Bodywork (10 page)

“
But she’s yours, I take it?” Mac kicked back in his chair and drank more beer. “So George, what’s the scoop on Shelby? Anything Big Brother should know?
”

George stared at Shane
, his gaze considering
. “You could do worse.”

“Thanks.”

“So Shelby.” George tapped the table. “Where to begin?
She’s hot, oh, but you already know that.
She’s pretty funny too.
Her best friend works down the street from her in some art gallery.
She’s lived here for fifteen years or so and broke up with some jerk
six months ago
.
As of my last appointment
,
she was free and not looking for entanglements.”

Mac sat straight in his chair.
“How the hell did you
pick up so much information?”

George shrugged.
“It’s in the blood
.
”
Their father had been ca
reer military, specializing in intelligence.
George
ignored Shane’s
snort of derision
.
“
I asked her a bunch of questions while she worked. She answered them.”

“And told you about her last boyfriend?” Six months ago. Shane could work with that.

“No. Actually, I overheard her talking on the phone. That and I listened when Mom grilled her. And you know Mom. She just about had
Shelby’s bra size b
efore my sessions ended.
I think she wanted to hook you up, Shane.
”

Mac chuckled.
“The kid’s good, you have to give him that
. Like your moth
er. Woman should have gone joined the Corps and gone intel instead of your dad
.”

“No shit.” Shane
hoped his mother had
n’t been too pushy
. Not that he minded her choice of woman for him, but he didn’t need his mother interfering in his social life.
Bad enough he had
Mac and now
George to deal with.

“Good news is it sound
s
like your lady is free.” Mac nodded. “Coming off a bad relationship
. Nice
. Means it opens the door for
rebound sex.”

George studied Mac with interest.
“Rebound sex?”

Shane wanted something stronger to drink than a beer. “For God’s sake, quit talking about rebound sex
and
my brother’s therapist. In fact, stop talking about sex entirely.”

“You’re such a prude.” George made a face at him and turned back to Mac. “He’s a lot like Dad. Believe it or not, Mom was the one who gave me the
where babies come from
speech.”

Mac laughed. “Your mom is way cool. Your brother, not so much.”

Shane shot him the finger.

George snickered. “Not to
o
creative with his insults either.”

“
You
should shut up and take note.
At the rate
you’re going, you’ll
be a father before
you
graduate high school,” Shane said dryly.

“No way, bro.
I’m very careful about stuff like that.
I may like the ladies, and God knows they love me, but there’s no way I’m ready to be a father yet.
Hell, you’re thirty-one and still single.
If anyone’s giving Mom and Dad grandkids first, it’s you.
”

“
Terrific.
”

George’s eyes brightened.
“
Mom loved Shelby. Woman was pumping her for information like nobody’s business. It bummed her out big time when Shelby dodged her.
I
’m pretty sure Lor
r
aine
was trying to set you up.
But Shelby managed to finesse her way
out of the interrogation.
It was pretty impressive, actually.”

“You’ve hit an all time new low if you need your mom to get you dates,” Mac muttered. “That’s just embarrassing.”

“I didn’t ask her to help,
asshole
.” Shane glared at his friend
before turning back to his brother
. “In fact, I’d appreciate it if you kept quiet about this, George.”

“Yeah, seriously.” Mac agreed. “Don’t get your mom involved
. Sex and mothers don’t go hand-in-
hand.”

“S
o
you just want to have sex with Shelby?” George frowned. “I don’t know if I like that.”

“Christ. You,”
Shane
said, pointing to Mac, “quit talking about sex. And you…” he pointed to George… “keep your mouth shut about this. What I do or don’t do with Shelby is my business.”

“N
ot that you have anything
to
do,” Mac added. “
Not after you ran her over and then stalked her at her place of business.”

“What?”
George’s eyes were the size of half-dollars.

Mac explained, and George started laughing and didn’t stop. “Oh man, you are so lame.”

“Great. You’re a big help, Jameson.” Shane would have been more irritated if the events didn’t sound funny, even to him. Good thing he hadn’t mentioned running into her at Green Lake and kissing her. He’d keep that nugget all to himself.

“Okay
.” George rubbed his hands together. “S
o Shane, the king of commitment, wants a hook up. That right?”

Mac nodded.

“And he wants Shelby for that?”

“Yep.”

Shane scowled. “I’m right here.”

“I guess I’m okay with that, so long as Shelby knows what he’s after. She’s nice. I don’t want her hurt by a guy who says he’ll call but won’t. Or some ass who’s late all the time or stands her up.”

“I’m not late all the time, you little punk.” Shane wrapped George in a headlock and gave him a king-sized noogie until his brother cried uncle. “Now let’s ditch the topic of my love
life for something much more interesting.”

“Like what?” Mac asked.

“Pizza.” Shane’s answer did the trick. Now more con
cerned
with their stomachs than his social agenda, Mac and George argued over pizza toppings while Shane dug for the phone number to call it in. But all the while, he thought about Shelby and what to do about her.
A kiss, now what? Where did he go from here?

