“Sexy,” I corrected. She probably weighed around a hundred pounds. Good. Two-fifty wasn’t close to enough.
She folded her arms again, lips pursed. “Excuse me? Did you just call mesexy?” Her face was twisted in adorable fury.
“You told them I was your ‘sexylawyer boyfriend.’ Not hot.” I gripped the machine handles and took a deep breath. Then I heaved, taking her for a waist-height ride. She shrieked, fell forward, and gripped the tops of my knees.Dag-gone-it.I did not need her touching my bare skin, causing electricity to thrum up my legs like that.
Her jaw dropped, incensed that I would actually use her to get my sweat on. But she didn’t hop off. Simply readjusted her position, eyes trained on me like a scope. “You are unbelievable,” she said.
In response, I heaved again, swinging her faster this time. She crossed her arms, lips pressed flat, as I swung her up six more times. I had to give it to her, she had a strong core.
When the set was over, she leaned forward, fingers digging into either side of my knees. “You’re going to be my standby boyfriend, Holden. That’s the only way I’m forgiving you.”
I scoffed. That was a solidnope. Such a bad idea. Hugging her, holding hands, kissing her like we just had? Nopity, nope, nopers. Not if I wanted her to stay safe. And I did. A deep-rooted need to protect her had burrowed into my chest. Not sure when it started. This summer? Maybe. The minute I spotted Amber Taylor at the game? Absolutely. The urge to tuck Christy against me and use my body as a shield if need be was in full force.
I cocked an eyebrow. “Forgiving me? For what? Saving you from having to star in your own real-life season ofThe Bachelorette? You should be kissing my feet, not sitting on them.”
Her jaw clenched. “I had the situation under control.”
“Hardly.”
Anger permeated her expression. She hopped up and yanked the pin out of the machine, making it useless. Then she tossed it across the room, eyes blazing.
I coughed into my elbow, trying to hide a laugh. I could throw her over my shoulder and run laps if I wanted to. Did she think she was intimidating? I shrugged and walked over to the leg press. But no sooner had I sat down than she yanked the pin out of that one too. She hurled it in the opposite direction. The only other person in the gym, a woman covered in tats, glanced over like we’d lost our minds.
I bit the insides of my cheeks, fighting the guffaws trying to roll through my chest. And it took every ounce of willpower not to pull her in my arms and kiss her again. She was so stinking adorable when she was mad.
I sat down at the hack squat machine. Then the seated arm curl. Seated overhead press. Pins pulled. Back extension. Hamstring curl. Pec fly. Seated dip. Pins, pins, pins, everywhere.
The tatted lady grabbed her bag and headed for the exit, keeping a side-eye trained on incoming pin-missiles as she escaped. Crap. I hope we didn’t just cost Silas and Lemon a customer.
Christy threw her hands up after chucking another one. “I can do this all night.”
“Me too.” I walked to the lying leg curl machine.
She jumped in front of me, gripping my biceps and glaring me down. Up actually. She barely reached my shoulder. “You’re going to pose as my fake boyfriend, Holden. Whenever I need you to. I moved all this way so they wouldn’t be on me about my love life. And now you’ve made them think that I actually have one. You have no idea what you’ve started but you are most definitely going to finish it. Do you hear me?”
I booped her on the nose. “You’re so cute when you’re mad. Like a little pissed off fairy.”
Her eyes narrowed. But then they filled with tears.No, no, no.Tears were exactly what I was trying to avoid.
I’d have to Google the chemicals that make up fictional kryptonite because I swear her real-life tears contained all of them. My hands yearned to touch her, to pull her against me and smooth her hair. To tell her I would do anything and everything she ever asked me to.
But I couldn’t.
I jammed them down by my side. “C’mon, Chris. Don’t cry. I was just teasing you.”
“Don’t you dare call me that.” Her chin quivered. “Only my friends get to call me Chris, and you’re being a complete jackwagon.” A tear rolled off her jaw and it killed me.
“Trust me.” I sighed, almost no restraint left. “I’m the last person you want pretending to be your boyfriend.”
That was the wrong thing to say, I guess, because her shoulders rolled back, her eyes turned to red-hot coals, and she jabbed her finger deep into my chest. “I don’t care. You’re going to be on speed dial orI’m. Telling. Silas.”
I huffed but there was a little shake to my voice. “Telling Silas what?”
She poked her finger harder, probablyleaving a bruise. “That you kissed me just now. That you exploited someone in their moment of need just so you could get some lip action.”
Was that really what she thought? My face felt like it was hanging from a spit over the world’s biggest bonfire. I’d done it forher. Did she think I was taking advantage of her?
With the last bit of my reserve, I shrugged like I didn’t care. “This conversation just went completely juvenile. You’re threatening totattleto my brother.”
