Page 43 of The Backup Plan

She’s as off-limits as Claire is. Even more so.

And yet I give it one more look before crawling into bed and letting the day finally catch up with me.

Tomorrow’s coming fast.

And I need to be ready.

Emery

I’m halfway out the door when I remember that I hate running.

Not dislike.

Loathe.

The version of hate that lives in your soul, and reminds you loudly that there are far better ways to exercise that don’t involve questioning your life choices before six a.m.

But I do it anyway.

Because discipline matters. Because consistency matters. Because if I expect my players to do the hard, uncomfortable things for their bodies, then I damn well better practice what I preach.

I lock my door, earbuds dangling uselessly around my neck, and turn down the corner of the hallway, nearly colliding with a wall of warm, firm, and very male chest.

I stop short as we both make incoherent sounds of surprise.

“I’m sorry—I didn’t—” My words sputter out as I meet Lucas’s eyes. He’s clearly just coming back from a run himself.

Shirtless.

Of course, he is.

His chest is bare—the same sculpted expanse I clinically examined yesterday—but this is the first time I really see him. Not as a patient. Not as a file to study. Just a man who’s already pushed his body hard before most of the world is awake.

Sweat slicks over his skin. His breathing is steady and controlled but a touch labored.

I absolutely do not look.

I lift my gaze immediately, straighten my spine like good posture alone can save me, and force my focus back to his face.

“Morning,” I say, voice calm. Professional. Normal. I hope.

“Morning, Doc.” He steps back instinctively, giving me space, and runs a hand through his damp hair. “You heading out?”

“Yes.” I gesture vaguely. “A run.”

He lifts his brows. “The doctor who practices her own medicine.”

I smile. “Shocking, I know.”

He glances past me, then back. “You know where you’re going?”

I hesitate. “Not exactly.”

“Thought so.” He shifts his weight. “I’ll show you.”

I blink. “You’ll—what?”

“Run with you.”