*
*
*

Shelby rolled her shoulders as she finished her third client for the day.
She normally arranged her schedule so that she had her weekends free, but two cancellations earlier in the week had caused her to work an extra day on Saturday.
She watched her client leave and started to shut down the shop when a voice
came from t
he back door.

“Hello?”

She turned around and
smiled
as one of her favorite
prior
clients walked in
with a smile on his face
.
He had dimples that would make any young girl sigh and smile.
If only s
he were sixteen again.
“George Collins!
How are you?” she asked as the lanky teenager approach
ed
with
a
familiar swagger
.

George flinched.
“Shelby, how many times do I have to tell you
? I
t’s Geo, like Leo
. N
ot George.”
H
e enveloped her in a
bone-crushing
hug.
Shelby hadn’t seen George
—
Geo
—
in over a month.
He’d had knee surgery at the end of the school year and had come into her clinic to speed his recovery.
She looked down at the
fading
scar on his knee
.

“How’s the leg?” She knew football practice must be near to starting if it hadn’t already.

“It’s good.
I wear that hellacious knee-brace
,
but it doesn’t slow me down
.”

Shelby had been flattered
yet hesitant
when Geo had
first flirted with her
.
But his sense of humor
, tenacity, and drive to recuperate
had made her like him tremendously.
With his dark good looks and charming grin, she had no doubt he had girlfriends galore in school
.
She’d bet her last paycheck
Lorraine Collins
had her hands full with this one.

“So what brings you around?”

“I was strolling down Queen Anne and thought I’d look in on my favorite therapist
. Actually, I was getting a card for my aunt’s birthday and saw your door open. I’m
surprised to see you working on a Saturday.”

“I don’t normally,
but I
had clients needing extra help. So what about you? Are
you playing yet?”

George strolled around the large hardwood area at the front of her shop, toying with the exercise balls on the floo
r that Ann, a fitness coach, used for training.
“Practice
began
last
week
.
So far, so good.
It’s looking like I should start as quarterback again this year.”

“Good for you
.” Shelby poked him in the arm. “
So who
did you decide to make your number one?
The head cheerleader or
ex-
Student Council president?” Ah, the dilemmas of youth.

George gave her a devilish grin
,
and Shelby had a sudden case of déjà vu.
Odd.
“Neither one yet
. I decided to ask the c
aptain of the
girls’
soccer team
on a date. We’re seeing a movie tonight
.”

“Wow, George. Just one girl during senior year?”

He grinned.
“
It’s too early to tell. Besides, I’m too young for monogamy.”

“Gimme a break.”

“No, really.
I can’t imagine settling down ‘til I’m old, like thirty-one maybe
.
”
H
e smirked.
“Or twenty-seven.”

“Jerk.”

He snickered and hopped onto a nearby stool.
“So what’s t
he story with your love life?”

“Nosy guy.” W
hen he only stared at her with that engaging grin, she sighed.
“Nothing much to tell,” she said.
“I’m taking it easy for a while.
Heck, I’m young like you.
I
figure I don’t need to settle un
til I’m old and gray
. I have four more years until I hit thirty-one, right?
”

He hopped off the stool
and chuckled.
”That’s what I’m
saying
.”
He
wandered into each of the back offices and called out, “
Place still looks as good as it did when I was in here
.
”

Shelby managed to refrain from remarking that just because George had moved on didn’t mean she
’d
let her practice go to ruins.

“What’s this?”
he
asked as he came out of her
massage room
.

He handed Shelby a card.

She took it from him.
“Shane Collins, Harmon
&
Sons Architecture?
I could have sworn I’d swept up in there,” she murmured to herself, a frown on her face as she studied the card of the man who’d been on her mind all week long.

“Who’s the dude?” George asked innocently.
“New boy
friend?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Oh, you’re not sure?”

She glanced up from the card to see him looking at her strangely. “I’m not discussing my love life with a seventeen year old.”

“Love life, eh?”

“And get that smirk off your face. I’m not old and dried up yet.”

“Aw, Shelby. I’d never think that of you.” The leer on his face looked out of place.

“You’re creeping me out. No way I’m even pretending to flirt back with you, Geo.
I’m too young and pretty to be carted off to jail for
carrying on with an u
nder-
aged boy
.”

He scowled. “I’m not under-aged. I’m seventeen. And I’m not a boy.”

“Man, male, boy. You’re all the same. You’re missing that important leg of the chromosome that includes common sense.”

“I think that’s an insult, but I
’m still processing
the fact you might have a love life.”

“Shut up, Geo.” She chuckled, wishing she’d had a younger brother like him growing up. It would have made her days much less lonely.

“So who’s the dude?” He nodded at the business card still in her hand. “A client, huh?”

“Kind of. You want the truth? He ran into me, spilled my coffee, and blamed me for it.”