She relaxed, enjoying the simple routine they’d fallen into. Breakfast together in the mornings. Merrick’s workouts in the gym. The office during the week and then evenings together with Merrick and his conditioning team and workout partners.
No, she hadn’t ventured out much on her own. Yet. But she’d get there. She had every confidence that with Cade and Merrick’s support, she’d regain her confidence and her certainty of her place in the world.
In a perfect world, she’d be able to do all of that on her own. She wouldn’t need anyone to assert her independence. But everyone needed someone at some point, right?
She had no knowledge of the person she’d been before. The person she couldn’t remember. She’d like to think that she hadn’t always been this needy, insecure, clingy person she was now, and it was her hope that she could somehow find the old Elle and shed the hesitancy with which she approached everything now.
At other times, she acknowledged that she was being too hard on herself, and that given what she’d endured and God only knew what else she didn’t know about, it was no surprise she wasn’t ready to light the world on fire and seize the day.
“Time,” she whispered. “I just need time.”
“What’s that, baby?” Merrick asked.
She blinked and looked up at him and then smiled at the concern brimming in his dark eyes. “Nothing. Nothing at all. Just something I needed to remind myself of.”
Cade settled down on her other side, his plate piled high with food.
“Whatever it is you were worrying yourself over, let it go,” he said matter-of-factly.
“I’m trying,” she returned softly. “I really am.”
“Good,” Merrick said in his gruff voice. “Let’s just enjoy the day, and tomorrow will take care of itself.”
C H A P T E R E I G H T E E N
THE BREEZE BLOWING OFF THE small lake had just enough nip to make Elle shiver, but she burrowed into the warm, fleece-lined jacket and shoved her hands into the pockets as they searched for just the right spot to set up.
It was an absolutely spectacular day. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and deep blue spread out for as far as the eye could see. The trees had begun budding out, and green was popping through the brown of winter.
The first buds of flowers had slowly begun to unfurl, and the air was sweetly scented with the fragrance from a multitude of flowering plants and bushes.
Merrick had cut his training session short that morning, and she only felt a little guilty that she was taking him away from his regimen.
Things had been so fast and furious since his win in Las Vegas. The call had come in and the contracts signed for the title bout scheduled for late spring in Los Angeles.
His training had intensified, but along with adding sparring partners and beefing up his conditioning, promotion had taken up a huge chunk of his time.
He traveled more than he had previously, and he granted interviews and had media coverage of his training camp. And through it all, he and Cade had tried their best to keep Elle out of the public eye.
Catherine had been invaluable, taking over a lot of the publicity for Merrick. Merrick hadn’t wanted to bring in a publicist, even though most fighters in his position had an entire media team. But Merrick wanted only people he trusted around him, and so he’d kept his entourage small, and he’d continued to train quietly, drawing as little attention to himself as possible.
The people in his circle were good people. They’d made Elle feel welcome into Merrick’s inner sanctum. Catherine and Dakota were just like family, and Elle knew Merrick considered them such. Other fighters in the organization had moved to Grand Junction to train with Merrick and help him prepare for the championship match. There was a lot of loyalty surrounding Merrick, and Elle liked her place among the people who’d allied themselves with the gruff warrior.
She breathed in another deep breath, enjoying the sweet-scented air.
“Oh, look, that’s perfect,” she said, yanking her hand out to point at a rock that jutted over the water’s edge.
The huge boulder was flat on top and afforded a great place to sit and enjoy the view. She eagerly moved forward, leaving the two men behind so she could claim her spot.
She clambered up and stood, gazing over the water and to the opposite bank where mothers pushed baby strollers, there was a dad trying to get a kite up for his son, and there were a few joggers making a circle around the small lake on the worn walking path.
When she glanced back for Cade and Merrick, they were standing just below her, indulgent smiles on their faces as they watched her. She hopped down from the rock to help them spread the blanket on the bank. When the wind kicked up, curling up one of the corners, she plunked the picnic basket down to hold the blanket in place.