Bodywork (22 page)

Shelby rang the woman up and watched her leave with a smile on her face.
To Denise she said,
“Hiring you was a great decision.”

“Yeah, well, letting me have Mrs. Watson was a boon. She’s a great tipper.”

Shelby made a face. “I know.”

Denise laughed. “Hey, it’s time to go. Five o’clock on a Friday
means the weekend is here. You don’t have anyone else, do you?”

Shelby shook her head. “Just cleaning up.”

“I’ll help.”

“Nah. Go home to
C
upcake. I’ve got this.”

“Actually, I have a date.” Denise’s grin lit up her face. “Our contractor, Greg?”

“You mean Mr. Slow?”

Denise flushed. “He’s not that slow.” She bit her lip, then confessed in a rush, “He was taking so long
on the work because he was
trying to get the courage to ask me out. He told me so yesterday. And he’s not charging for any overtime or anything.”

That sounded familiar. Maybe this guy knew Bob, her other slow contractor.
“There’s that at least.” Shelby nodded. “Good luck on your date, but if he turns out to be a jerk, I’m coming after him with a bat.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Denise gave her a mock salute, giggled, and took off like schoolgirl.

“Did she just skip?” Shelby watched her friend race out the door.

Grumbling to herself, she locked up and did her daily cleaning. Just as she finished, she glanced up to see Maggie cupping her eyes against the outside glass, looking in.

Hell.
She pasted a smile and let her friend inside before locking up again. “Maggie. Just the person I was hoping to see.”

Maggie scowled “Yeah, right. Why are you avoiding me?”

“I’m not avoiding you. I’m busy.”

“Yeah. Busy avoiding me. But that’s okay. I realize your aversion is to the aerobic
s class you
swore
you’d come to
, not to me exactly.”

Shelby groaned. “I’ve been busy.”

“Me too. But I talked to Denise, and she told me you’re free tomorrow.” Maggie smiled, her
spry
attitude grating yet charming at the same time.

“Terrific.”

“Yep. You and me, honey. Four o’clock at Jameson’s Gym.”

Shelby frowned. “That sounds familiar.”

“Yeah. It’s the place I go to work now
. R
emember me telling you about my new job, the one I want to keep?” Maggie looked hurt. “I know life gets in the way, but I could really use your support.”

Shelby sighed. “
Of course
I’ll be there tomorrow. I’ll swear up and down that your class is the best I’ve ever had.”

Maggie nodded. “And you’ll pretend not to know me and tell my boss how great I am, right?”

A game they’d played before, to benefit them clients. Shelby grinned. “You bet.”

“Great. I’d stay to chat, but I have to go. I’m behind on your birthday present.” Maggie darted away before
Shelby could yell at her to hurry. September had rolled around pretty quickly, and before they both knew it, Shelby would
be
twenty-eight.

The next day, at five o’clock, Shelby felt all of her almost
-
twenty-eight years and then some. Her calves ached, her ass felt like one giant throbbing pain, and she’d tripped twice on her step but hadn’t fallen, thank God. The class had been packed. Shelby had to hand it Maggie, though. The music was stellar, and the beat had kept her moving long past her body telling her to quit. Because her friend took the time to introduce new sequences, Shelby hadn’t gotten too lost, either.

She left the water fountain and headed back to Maggie, only to see her best bud dwarfed by some testosterone-laden giant. He was handsome in a blunt, hard way, and he seemed to hang on Maggie’s every word. She heard them arguing as she drew closer, which surprised
her. Maggie was usually peaches-and-
cream nice to everyone she met. Was this guy giving her a hard time?

Determined to defend her friend, she moved as fast as her aching body
would let her
and joined them.

They both stopped talking mid-sentence.

“Shelby, isn’t it?” Maggie’s grin was a bit worrisome, definitely forced. “Shelby is new to the class,” she explained to muscle man. “Mac Jameson, my boss.”

Ah, that explained the tension.

“I’ll be right back. I have some things to straighten
be
for
e
Jane’s class.” Maggie left, giving Shelby the opportunity to plug her friend.

She turned to Mac to see him studying her from head to toe. “Um, Maggie. She’s great.”

