She sighed, wishing she was better than that—a woman who got her rocks off ogling the hot trainers at the gym.
As if he’d felt her stare, Gavin glanced over and blinked. He nodded, but didn’t have the easy grin he normally gave her. This was friendly but aloof.
She didn’t like it.
Frowning, she slowed down on the treadmill. Gavin said something to the man with him. They continued to talk while Gavin finished his set of weights. Then he put them down to help the guy do his reps. After a new set of bicep curls, Gavin handed the older man his towel, then slapped him on the shoulder and walked away.
Zoe left her machine, gave it a cursory wipe-down, then followed Gavin. Fortunately, she hadn’t lost him to the men’s locker room. She found him alone, doing push-ups in the room where they held their self-defense classes.
“Gavin?”
He didn’t stop exercising, and she couldn’t help but be entranced. Wow, was he strong. And ripped. She didn’t get the sense he worked out to show off either, which actually impressed her even more. She watched his back and arms, his shoulders, as he moved up and down with ease.
“What’s up?” he rasped and continued to move.
He paused, only to adjust his hands, then started doing triangle push-ups, which even she had a hard time doing.
She watched in silence while he finished twenty more push-ups.
He slowly stood and stretched, rounding his shoulders to stretch his lats. “Zoe?” he prodded.
She’d made up her mind. Time to see this through. “I missed the last session, and I was hoping you could show me what we did. With classes being over, I can’t make up what I missed.”
“True.” He considered her. “Where were you?”
Nosy, but if he planned to help her, she could concede him an answer. “One of my trainers couldn’t make it to work. Sick kid, so I had to step in and teach his class. Put me over on my time and stuck in Tacoma late on a Friday.” She sighed. “Totally screwed with my gym schedule, but hey, it’s my crew. My responsibility.”
“What do you teach?”
“Electronic medical record software. I work at SMP Medical Group.”
“Yeah?”
“You know when you go to the doctor, and he’s busy tapping away at his computer, documenting the exam?”
“Yeah?”
“That’s us.”
Gavin smirked. “And when he’s swearing at it because it’s not doing what it’s supposed to?”
She sighed. “That’s us getting the software company to fix the bugs. Though nine times out of ten, it’s actually user error. Just because the doc’s wearing a white coat doesn’t mean he or she is computer literate.”
Gavin chuckled.
“Seems like it’d be easy, but there’s constant turnover of the medical staff, and we have to do periodic updates and roll out new work-flow systems. Especially when the software is new to us,” she rambled, annoyed with herself for doing so. His easy smile and laughter made her edgy. “Well? You going to show me what I missed, or what?” When Zoe grew nervous, she tended to take refuge in assertive behavior. Great when at work, not so great when trying to attract a man.
“Huh.” He looked her over. “So you’re pretty smart.”
She frowned. Had that ever been in question? Before she could say something sarcastic that would no doubt get her banned from his presence, he waved her closer.
“You missed the fun stuff.” He wiggled his brows.
She wished he was less handsome—or less captivating. It wasn’t so much his looks as the total package that got to her. That sexy tough guy that sometimes seemed a little…off. Not wacky, just apart, as if he wasn’t quite with the rest of the group. She’d seen him staring off into space a time or two, and it made her feel a kinship with the man. The two of them locked in a knot of emotion that no one else would understand.
Of course, he might have been dwelling on choices for dinner, for all she knew. But she didn’t think so. Gavin had depth. And persistence. Or so she’d assumed. For four long months, he’d been bugging her to smile. Now that she felt ready to, he suddenly gave up?
She scowled. “You know, if you’re too busy pumping up in here—all alone, watching yourself in the mirror—I can always find someone else to show me the ropes. When will Landon be in?”
