“You really think so?”
“Yes,” I said as the elevator stopped on the second floor and we stepped out. “If you have a supportive spouse, you should give it a shot. You never know what could happen, but if you don’t go for it, you’ll always wonder.”
Faith didn’t say anything in response, but she looked thoughtful as we walked down the hallway, passing the hotel’s conference room. When we reached the gym, I held the door open for both of us. The space wasn’t huge, but it was big enough for five treadmills, two elliptical bikes, and a couple of machines that targeted abs or legs. There was also an open space with a couple of exercise balls and a shelf with yoga mats. One wall was made up entirely of mirrors, making the space appear bigger than it was.
There were two men in the gym already. One man was using a machine that required him to lay on his stomach and bend his legs up around a weighted bar. The other guy was on a treadmill, full out running.
“Is that…” Faith trailed off as she stared at the man on the treadmill.
I followed her line of sight and nodded. “Yep, that’s Bowen.”
“Bowen,” she repeated, snickering. “Look at you on a first-name basis with a celebrity. Introduce me.”
She grabbed my hand and started to pull me over to him. I thought about resisting, not sure that I wanted to see him right now. I didn’t exactly look my best this morning after an evening of drinking and with no makeup on my pale face. But Faith was stronger than she looked and before I knew it, we were standing in front of Bowen’s treadmill.
He looked at me in surprise, but I couldn’t seem to hold his eyes. I swept my gaze down his body, my mouth going dry. He was sweating, but that just made his cut-off T-shirt cling to his muscular frame. He was built like a Greek God or something, completely flawless. It was no wonder that he was such a sought after actor.
Pressing a button on the treadmill, he slowed it down to a walk and grabbed his water bottle from the cup holder. Tilting his head back, he sucked down the rest of the water, and my eyes followed the movement of his throat.How is even that sexy?
“Good morning, ladies,” he said when he was done with his drink.
Faith nudged me in the arm when I didn’t reply immediately, and I shook my head to clear it of distracting thoughts of seeing him strip off that clingy shirt. I wanted to see his smooth skin on display. I was sure it would be so much better in real life than it was on the screen.
“Um, hi,” I said, a little awkwardly. “This is my friend, Faith.”
“The bride-to-be?” he asked, and I looked at him in surprise. He pointed to Faith with a grin. “It’s on her shirt.”
He was right. Her tank top had the wordBrideprinted across the front.
“It’s so nice to meet you. I’m such a huge fan,” Faith said, bouncing on her heels in excitement.
I could see she was teetering on the edge of swooning over the guy, but he didn’t seem bothered by it. Pushing another button on the treadmill, he stopped the machine and held out his hand to her after he’d wiped it off with a sweat towel that was draped over the handle in front of him.
“Well, it’s always nice to meet a fan,” he said, his smile open and friendly as he leaned forward over the top of the treadmill.
He asked Faith what her favorite movies were, and she rattled off three of his biggest hits. He started sharing stories with her about his time on the set of each film and trade secrets about the special effects. She was enthralled, but I felt something completely different as I watched him interact with her.
I’d seen the way that his demeanor changed in the bar the other night when he was approached by those people. He was trying to be polite, but his discomfort was obvious. This was different, even though we’d completely interrupted his workout. I had to think that it was because Faith was my friend. He was being so nice to her for me, and I was appreciative of that.
This man was proving to be impossible not to like, and if I wasn’t careful, I would end up falling for him completely.
“What are you ladies up to today?” he asked, his eyes meeting mine.
“I don’t have anything planned yet,” I said. Out of the corner of my eye, I could have sworn that Faith looked slightly disappointed that she was busy with her family outing today.
Bowen stepped off the treadmill and moved closer to me. I could feel the body heat emanating from him, and I had to tilt my head back slightly to look up into his face.
“Since you don’t have any plans, how about you join me for an adventure?” he asked.
I arched a brow. “Whatkindof an adventure?”
He smirked. “Half the fun is not knowing. You’ll just have to trust me.”
I knew that I should remind him that we didn’t know each other very well. He certainly hadn’t earned my trust yet. But my gut instinct told me that I didn’t have anything to worry about with Bowen.
“Okay,” I said. “But it better not be anything dangerous.”
“Oh, no. Of course not.”