Page 98 of Tempted Hearts
The afternoon wound down. When it came time to leave, I didn’t want Beck keeping the bar open just for us.
“Dinner plans?” I asked Jules quietly.
She hesitated. Just for a second.
“Or not.” I teased. “Maybe I’ll call it a night.”
The disappointment in her eyes only confirmed my choice.
“Text me your schedule for tomorrow,” I said. “If you want to do something.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
She left, smiling politely.
I downed my drink as Mae passed by, patting my shoulder.
Beck shook his head. “You’ve got yourself in a bit of a pickle.”
“A pickle?” I said. “More like I jumped headfirst into a jar labeled do not open unless you’re ready to ruin your life.”
37
JULES
“Mind if I offer a quick tip?”
I lowered the single dumbbell in front of me, my jiggly triceps taking first place on my hit list here at the gym.
Even though I knew most people in Cedar Falls, the gym was filled with strangers. Neither of the towns beside us had gyms, and probably a few people in here were tourists. This guy could’ve been either.
He was around my age, and good-looking too. Not in a Cole sort of way—the kind that made women stop and stare—but handsome nonetheless.
“Sure.” I’d just joined and was supposed to have a trainer today, but he was apparently sick. I’d watched a few videos, but I was sure I wasn’t doing this right.
He gestured toward my barbell. “Go ahead and put it back up, like you had it. That’s it. Now this time, when you bring it down, make sure to keep your elbows tucked in and toward your ears. Now go ahead and extend.”
I did one rep, and then another. He didn’t move on, though, and waited for me to finish all twelve without further comment until the end.
“That was great. Just like that.”
“Thanks.”
That’s about when he should have moved on—but he didn’t. If he was waiting for me to make the next move, it wasn’t going to happen. Was he cute? Sure. Pre-Cole, might I have struck up a conversation with him? Probably.
But not today.
There was no spark, no butterflies—none of the feelings I got around Cole, or even thinking of him.
“So, brand new here, huh?”
Time to shut this down.
“Yep. My boyfriend is a member and has been asking me to join.”
He went from helpful trainer to a much less interested one.
“Awesome. Well, I’ll let you finish your set. Have a good workout.”
