Mymusclesburned,sweatbeaded on my skin as I bench-pressed the weighted iron bar, trying my damndest to ignore the woman jogging on the treadmill positioned in my direct field of vision.
Palmer had been coming with me during my workouts almost every morning for the past week. I thought that I wouldn’t enjoy the company. My time at the gym was one of the fewplaces where I could truly be alone and decompress. To my astonishment, I didn’t mind.
The biggest problem was that whenever she got on that damn treadmill, I got an unobstructed view of her ass in her tight athletic pants. It was torture, really. I pressed my lips together as I pushed through my last set, trying not to think about the way her hips swayed.
I grunted low as I returned the bar up onto the support hooks and stared at the ceiling. My heavy breaths got lost in the music pumping through the gym. Palmer always let me pick the music, but I had a taste for various genres, listening to anything from rap to country and the classic emo bands. It all appealed to me.
My gaze flitted to Palmer. Her long blonde hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, and it swung from side to side as she ran. She was graceful, arms pumping in time with her stride. When my eyes traveled lower, a sharp pain on my ankle snapped my focus.
I winced, glancing down at the kitten currently in a batting war with my shoelaces. I glared at the fluff ball, who Hailey had named Phantom. He had gotten a clean bill of health from the vet after some eye drops and had followed Palmer and me out here every morning ever since. He went crazy if we didn’t bring him. I wasn’t sure what it was about this building, but he loved this place.
I got to my feet, and Phantom instantly abandoned my shoes to weave between my legs, nearly taking me out as I avoided stepping on him.
“Christ,” I muttered, catching myself on the rack.
The treadmill beeped softly as Palmer hit the cool-down setting. Sweat glistened at her temples as her pace slowed, loose strands of hair curled at the nape of her neck.
She glanced at me over her shoulder, breathless but smiling.
“You look like you’re losing to a kitten,” she said.
I scowled. “He fights dirty.”
Phantom promptly hopped onto the bench, seeming very satisfied with himself.
Palmer laughed—a light, airy sound that echoed off the exposed brick and had my stomach swooping in a way I forced myself to ignore.
She stepped off the treadmill, stretching her arms above her head. Her shirt rode up at the motion before she tugged it back down.
“So,” she grabbed her water bottle, “what’s on the agenda today?”
The more time spent together, one on one, the more comfortable she was with me, which was good. I liked it better than her wary cautiousness.
I picked up my own bottle and took a long swallow before answering. “Paperwork. I have a meeting with Nolan later about the coffee shop, and then station drills this afternoon.” I grimaced. “I also have to figure out what I’m going to do with the press. We’ve had some of them posting outside of the station since the fire at the coffee shop, wanting a statement from me.”
The media had been lurking around Ember Hollow since Amos Anderson’s escape, and the new fires around town were sending them into a tizzy and attracting more. It did nothing but tack on more work for me during an already stressful situation.
Her expression softened at the mention of Latte Pages. “Is there any more news on who’s behind the fire?”
The only good thing about last week was that there hadn’t been any more arsons, but the burned and blackened building was a dark scar on the otherwise picturesque downtown. A reminder that something was wrong.
“No.”
We knew the origin of the fire, near a back door that faced an alley, but whoever had started it had avoided all cameras. Theaccelerant wasn’t anything unique. Nolan was working with the police, but nothing had led to anything concrete yet.
She studied me, and I didn’t mind the weight of her attention the way I should. “Did you hear that the town council is planning a charity event to help with the coffee shop repairs?”
I nodded. Yet another thing to cross my desk had been the request to help set up and take down the event planned to take place at the community center.
“What are your plans for the day?” I asked, not wanting to talk about Latte Pages anymore.
Palmer tilted her head. “Well, after I catch up on chores, I was thinking about starting on invitations for Hailey’s party.”
An unfamiliar feeling swelled in my chest. Palmer had approached me and asked whether she could plan Hailey’s birthday party. The fact that she was willing to take that off my hands so I didn’t have to worry about that along with everything made me insanely thankful. Sometimes, she felt more like a partner than my nanny.
Phantom chirped, distracting both of us by leaping from the bench to my shoulder like a freaking parrot.
Palmer’s brows shot up, and she chuckled. “He’s chosen you.”
