Chapter 130
Chapter 130:
Brinley was momentarily speechless.
That was Austin’s style through and through—direct, efficient, and decisive.
“And Ryder?” she asked.
“He’s tied up dealing with the committee’s investigation now. He doesn’t have time to make trouble for us.” Austin took a slow sip of soup, his gaze steady on her. “But this is only the start. My family is capable of playing far dirtier than you think p>
A worried frown formed on Brinley’s face. “Are you saying p>
Austin set his utensils down and looked at her seriously. “Well, it’s too late to back out now. You’re bound to me p>
Brinley held his gaze, then suddenly laughed. “Back out? Do you really think I’m afraid p>
Austin only smiled in return, saying nothing.
Austin’s move forced Ryder to focus on cleaning up his own mess, leaving him no time to sabotage Brinley’s project.
Her work finally returned to a normal pace. As the project moved forward, she carved out whatever spare time she could to keep training for the exhibition race.
O𝘳𝗀anі𝘇e 𝘺o𝘶𝗿 l𝘪br𝘢𝗋𝘆 𝗼𝘯 𝘨𝗮𝗹no𝘷е𝗹𝗌.с𝗈𝗺
One morning, she was at the gym by six.
She ran for forty minutes, sweat-soaked strands of hair sticking to her forehead. The heart-rate monitor on her wrist buzzed, signaling that her pulse had spiked. Her core strength was back to about seventy percent of what it used to be, yet whenever she pushed herself this hard, her muscles still protested with a dull, strained ache.
Brinley clenched her jaw, ignored the warning flashing on her monitor, and bumped the treadmill speed up another notch.
Just then, a soft thud disrupted the gym’s stillness.
She turned toward the sound.
Austin stood there with two cups in his hands.
He wore a gray sports vest, his shoulders and back sharply defined in the morning light, sweat still glistening on his arms from a round of dumbbell lifts.
“Still not done?” he called, walking over and offering her one of the cups. “I added honey. It’s at the perfect temperature p>
Ever since he’d discovered her training, Brinley had stopped bothering with excuses.
She enjoyed working out and wanted to stay strong and in shape. There was nothing wrong with that.
Now Austin had made it part of his routine, too—showing up every morning for his workouts, sometimes peeling off his top when he got too hot, casually flaunting his toned abs.
Brinley accepted the cup, her fingers brushing the back of Austin’s hand. His skin was slick and warm from exercise, the heat sparking against hers like a small flame.
She took a sip, the honeyed water instantly soothing her parched throat.