Eight
“You are not doing this to me, Kincaid,” Taryn said into the speakerphone as she turned the steering wheel, driving off the half-flooded road and into the parking lot behind the gym. Hard rain spattered her window with a relentless drumbeat. “You’re screwing with me.”
Kincaid made a pained sound. “God, I wish I was. I’m not messing with you, I swear. I am so sorry. Today has been a total nightmare. This house sale was supposed to close yesterday, and then today has been issue after issue. I can’t leave yet, and even if I did, I’m all the way out in Wilder, and it’s storming here. I just saw a group of stray dogs joining up two by two and looking for an ark. You’re going to have to do the first session without me.”
&
nbsp; “No way. I’m going to go home and get some work done,” Taryn said, irritated after fighting traffic and torrential rain to get to the gym and now finding out that Kincaid was bailing.
“No, please, don’t,” Kincaid begged. “I feel terrible. I promise this isn’t one of my schemes. I have my gym bag in the car and was looking forward to tonight. Please don’t cancel because of me. They kept the gym open late just for us, and you need this. We were going to be training with separate people anyway. This won’t be that different.”
Taryn blew out a breath and tipped her head back against the car seat. “You swear this isn’t some trick?”
“Cross my heart,” Kincaid said, sincerity in her voice. “This is important to me. I want you to have some fun and wanted to be there for it. I promise I’ll be there for the next session. This was just a freak thing. Please go.”
Taryn pressed the ignition button, cutting off the engine, and listened to the rain. She really didn’t feel like working out. She also didn’t feel like fighting more rush-hour traffic and a downpour on the hour-long drive home to Long Acre. At least if she stayed a while at the gym, traffic and hopefully the storm would die out, letting some of the drains catch up and clear the roads. “Fine. I’m here already, so I’ll go in for a short session. But if this is horrible, you owe me all the chips and queso I want.”
“Deal. But I don’t think it’s going to be bad. Just do what you can and have fun. Hold on. Hey, Harold, don’t let them sign that yet. I’ll be right there.” There were voices in the background as Kincaid dealt with her clients. “Taryn, I’ve got to go, honey, but let me know how everything went later. Don’t pull any muscles or break any bones.”
“Encouraging,” Taryn said wryly, but Kincaid was already gone.
Taryn ended the phone call and looked toward the glass doors of the gym, the light from the building the only bright spot under the dark clouds and rain. As she stared, trying to psych herself up for this, the light shifted and a silhouette filled the space—broad and tall. She was beginning to recognize that outline. Her belly tightened, nerves and something else making her tense. She’d visited the gym earlier today to squash any awkwardness that could arise with Lucas, but her body hadn’t gotten the message that she wasn’t supposed to react this way around him.
Just a workout. That was all this was.
Before she could finish her pep talk and get her ass out of the car, the main door swung open and the silhouette turned into a full 3-D form as Lucas jogged out into the puddles with a large, black umbrella. Taryn grabbed her bag and quickly opened her car door.
“Hey, there,” he called over the thrum of the rain. “Let’s get you inside.”
Taryn stepped out into the now inch-high water in the parking lot and ducked under the umbrella, clutching her bag to her chest. Lucas huddled close to her and they hurried to the door, but a hard gust of wind hit them and the umbrella flipped inside out.
Water poured down on them both, and they broke into a run. When they reached the overhang, a thick streak of lightning zipped through the sky, illuminating the dark parking lot, and the accompanying clap of thunder made Taryn yelp.
“Shit,” Lucas said, yanking open the door. “That sounded like it hit close. Get inside.”
He guided her in first with a hand on her lower back and then slipped in behind her, tossing the useless umbrella onto the floor by the door. The cool air of the gym chilled Taryn’s wet skin, and she shivered.
Lucas scrubbed a hand through his hair, sending droplets flying, and his shoes squished when he moved. “You all right?”
Taryn had managed to keep her head under the failed umbrella but the rest of her was a loss. Lucas was even worse off, his shirt soaked through. She swiped water off her arms. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m sorry you got drenched. You didn’t have to come out and get me.”
“I wasn’t sure if you had an umbrella. If you made it all the way here in this rain to work out, you’ve earned curbside service,” he said, pulling his shirt away from his skin as if to check its status. “But my umbrella was a fail.”
She laughed. “You think? We look like we fell into the pool.”
“Maybe that’s where we should start the workout, then,” he said with a chagrined smile. “I’ve already gotten you wet.”
Gotten you wet. The second the words were out, she could feel her face heating. God, she was like a teenager around this guy, her mind turning everything into double entendres. “Um, I didn’t bring a swimsuit.”
Lucas cleared his throat. “Maybe not, then.” He rubbed his palms on his workout pants, even though they were soaked, too. “How about you get changed and then we’ll do some warm-up exercises to get the chill out and your muscles limbered up?”
“Right. Sounds good. Where are the locker rooms?” Taryn picked up her bag.
He pointed. “Down that hall on the left. And before we get started, I just want to let you know that when Kincaid called and said she couldn’t make it, Rivers went home. He figured you were going to cancel, too.”
Taryn looked up. “Oh?”
Lucas crossed his arms and nodded, looking a little uncomfortable. “Yeah, so it’s just us here. Rivers only lives a few blocks away, so if you don’t feel comfortable, he’s happy to come back, and I won’t be offended. Or we can reschedule. I want you to have whatever you need.”