Bodywork (14 page)

“I didn’t know you two girl
s
shared eve
rything.” George batted his eye
lashes, and Mac grinned.

Then he cuffed the kid in the back of the head.

“Ow. Okay, so he didn’t share.”

Which was Shane’s MO when it came to a woman he liked. Mac had to pry the information from him. Unless there was no woman, and Shane zoned for some other reason.

“Tell me again about Shelby. Don’t leave anything out.”

As George described the woman, Mac’s curiosity grew. She sounded too good to be true. And if she had his buddy’s dick in a knot, she needed to be investigated. He’d be damned if he’d watch Shane go through the hell of a bad relationship with some bitch again. Lisa had been more than enough.

The next morning in the gym he was busy doing paperwork when one of his trainers entered with an odd expression on his face.

“Yeah?”

Ed shook his head. “This is gonna sound weird, but there’s some woman here who
needs to
see you.”

Not so weird. “
So
?”

“Oh. Not like that. This one says she needs to get into Shane
Collins
’s locker.”

“Why?”

“Says she’s his ex girlfriend, and he has something of hers. I though
t
I’d bring it to you.”

Lisa was here? “Good. Bring her in.” Mac wanted nothing more than to give the bitch of piece of his mind.

But the woman who entered his office wasn’t the cheating redhead his buddy had
once
fallen for. This chick was a platinum blonde with a petite frame and b
eautiful
breasts. Just his type. And man, those cornflower eyes were killer blue.

He had a hard time remembering his manners when she entered and glared at him. No way Shane had
tagged this babe and Mac didn’
t
know about it. Or
had
he? If Mac had been with her, he’d have been zoning and goofy for days. Weeks. Hell, years.

“I want
in
Shane Collins’s
locker.
He has my old hairbrush, and he told me I could grab it. Your trainer didn’t believe me, but I’m not lying. You
can g
et it for me if you want. I’ll wait here.
I’m not out to steal from him, just to find what’s mine.”

Mac stood
and moved
from behind his desk, pleased when the woman’s mouth opened and she looked up. Way up when he loomed over her.

“Okay, honey. Try again. Who are you, and why are you really here?”

“First off, my name is Maggie
, n
ot honey. Second, it’s not your busi
ness, He-Man. Just point me to Shane’s
locker
, or better yet, get my brush
. And if you
think I’m making all this up, think again.
I know all about his brother
George
, his mother Lorraine, his father Colonel Collins, Harmon
&
Sons, his time in the Marine Corps, all of it.”

So she had information. How did she know
Shane, because he sure as shit hadn’t mentioned her
?

“So then you’ve seen his tattoo.” Mac crossed his arms over his chest, amused at the flare of panic that lit her eyes.

“Ah, right. His tat
too
.”

Shane, the pussy, would never desecrate his body with ink.
The woman zeroed in on the snake on Mac’s bicep, as well as the eagle globe and anchor on his opposite forearm. She swallowed audibly. “How tall are you?”

“Me?” He narrowed his eyes. “Who the hell are you?”

“
Damn it. I knew this was stupid.
Get the hair from his brush. It’ll be easy. Ha!
” She drew in a deep breath and let it out in a rush. “
Look, i
sn’t Shane
your best friend?”

“He is. And I won’t let anyone screw with him, no matter how hot and stacked she might be.”

“I’m all aflutter with your compliments,” she said dryly, then moved around him to sit in a chair acro
ss from his desk. “Sit
down and we’ll talk.”

Intrigued and turned on
by
the woman who didn’t appear cowed or enamored, he sat and listened. And smiled.

Chapter Nine

Shelby spent the rest of the weekend cleaning her apartment and hanging out with Maggie.
Anything to fill her time so she’d stop thinking about Shane. Not about his body
or
the demanding and thrilling way they’d had sex, but about his smile. That dimple
added to the
joy reflected in his beautiful eyes
.

So much for her new resolve to tramp the night fantastic. She hadn’t seen one man all week who made her feel even a tenth of what Shane had.
The
days
passed by in blessed normalcy
,
and
Shelby
thanked
her good fortune that her mother and Maggie seemed to have forgotten all about Shane Collins. She wished she could do the same.

Her dreams about him grew more graphic each night. She wouldn’t have minded trying a few of the things her brain came up with, but he
hadn’t
approached her since
their
freakishly good sex on Saturday. And really, did she want to jinx it? Why not remember him fondly without all the drama of a relationship—one that didn’t exist?

The weekend rolled around after what felt like forever.
The first part of her Friday passed by in relative quiet.
She worked with
several repeat clients and had one walk-in
.
When
administrative
needs pressed, she headed into the back, where she
kept her records, some office supplies and the main computer.
She
was in the middle of updating her f
iles
when Denise interrupted
.

“Phone call for you.
” Denise
nodded to the front of the clinic
.
“I’m not sure who it is.
Want me to transfer it in here
or take a message
?”

“
Um…
” Where the heck was the power bill for this month?
She’d just had her hands on it.

“Ri
i
ight. I’ll transfer.” Denise ducked out while Shelby sought her garbage bill. Being her own boss was terrific
,
but a hassle when it came to the books.
The phone rang and she
answered and
tucked it
against her chin and shoulder
as she kept looking through her stack
s
of paper
s
.

