Page 11 of Miss Belief

Reid

I’d never enjoyed the gym. But I had to admit getting out of bed with purpose for a change felt good this morning. This breakup had really messed with my head, but I was ready to put it behind me. That was why I’d put away the bottle of bourbon and decided I was done with nightly, numb-inducing drinking. No more.

Upon pulling into the gym parking lot, I spotted Teagan immediately. How could I not? She was tall and stunning. She had such a natural grace about her and an elegant way of moving. Like a dancer.

“Hi,” I greeted, coming up from behind her and trying not to notice the way her yoga pants accentuated her muscular legs and amazing ass. Jesus, focus.

“Hi.” She smiled, turning to give me my first glimpse of her T-shirt. “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” was splashed across the front of it.

“Nice shirt.”

She grinned. “I wear warning labels. Ready?”

“Let’s do this.”

Teagan was a firecracker. The type of woman who spoke her mind and wasn’t afraid to put anyone in their place if they stepped out of line. Not for the first time, I wondered what would happen when I took her to the wedding. Although I was friends with the groom and some of the fellow groomsmen, there’d be a lot of people who were the types I’d moved to the other side of the world to avoid.

We stepped into the gym, a spacious monstrosity consisting of multiple floors. Check-in was easy. It turned out I had complimentary passes for a guest with my membership.

“What’s your torture?” I inquired, anticipating a good workout after which I’d need Motrin and a hot shower to ward off tomorrow’s sore muscles.

She headed toward the fancy treadmills with televisions built into them. “I prefer to get the cardio out of the way first since I hate it the most.”

Same. “Lead on.”

She picked one machine while I took the one beside it. I should probably have stretched, but instead I focused on the way she was doing so. Side to side, she slipped easily into lunges, then held her knees up to her chest before rolling her neck and grabbing her arms behind her back.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, cocking her head to the side.

Her question snapped me out of the dark rabbit hole of lusting after my assistant. Realizing I was staring, I shook my head. How had this happened? Maybe because I’d never seen her out of the work element. Or I could confess she had the longest, shapeliest legs I’d ever seen. The type made for wrapping around your waist and—

Nope. Not going there. Dammit. Maybe the gym had been a bad idea. “Nothing’s wrong. Ready?”

I started off walking, the same as Teagan beside me, but when she switched to a jog, pride compelled me to do the same. Then she was running, and I was too, matching the nine on her speed despite knowing I’d regret it later. I was feeling good about myself until I realized she was at a five incline. Damn.

There came a time to admit defeat, but this wasn’t it. Instead, I increased my incline. She merely raised a brow.

Later that afternoon in the office, I could already feel the effects of thirty minutes on the treadmill, during which I hadn’t managed to keep up with my gym buddy. I’d also lifted free weights, and my arms were now remembering the familiar burn. I wasn’t into fitness quite like my friend Aiden, but I definitely had missed pushing my body and doing something other than sitting on the couch.

Teagan came in with lunch at noon. Bye-bye, bacon cheeseburger, hello, salad.

“I got you a Cobb salad today. Don’t worry, there’s still bacon, but no onions since you dislike them.”

“How did you know?”

She shrugged. “Um, the one time I suggested onion rings instead of fries you might have told me.”

Made sense. “You want to have lunch in here? We can talk game plan over the next two weeks.”

“Sure, let me grab my sandwich. I’ll be back.”

We ate in silence for ten minutes before I broached my plan. I didn’t want to freak her out, but I’d been preparing extensively. It was my nature as I was a planner.

“I’ll book your flight today if you’re okay with it. I figured we can fly out the previous Thursday morning. With the time difference, we arrive the same day in the afternoon. Then on Sunday, the day after the wedding, you can fly to LA. How long do you want to stay there?”

“Returning the next Friday will give me almost a week there. Thank you for flying me out to LA. My sister and niece are excited about it.”

I made a note in my planner. “Got it. So this morning, due to me being embarrassingly out of shape, and breathing heavily, we didn’t get to discuss our backgrounds. For people to believe we’re serious, we should discuss our families and history.”