“Uh huh.”

“Her class was really easy to follow, and for a klutz like me, that’s saying something.”

His grin was unexpected, especially because it transformed his face from fierce to devastatingly handsome. If she hadn’t been so consumed with Shane, she might have given Mac a try. But still, even under his bright smile, Shelby couldn’t
forget
Shane’s kiss.

“You don’t look clumsy, Shelby.”

She grinned back at him. “Thanks. But don’t let the workout gear fool you. I
don’t like exercise
.”

“So what do you do to stay in shape?” he murmured, the compliment there in the way he looked over her curves.

“I like to walk and hike. The elliptical is great, and I use hand
weights to tone.”
She decided she might as well network while she was at it. “I’m a massage therapist, so I’m into good health and staying
fit
. Promotes strong muscles.”

He nodded. “Yeah, there is that. It helps you live longer too.” His subtle grin told her she’d missed the joke, but he changed the subject. “So Maggie did a good job?”

“Terrific.”

“Good to know. She’s new, but from what I hear
and see
, her class i
s
fast becoming a favorite.” He glanced back at her friend tal
king with some guy
behind
the glass walled
studio and frowned.
“I’ll have to see if we can work more of her classes into the schedule.”

Shelby had the impression he didn’t like Maggie talking to the guy. “That would be great,” she said, g
lad
when he looked at her once more
and stopped glaring at Maggie
. Oh man, was this guy into her friend?

She studied him, taking in his looks,
his height, and the way the gym-
goers smiled his way.

“You seem pretty popular.” Especially among the women. Not a good sign for her friend. A playboy would only break hearts.

“I own the place. Correction, my uncle owns it,” he said with a self-deprecating grin. “I run it for now.”

“Ah. So you’re Maggie’s head boss. Not just the manager.” Which Maggie hadn’t mentioned.

He shrugged. “I guess. Want some water? I have a few extra bottles in my office.”

She wondered if that was a line he used to get women, but the way he continued to look over her shoulder at Maggie told her not to worry about his attention. “Sure.”

She followed him down a hallway and entered a masculine office filled with Marine Corps
pictures and placards
. “You served?”

“Yep. Retired a few years ago.”

He didn’t look old enough to have retired, but she didn’t
ask any questions
. She accepted the water bottle he handed her from a small fridge and drank. That he didn’t close the door behind them eased her worries.

“You new to the gym? I don’t remember seeing you here before.”

She nodded. “A friend told me about your new instructor. I’d been meaning to check this place out a while ago and thought, why not?”

“Good. Glad you’re here.” He smiled, but the way he looked at her gave her the idea he had a secret agenda. Maybe he wanted to pump her for information about Maggie.

“Maggie’s great,” she said again.

“Yeah.” He leaned on his desk and crossed huge arms over his chest. Oh man, if Maggie saw that on a daily basis, her friend would be well and truly hooked. Maggie liked height, and she liked a nice body. Or was he too big for her friend?

He frowned when he saw her staring at his arms.

“Didn’t mean to stare. I was looking at the ta
ttoo.”

He relaxed. “Oh.” He flexed and showed off his snake. “I have an EGA too.”

“A what?”

“Eagle, globe and anchor. It’s a Marine Corps thing.”

Nice. Shane
didn’t have
any tattoos. Then again, he didn’t need them to decorate that sexy body.

“So your massage place. What’s it called? We get folks in here all the time needing a place to go. Or do you only do that feel good crap?”

If she had, she wouldn’t tell him now. “No feel good crap. I’m all about deep tissue. More clinical stuff.”

He nodded. “Had a knee problem when I left the Corps. Surgery
helped, but my PT recommended I see a
good massage therapist.”

“Did you?”
She looked at the knee he rubbed. He wore athletic shorts, and she could see a few scars over his knee.

“Yeah. He didn’t help much, though.”

“Too bad. Scar tissue builds, and therapy would help.”

He brightened. “Great idea.”

“What?”

“Can I make an appointment with you?”

“I wasn’t angling for work.” Now she felt awkward. “I just meant
—
”

“No, no. I always put this shit off. Give me your number and I’ll make an appointment.”

