“That was hello.” He smirked. “Why? Did that bother you?”

“No,” she said quickly. “But I was gonna talk to you about this last night until . . .”

It was enough to wipe the smirk off his face. “Baby, I’m so sorry—”

“Stop,” she said quickly. “We’ve been over this already. There’s no need to apologize. That’s not why I brought it up. I was just gonna say I didn’t get a chance to tell you that I think we should keep this under wraps just for a little bit. I don’t want things to get crazy too fast.”

He searched her eyes for a moment, and before he could think of a better way to ask, the words blurted out. “Did Grayson come see you today?”

“He did,” she said, looking him straight in the eyes.

“Why?”

Her eyes suddenly twinkled, confusing him. “My dad and I are going on a cruise next week. It’s called the Cold Duck cruise because this local band he likes does it every year and they’re the entertainment the whole cruise. Grayson is the one who told us about it because his cousins have been doing the cruise for a few years.” She wrinkled her nose, distracting him momentarily from his irritating thoughts of Grayson still being such a part of her life. “It’s kind of an older crowd, I guess, my dad’s age. Grayson’s never been on it because it’s not his thing, but when he heard my dad was into Cold Duck, he told him all about the cruise and what his cousins had told him. My dad was instantly interested. But this year’s was sold out. Last night Grayson let me know his cousin has extra tickets he’s trying to sell, and I told my dad. So we’re going.”

“Last night?”

Her expression fell a little. “Yeah, he was there when I got home.” She paused, breaking the eye contact for a moment. “He said he was in the area when the earthquake hit and he stopped by to check if we were okay. My dad called out for help when he heard Grayson at the door. If Grayson hadn’t been there when he did . . .” She shook her head and their eyes met again. “Anyway”—she sighed—“it didn’t look life threatening or anything, but it was a pretty bad gash and was bleeding a lot. Grayson took us to the emergency room in his squad car so we could get there faster then picked us up later when he was off duty. But he mentioned the tickets, and I told him I’d talk to my dad about it, so he came by earlier to see what my dad had said.”

Felix was trying real hard not to focus on the negative. The guy had helped out his girl in a time of need. Felix should be thankful to him. But just last night she’d said Grayson would likely think it awkward to show up at the gym to visit, knowing her boyfriend was there. So now because he helped her out he’s back to showing up here already? He couldn’t have just texted her to ask? And another thing . . . He clenched his jaw in an attempt to cool his rapidly heating insides. “He went back to your place last night?”

She nodded. “Yeah, we didn’t have a car at the hospital since he dropped us off but had to leave. He was on duty at the time, and they were flooded with earthquake-related calls, but he was almost off, so he said he’d be back to pick us up.”

“Ella,” he said, squeezing her hand. “I don’t wanna sound ungrateful to this guy. He helped you out last night, but you said it yourself he’s a persistent one. He knows you’re with me now, right?” She nodded immediately. “Is he still gonna be showing up here all the time?”

She shook her head, but he saw the flicker in her eye. Even she wasn’t sure if he was or not. The worst thing was starting next week Felix would be gone. A lot. He didn’t want to have to be dealing with this shit especially now when he was supposed to be focusing on training. So he needed to get something straight.

He cradled her face gently, hoping this wouldn’t come out wrong and kissed her first. “I don’t want you to think that, like Grayson, because of last night I’m changing, okay? It’s not about that at all. But this guy is your ex, a very recent ex, one who I’m certain still has feelings for you. It makes me”—he took a deep breath—“uncomfortable to know you and him are still this close.” Her eyes widened a little, so he went on before she’d interrupt him. “I know you’re just trying to stay amicable and all, and I trust you, but I don’t trust him. He could’ve texted you today. He didn’t have to show up here.”

To his relief, she nodded in agreement. “I know,” she said. “He said he was in the area, but this is his area to patrol, so he’ll always be close by, and I’m not trying to stay that amicable with him. I’ll have to talk to him again soon about the cruise tickets because I have to pay him for them. When I do, I will bring this up. I just hesitated today when he texted me to say he was outside because of last night. I didn’t want it to sound as if I’m saying, ‘I don’t want you showing up unannounced unless you think I might need you,’ because what if he hadn’t last night. You know?”

She gave him a pleading please-understand-and-don’t-be-mad look. Felix smiled. How in the world could he be mad at her ever? He smiled, kissing her softly.

The class started to let out behind them, and Felix pulled his hands away from her face. Ella said goodbye to all of them. They walked back into the room. Felix watched as Ella took charge of closing it all down. He waited until they were finally alone in the classroom to ask her something else that had been bugging him for a while. He’d already blown it last night. The last thing he wanted to start was an argument or even tense discussion, but he had to know.