his engagement. There’s never any chance of me keeping that kind of pain from her, especially after she finished reading my European journal last week. She knows my sadness in the same way a part of me feels her happiness with Ryan.

“How you doing, Tori?” Ryan asks as he wipes his hands on the small towel on the bar. Charli has told him some of what happened between Gio and me. Maybe he knows more from speaking to his friend.

“I’m fine,” I say automatically with a forced cheerfulness that’s not fooling anybody. Then, unable to take any more of their concerned looks, I deflect. “I’ve just been working out in the gym. Ryan, did you get a chance to look at my proposal? It’s such a shame to see all that fancy equipment just sitting there unused.” I hop up onto a barstool, dropping my bag to the floor.

Last week, I raised an idea I had on how he could increase membership for the club by bringing in a whole new group of gym members. He was really interested at the time and promised to take my proposal to his partners, but I’ve not heard anything since.

It was good to have something other than Gio to think about.

He skirts around the end of the bar, coming to sit on the stool next to me. “I have, but I’d like you to tell me how you would roll this out.”

“Really?”

He nods, and I continue warming up to my subject while Charli goes back to restocking the shelves.

“Well, the gym I worked at back in Sydney was fancy like yours but half the size and with fewer facilities, yet it was always busy. They ran a variety of classes early in the morning and late afternoon. The rich, elites of the suburb loved it. The Pilates and yoga classes were so popular, there was a waitlist to get into them.”

He lowers his gaze to the bar as his fingers start a slow tap on the polished wood. I wait, my heartbeat seeming to match the same rhythm, before he suddenly announces, “When can you start?”

“What?”

“You’re my new gym manager. I spoke to my partners, and we’d like you to start as soon as possible.”

Jumping off the stool, I give him a hug. “Thank you, Ryan. I really appreciate you giving me a chance. Your partners too.”

Charli moves to stand beside me. “Save us a spot in your first class.”

“Us?” Ryan asks with one brow lifted. Then, chuckling, he adds, “I’ll leave you two to your plans.”

Charli slides under his waiting arm, which drops to her shoulders. “And I’ll see you later, sweetheart.” His free hand reaches up to cup her jaw as he places a soft kiss on her waiting lips. It’s so damn romantic, and my heart squeezes with a memory of Gio before I quickly look away, blinking back the tears that are threatening.

Damn him for constantly invading my thoughts. Damn him for being so perfect that every other man pales in comparison. And damn him for making me fall for him, then dumping me just as quickly because he’s marrying another woman.

I brush my hair back from my face, pulling it into a messy bun. I’ve got a new project to focus on instead of wallowing in the misery of what-ifs.

“I’m going to go back down to the gym now to take some photos of the available spaces to run the classes and what equipment is already there. Then when I get home, I’ll start researching suppliers.”

“Good idea. I’ll see you later, then.”