“I, um, okay.” She wrote down her number with the pen and yellow sticky note he handed her.

He looked pleased. “Great. Maybe I’ll be up and running again after a visit.”

“I
t
takes more than one,” she warned. “You have to continue to work the area and over time
retrain the muscle.”

“Hey, if you can work your magic, I’m in.” Mac grinned. “Oh hell. I need to talk to Maggie
again
. Want to take this outside?” He walked her to the door and back into the gym, his hand at he
r
waist. Nothing sexual about his touch,
oddly enough
.

He was gruff, liked to swear, and interested in becoming a client. According to Maggie, that meant he wanted her. She stopped him before he could nudge her any farther.

“You okay?” he asked.

“You aren’t hitting on me, are you?”

She could tell her bluntness had shocked him, because he blinked at her.

“No, should I be?” He seemed interested.

Great. Now she’d created a problem for herself. “No. I just wanted to be clear about that. I’ve been told I’m as dense as a brick when it comes to understanding men.”

He chuckled. “Who told you that?”

“My best friend,” she grumbled.

“So if I was interested in more than therapy, you’d say…”

“Nope.”

“Because?”

“I’m seeing someone.”

“Ah. My loss.”

They smiled at one another.

Shelby liked the guy. They made more small talk before he called Maggie over to discuss scheduling. She left them and mouthed to her friend,
“You owe me big.”

Maggie nodded absently, frowning at whatever Mac said. Shelby didn’t know if he’d call her or not about the appointment, but she’d left her number. With luck, he’d pass it on to need
y g
ym
patrons. And now she could put a check in the box;
she’d finally shut Maggie up by coming to support her.

Now if she could just get past her worry that accepting Shane’s invitation tomorrow hadn’t been a colossal mistake.

Chapter Fourteen

Shane waited at the
front of the restaurant
, cursing the fact that he’d been late. Fifteen minutes after he’d said to meet her at the
café, he saw no sign of her in the lobby or inside the bistro. He wondered if he’d annoyed her by not calling ahead of time, but she hadn’t answered her phone when he’d realized how late he’d be. And
he couldn’t blame George this time. I
t was his own fault for losing his friggin’ keys.

After another ten minutes, he decided she wasn’t going to show and turned to leave
, swallowing his disappointment
.

He’d just exited when she ran up to him.

“I am so sorry I’m late,” she said, breathing hard. “My mom needed a ride since her car broke down. And then I couldn’t find my phone
to let you know I was running behind
. I think I left it with her by accident.”

The relief he felt that she hadn’t ditched him made him smile. “Hey, no problem. I was a little late myself.” A lot late. But hell, he’d let her wallow and be magnanimous.

They were seated right away, having come at just the right time.
The cozy seating area inside more than made up for their near miss.

After they were handed their menus, he just looked at her, wondering what it was about this woman that got to him so completely. The sex was too obvious. Great sex would have been easy to enjoy then forget. He didn’t have to wine and dine her for physical gratification. But he wanted to talk to her, to know her.

“This feels like a date,” she said, staring back at him.

“Call it whatever you want. We’re honest about not wanting relationships, right?” Actually, he didn’t think that was the case anymore, on his part.

“True.” She seemed uncertain, and he took that as a good sign.

“So we have a nice thing going. And we’re going to talk and know each other better. As friends,” he quantified, which seemed to make her feel better.

“Yeah. Friends with benefits.” She smiled at him, and her grin made him feel ten feet tall.

His heart pounded and he lost any appetite for food.

“No reason we can’t do what we want. Besides, I like this place. They have great juice.”

He agreed. They spent the next half hour eating and drinking and enjoying one another.

“Your mom sounds terrific. I’d love her to meet mine.” Shane chuckled. “My mother runs the house like a general. My father is retired military, but she orders everyone around. I swear, I have to remind her on a daily basis that she’s not my commanding officer. And that I’m thirty-one, not seven.”

Shelby grinned. “Well, my mother thinks she’s God’s gift to the lovelorn. She keeps setting up her clients.”

“A matchmaker, eh?”