“This is Shelby
at Bodyworks
.
How may I help you?”

“Shelby? It’s Geo
.
”

“Who?”

A huff. Then, “
George
Collins
.”

“Oh hey, Geo. How are you?”

“
I need your help.”
He didn’t sound right.

Shelby immediately put down
the power bill she’d just found
and focused on the call.
“What’s
wrong?”

“I think I may have strained my knee earlier today at practice
,
and I wondered if you could take a look at it
.
”

Now she understood his worry. The kid lived for two things: girls and football.
“Sure thing.
Do you want to come down here today?
I have time
after four
.
”
After her last client of the day.

“No
.” He lowered his voice. “A
ctually, I need a big favor.
I don’t want my mom to know about
this
.”
He continued
over her objections.
“I’ll tell her if it’s a problem
,
but I’m not sure if it’s just sore or if I did real damage.
If she even thinks I’m hurt, she’ll pull me from the team. Scholarship, Shelby. I can’t lose it.”

“But I don’t want to lie to your mother.” Technically
,
George was seventeen
and still
a minor. Shelby liked Lorraine Collins. The woman only wanted what was best for her son.
Unfortunately, she hated his participation on the football team. George had a right to be worried.

“
Come on, Shelby, please?
It was all I could do to go back on the team this season.
And I think I just strained it. Nothing major. I hate to worry her for no reason. I’ll pay
you
,
I swear
.
”

“It’s not about the money, Geo.” And it wasn’t. She genuinely cared about him and his promising future.

“
Look, my older brother will be with me
. He’s thirty-one. An adult,” he bit out.
“It’s not like I’m asking you to do anything unethical.”

“It’s not that I don’t want to help you, it’s just that
—
”

“Shelby, please.” He sounded desperate.

“Okay, fine.” She didn’t have to treat him if in her
estimation
he needed serious medical help.
She’d give him her opinion.
“
But if I find anything wrong with you other than some normal wear and tear, I’m calling
your mother and
you
promise to
see a doctor.
This is an unofficial visit, one you’re not paying for, because I’m not really seeing you. Understand?
”

She heard a sigh of relief on the other end.
“Great, I knew I could count on you.
Uh, Shelby?
One other thing… I can’t come down there without her knowing.
I was wondering if you could meet me at my brother’s house?
I’ll give you the address.”

Shelby frowned.
She didn’t normally make house calls
. “Can’t your brother bring you
here
?”

“No. He’s working
, and Dad’s still out of town.
I’d have to use Mom as my ride, which won’t work.
Tomorrow would be best
to meet,
if you can make it. My brother’s
already going out on a limb for me with Mom. You met her,
so
you get me, right?”

She did. Lorraine was friendly and loving, but a powerhouse. “I get you. But I won’t lie. If she asks me about
this
, I’ll tell her the truth.”

“Sure. Don’t lie. Just see if it’s something to worry about first. If it is, I swear, I’ll tell her myself
. You can watch me dial her number from my brother’s.”

“Okay.”

“Great. Saturday.”

“
Give me the address.
It’ll have to be after six though
,
since I’m working
the weekend again. Bills to pay, you know?
”
Especially since she’d found the power bill.

“
Whatever you can do.
Perfect
. Thanks, Shelby. You’re a lifesaver.”

So why did she feel like a doormat, instead?

She took a closer look at the address and frowned. His brother lived in the
Green Lake
area. Just like Shane Collins.

The next day,
Shelby arrived at
just after six after a rough
eight
hours of work
. If she had to sacrifice a weekend, she’d rather be busy than sitting around waiting for clients to walk in
, so she couldn’t complain
. Pleased at the amount she’d accomplished, she showed up at the address George had given her in a good mood.

She’d take a look at his knee and head home for a long soak in the tub
. A
book
and a
glass of wine, then she’d hit the bed hard. She rang the doorbell of an attractive Craftsman. Dark red wooden siding covered the house,
set off
by bright white trim and black piping. A nice place and one worth a good bit this close to the lake.

George opened the door with a wide grin. “You made it.”
He looked boyishly cute in athletic shorts and a Seahawks tee-shirt.

“Y
ou did tell me you needed my help.
Weren’t you crying and wheedling for my expertise?
”

“Yeah, I was.”
He
looked nervous,
and she had the odd feeling he wasn’t being completely honest about the knee
, well, more than she knew
. His last name continued to bother her. What were the odds George and Shane both had Collins as a surname? George’s brother happened to live close to Green
L
ake. And they both had similar facial features she started to notice the closer she looked at him.

“George
—
”

He grabbed her by the arm and dragged her inside. “Come on in, Shelby. I really appreciate this.”

She followed his growing limp into the living room of a tastefully decorated house. Lots of
oak
built-ins
with a
masculine taste that wasn’t overdone or bachelor
pad
-like
, but comfortable. But it was the picture on the mantle of the fireplace that drew her gaze. One of a handsome, smiling family: Lorraine and Chad Collins, George, and their older
son
—
Shane.

She turned around to glare at George and instead stared at the broad chest of a man she couldn’t stop thinking about, no matter how hard she tried.

“Shelby. What a surprise.” Shane
cocked his head, studying her. “Are you stalking me?”