Breaking Through (The Breaking Series Book 3) (20 page)

“I see.” I switched the portfolio on my lap for the pile of cake choices. “What do we have decided so far?” We had met once before, almost a month ago, to decide the big things, like venue, guests, date, and the invitation design, and to send out the save the date card. After that, I knew Hannah and our mother had met a few more times, and I hoped they had done a lot of the things on the to-do list.

“Well, we decided on the date, of course, the venue—here, we sent out invitations last week, and we also decided on the color yellow, the types of flowers in the arrangements, and my bouquet, and who is going to make my dress.” She shot me a sweet smile.

“You two haven’t done almost anything since we met a month ago. What the hell have you being doing?’

“Hilary!” my mother snapped. “Language!”

“Sorry,” I muttered, making a face at Hannah since my mother wasn’t looking at me.

Hannah rolled her eyes at me and grunted. “Mostly, we just argue.”

I shook my head. “Ugh, you two.” I reached for the embossed to-do list my mother had done before our first meeting. “All right. We won’t leave this room until we cross the big things off this list. And if that means we won’t sleep all night, so be it.”

Hannah’s shoulders relaxed. “Thank you,” she mouthed.

***

I had been so absorbed in my work that, when the phone on my desk rang, I jumped from my seat, startled.

“Hilary speaking.”

“Your eleven o’clock appointment is here,” Sonya said.

I frowned and turned to the computer. “I have an appointment this morning?”

“Yes. He called about an hour ago and scheduled it.”

I had only checked my schedule when I arrived, right after nine this morning. Seeing nothing important for a Tuesday morning, I delved into my drawings, forgetting about the rest of the world.

“Oh-kay,” I said. “Where are you taking the client?”

“Conference room two.”

“Be right there. Thanks.”

I hung up and straightened my flowy skirt and fitted blouse. After making sure everything was in its place, I picked up my drawing pad and favorite pencil and went to conference room two.

As my hand touched the knob to open the door, I heard voices. Loud, male voices with a lilting accent.

Oh my …

I pushed the door open and stared at them, my jaw slack. Ri was sprawled on the white leather sofa, his feet on the coffee table. Pedro sat in an armchair, his nose in a magazine. Leo sat on the arm of the sofa, his foot fidgeting. Garrett stood in front of the window, but instead of looking out, he was messing with his phone. And Gui was seated in the other armchair, one of his feet draped over his knee.

“Hilary!” Gui said, standing up.

I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Surprise,” Leo said, sounding like he was ready to prank me. Or this was the prank.

Pedro lowered the magazine. “Gui said we needed tuxes, so here we are.”

I tilted my head at Gui. “But the names I gave you?”

“I was going to call them,” he started. “But then I realized you designed clothes. So I called this morning and asked if the studio also made male clothing, more specifically tuxes.”

Fallon was picky about the projects she worked on, and bridal clothing was even rarer. She had showed me a couple of wedding dresses and tuxedos she had made over the years, but as she said it, I had the impression she was done with that kind of work. She was now focused on a larger fashion industry, even if her clientele was selected.

However, this wouldn’t be a project for Fallon. It would be for me.

“You want me to design your tuxedos?” I asked, my voice tentative.

“Is that so hard to believe?” Gui asked.

“Sort of,” I admitted.

“It’s true.” Leo stood. “So, Hil, are you going to design our tuxes or not?”

A smile crept across my face and pride that these men would trust me with this task filled my chest. “I will.”

Gui

Before the guys and I left the studio yesterday, Hilary approached me and asked me to go to her first self-defense class with her. I didn’t tell her, but I was planning on going anyway. Like a fucking stalker, I had already planned everything. I would go out for a run, and today’s path would include the front of the gym. I would remember about her class, and stop my run to go check it out. Hopefully, it wouldn’t look too bad.

As bas as a fucking stalker.

So, on Wednesday, I went down to the building’s lobby almost thirty minutes prior to the start of her class and waited for her.

When, ten minutes later, the elevator’s doors opened and Hilary stepped out, I stopped breathing.

She was a vision. A freaking goddess from a dream. And she was totally clueless. Her long hair was tied in a ponytail, but a few strands got loose and framed her beautiful face, and she wore workout clothes—a sports bra, a tight top and an even tighter cropped pants—that hugged her perfect body the way nothing, no one should.

Only me.

Closing my jaw—which I hadn’t noticed had fallen open—I did my best not to stare at her perky breasts or round ass, but it was too hard. Too damn, fucking hard.

She turned her face to me, her bright green eyes shining with worry and fear. “Hey,” she said.

I inhaled, forcing my lungs to breathe again. “
Oi
.” I glanced away from her, not sure I could trust myself. “Ready to go?”

She nodded.

We exited the building and, side by side, we walked the three blocks to the gym. On the way, Hilary looked nervous, like she could bail at any second. I had to distract her.

“So, is my tuxedo ready?”

That made her smile. “Ha, sure! You can pick it up tomorrow.”

“Wow, your studio is really great. Super fast. I’m gonna recommend it to everyone I know.”

She chuckled. “I just started drafting some ideas today,” she said. “I want to do something new, but not too new, you know. I don’t want the guests to look at you guys and wonder what the hell you’re wearing.”

“That would be ideal.”

She rolled her eyes. “But I want to give your tuxedos a special touch. Something unique.”

“I’m sure you’ll think of something,” I said, glad she had relaxed a little. “Are you working on anything else besides the dresses and tuxedos for the wedding?”

