I scoffed. “You’re one to talk.” In addition to the whole fear-of-commitment thing, Dec was another workaholic. Maybe he was onto something with hookup culture.
“This isn’t about me.”
“I’m gonna make time soon.” I hoped that if I said it enough, I’d will it into reality.
Dec saw right through me. “Hmm. Sounds like bullshit to me.”
“Shut up.”
“On that note, I better get back,” he said, sliding out of the booth with some difficulty. He tugged the beard net on and I bit back a smile. I couldn’t take him seriously with that thing on. “Pop in the kitchen before you leave, okay? I’ll pack up a slice of pie for you to go.”
I might have been a baker, but Declan truly made the best blueberry pie in all of Briar Glenn.
“All right,” I said with a resigned shake of my head.
Dec gripped my shoulder, giving me a sad smile before he walked back to the kitchen. Once again, I was alone.
At least I had a big slice of pie to look forward to.
Two
Atlas
I was going to killmy best friend.
“Fallon,” I gritted out, hoisting a bar holding 550 pounds back onto the rack. It was a new personal record for me, but he was too preoccupied to see it.
Currently, my best friend and would-be spotter, Fallon, was flirting with two human women attempting to use the hip abductor.
When I hired Fallon to work as a personal trainer at my gym, I didn’t expect him to use it as a hunting ground for his conquests. Which, knowing him, I should have. That one was on me, but it still didn’t make it okay.
I silently strolled over to where he was chatting up the ladies, placing a hand on his feathered shoulder, which made him jump.
“Oh, uh, hey, Atlas,” he said, fixing his beady bird eyes on me.
Fallon was a griffin. A big monster with a birdlike upper body and the lower half of a lion. His hands were scaly talons, and he had big paws for feet. A large pair of wings hung from his back, allowing him to fly short distances. While the ladies loved hislittle lion tail, theyreallyhad a thing for another interesting part of his anatomy. An interest he took full advantage of.
“This is Melanie and Molly,” he said. “I was just giving them some tips on using the hip abductor.” He leaned against the machine, giving them that same flirtatious look he’d been using since college. “Isn’t that right, ladies?”
They nodded, both fighting back smiles. They were falling for his shtick hook, line, and sinker.
“Hey, Fal,” I said calmly, doing my best to keep up pretenses around the gym patrons. “Do you think you could help me with something in my office?”
“Sure thing, boss man.” He dug one of his taloned hands into the pocket of his gym shorts, fishing out one of his business cards. “Here’s my card. And remember—I’m available for private sessions.”
The wink he gave them made me want to throw up in my mouth.
Instead, I wrapped my arm around his shoulder, leading him away while the girls giggled behind us.
“Fal, what the fuck was that about? You were supposed to be spotting me,” I growled under my breath.
He chuffed, puffing out his feathers. “Come on, man. We both know you had it under control. You’re stronger than me, and when I’m spotting you, we’re really just hanging out while we lift…”
He wasn’t wrong. I preferred working out in the early morning, when the gym was silent and I could just zone out, focusing on lifting and lifting alone. But I’d been so busy running the business that I hadn’t hung out with him as much lately.
“I know that’s what we’re doing but you can’t use the gym to pick up women. If you sleep with half the population of Briar Glenn, we won’t be able to retain any members.”
“You saw me give them my card. I was trying to get them to sign up for training sessions.”
