“Good,” he said. “We have a lot to cover and not a lot of time to do it in. How does Monday work for all of you?”
Murmurs and nods went around the group and he couldn’t hold back his smile. Not only had he lucked into getting Amanda to stop avoiding him, he’d figured out a way to spend every Monday night with her.
––––––––
“WHAT ON GOD’S green earth is the Extreme Beast Eco Challenge?” asked Becca, collapsing on the sofa next to Amanda. “What did I agree to?”
Amanda had been home for over an hour, trying to figure out how she felt about seeing Michael again. Her ankle had almost completely healed, but her pride still stung from the fall. The injury hadn’t been that bad, more of a nuisance than anything, but she hated looking weak in front of clients. Especially muscle-bound ones. Because of her size and her gender, she’d gotten used to being underestimated, and she’d made it her mission to exceed expectations.
She didn’t like that with Michael, she’d come up short. But the way he’d spoken to Ethan about their climb made her rethink even that. His tone when he’d talked about their time together had been more admiring than patronizing, and she wondered if she’d misjudged him. Based on his appearance. It was the thing she hated the most, and realizing she might be guilty of it herself didn’t sit well.
Looking objectively at his actions, she had a hard time finding anything to fault. He’d called her a couple of times and left messages, first to check on her and then later to reschedule. Not enough to be pushy, more persistent and out of concern. She didn’t know why she hadn’t returned his calls, except she remembered the way he’d looked at her when they reached the bottom of the mountain. She wasn’t sure what it meant, but she was pretty sure it was safer not to find out.
Michael was handsome and seriously built, and he had great hands, gentle but firm. He’d also fought her when she’d tried to talk him out of the climb she knew was too hard for him, and they’d gotten off on the wrong foot—literally. Still, there was something about the intensity of his gaze that made her stomach flip. Either that or she’d eaten something dodgy. Not that any of that mattered now. She was locked into spending every Monday night for the next six weeks with him.At least Ethan would be there so Michael couldn’t get the wrong impression, she thought, wondering why the idea bothered her so much.
“Seriously,” said Becca, jolting her out of her thoughts. “How much am I going to have to sweat?”
“Do you want the truth or a lie?” Amanda slanted a glance at her sister and watched her forehead crease the way it had when they were kids and there was something she didn’t want to think about.
“Is it too late to get out of it?”
“Yep, you’re locked in.”
She wasn’t, but Amanda knew her sister was just working her way through the stages of acceptance. She’d never back out on her, not for this or anything else Amanda asked her to do. That kind of support was a blessing, and she was grateful every day for her family. Knowing she had brothers and a sister—even cousins—she could call on when she needed help or even just company gave her a foundation that let her take bigger chances than she’d be able to otherwise.
She kept waiting for Ethan to figure that out. He had a brother he wasn’t close to and divorced parents too busy with their new families to pay attention to the first one they’d created. When they started dating seriously, she’d been ready to welcome him into her family. She assumed he’d want to be included, but he’d never really warmed to her brothers and sister. Most of the time he treated them like minor inconveniences. Of course, that might change now that they were saving face for him in front of his boss. She hoped so. She could maybe see herself having a future with Ethan, but not if he pulled her away from her family.
“Fine,” said Becca. “But I don’t want to climb.”
“You don’t have to. It looks like Ethan’s boss and his wife are going to be the second climbing team.” Early on, Amanda had tried to take her sister climbing. She loved it so much herself; she wanted to share it. But Becca was afraid of heights. She got halfway up the rock face, took one look down and started to cry. It wasn’t an experience worth repeating. “Your team can do the endurance run.”
“Sounds like fun,” she said, in a tone that indicated it didn’t. “Tell me I don’t have to partner with Gabe.”
“No, you couldn’t if you wanted to. Two of the other people on the team can’t stand each other. They were both grateful to be paired with someone else.” She’d asked Ethan what was up between the two of them, but he’d looked at her like she was making something up and she’d let the subject drop. “Your partnering up with a guy named Ben.”
“Is he cute?”
Amanda thought back to the guy who’d stayed off to the side of the group. “He’s cute enough. Strong jaw; short, dark hair; decent body; clean-cut corporate guy. He’s definitely your type.” Her sister had always had a thing for guys in suits. Ben fit her normal profile.
“That’s a perk at least.” She leaned back against the sofa and pinned Amanda with her gaze. “What about the trainer? Is he your type?”
“Ethan is my type.”
“If you say so,” Becca said, sounding unconvinced. “So what’s the trainer like?”
“Actually, I’d already met him.” Aiming for nonchalant, she paused for a second. The last thing she wanted to do was make her sister think there was more to her relationship—not relationship, her interaction—with Michael than there was. “He’s the guy I was guiding for when I fell and hurt my ankle.”
“No way.” Becca sat up straighter, clearly having no intention of letting the subject go. “The guy whose calls you’ve been avoiding?” she asked, grinning.
“I haven’t been avoiding anyone.”
The lie was clearly too much for her sister, and she laughed out loud.
“Please,” she said through giggles. “He called like seven times. Oh, I love this.”
“Glad it’s working for you.” Amanda didn’t bother to hide the sullen edge to her voice.
When she’d asked her too-perceptive sister to be on the team, she hadn’t realized Michael would be the one coaching. The idea of spending six weeks with her sister micro-analyzing every interaction between her and Michael had all the appeal of Black Friday shopping with a handful of toddlers. Thankfully Ethan would be there to mediate. She didn’t spend any time looking at why that thought bothered her so much.