She hesitated. “Well, actually, I have a design project for school due at the end of summer. After a couple of weeks just thinking about it, I think I finally came up with an idea.” She glanced at me, a little mischievousness shining in her eyes. It made my heart pump faster. “But it’s a secret for now.”

“Oh, come on. You can’t tease someone like that. Tell me at least one detail.”

Her smile widened. “Nope.”

My chest squeezed. Shit. She was too beautiful for her own good, and when she looked at me like that, when she smiled like that, I was a goner. I knew I was a goner, and I knew I should have turned the other way and run as fast as I could … but that was the thing. I couldn’t.

My interest in her had grown, and it was out of control. Out of my control. The more I spent time with her, the more I saw a side of her I didn’t know before. Before, she had been hiding from the world, even from her friends, from us. Now I knew her better than the others did, probably even better than her sister did, which made me a little proud.

I let out a long breath.

She tilted her head toward me. “Are you okay?”

The question caught me by surprise. “W-what?”

“You’re always asking me that, but I never get to ask you if you’re okay. And you just let out a huge sigh. What is it?”

“Nothing, just polo stuff,” I lied.

“Oh. Okay.” She lowered her gaze.

What? I had to think like a chick here, or I was going to lose her. What would Gabi or Bia say? That Hil was upset I wasn’t telling her what my problem was. But how could I tell her that my problem wasn’t polo, it was her?

Not wanting the moment to end, I searched for something to say. “A club from Florida has been asking me to go play with them for a few months now, and it’s getting harder and harder to say no.” Which, in the end, wasn’t a lie. It was true that a Florida team had been asking for me, but that wasn’t a problem.

“I thought you liked doing the visiting player thing.”

“I do. It’s just that with Leo and Hannah’s wedding coming up at the end of summer, I would like to be around.” I pulled on my shirt as if I were straightening my tuxedo jacket. “Best man, you know.”

She smiled again.

Meu Deus.
I let out a long breath. It was all I could do not to pull her to me and kiss her right then.

At the gym, I introduced her to John, who I had already talked to. He didn’t need much convincing to let Hilary join the class. She followed him inside the classroom, her hands shaking.

A sudden urge to go to her, to hold her tight, to tell her everything would be all right swept through me. I even took a step toward her before I stopped myself. I was a fucking idiot.

To pass the time, I worked out on the weight lifting floor.
Gra
ç
as a Deus
, the classroom had a glass wall and I could watch Hilary every few seconds. Otherwise, I would be going nuts now, trying to imagine what she was doing in there. To be honest, if the glass wall didn’t exist, I would probably peek through the door after each rep set.

There were only eleven women in the class, and John and another instructor who helped him demonstrate the moves. As I expected, Hilary looked nervous and reserved. It took her at least twenty minutes to relax a little and put some effort in the movements.

As the minutes passed, Hilary’s stance shifted. She stopped shaking and acted. Her movements became surer and determine, and during an exercise with John, she was the one who escaped from him the fastest.

He said something to her, making her smile. I smiled too.

“What’s that sappy grin for?”

Surprised, I turned and found Malcolm behind me.

“Hey,” I said, not surprised to see him here. He lived nearby, and the guys and I bumped into him here a lot. “Working out late today?”

“Yeah. Practice ran late today. And you?”

I shrugged. “Was bored.”

He chuckled.

I started a new rep set, and he settled on the machine beside the one I was using. When he finished his rep set, his eyes scanned the place. He did a double take at the classroom.

“Is that Hilary?”

Did I pretend I didn’t know she was here? I sighed. “Yup.”

“Man.” He let out a low wolf whistle. “She looks absurdly hot in those clothes.”

Rage flowed through my veins and I clenched my fists. After another long breath to calm me down, I shrugged. “She’s okay, I guess,” I lied.

“You know, I think Reese has a thing for her.”

“What?” I knew Reese had a thing for her, otherwise he wouldn’t have asked her out, but I wasn’t prepared to hear that from his teammate.

“He’s always trying to get close to her when she’s at the club, and whenever the topic is girls, he keeps going on and on about her.” Malcolm tilted his head, thinking. “Yeah, I’m sure. He certainly has a thing for her.”

What did I say to that? Ask him where Reese was so I could threaten him? Tell him if he ever tried anything with Hilary, I would punch him?

Like a fucking stalker.

“I didn’t know about that,” I lied again.

“It’s fucking annoying actually. He’s smitten.”

I frowned. “I didn’t know they were friends, or that they were close.”

“They aren’t. As far as I know, Reese and Hilary have only spoken a few times, but he has been watching her since he joined the team and he’s definitely smitten.” Malcolm shook his head. “Which I don’t get. Reese knows about what happened, with Eric, you know. Even though I admit Hilary is one of the hottest girls I have ever seen—” He gestured to her as she again escaped from John. “—she is damaged. I’m not sure I would date a girl like that.”

The rage I had been fighting exploded, and I let it out on the machine, almost breaking it with the force I was exerting.

When I was a little less prone to strangle Malcolm, I spoke up. “It was not her fault. She was a victim and I don’t think she deserves our pity. I think she deserves our admiration. She has gone through so much, but look at her now.” I jerked my chin to the direction of the classroom. “She’s fighting it. Maybe it’ll take her a long time to feel whole again, but she’ll get there.”

Malcolm paled. “Hey, I didn’t mean it in a bad way. I was just commenting. Sorry if it’s a touchy topic.” He stood from the machine he had been working on. “I forgot you and her are practically family now. You must know her better than the rest of us.”

I cleared my throat. “Exactly.”

“Sorry again. Didn’t mean to assume anything.”

“It’s okay,” I lied. It was so not fucking okay.