Page 33 of You're the Reason

Was that what he was doing? A little help, God. His own prayer came back to him. What had he expected, the answer to come in the form of cash falling from the sky? If God was providing, maybe he needed to be willing to accept.

He finally looked at Nate and nodded. “All right, I’ll train you, but not for money.”

“I told you?—”

“I want home-cooked meals. If I have to eat another bowl of ramen, I might go crazy.”

“Deal.” Nate slapped him on the shoulder, then moved toward the stairs. “But I’m not sure that’s saving me money. I’ve seen the way you eat. But I can’t have my trainer passing out from lack of food.”

His mouth almost started salivating at the idea of a real meal. “First session is tonight at eight.”

“Perfect.” Nate walked to the door. “I’ll tell Olivia to know to expect you for dinner, but be warned, it’s my night to cook.”

Even if Nate wasn’t a great cook, it would be a huge step up. Now he just needed money for gas. As if on cue, Bach began vibrating the floor below. This might be a very bad idea, but if it was how God was going to provide, he couldn’t ignore it.

He hurried down the steps and flung the door open to the studio and waited until Grace looked his way. “If you want to hire me, I’ll train you. Three nights a week.”

Her arms crossed over her chest as her head tilted to one side. “I was thinking like once or twice, then I can do it on my own.”

“I can’t just show you something and not help you with technique. And that technique needs to happen over and over again to make sure you’re working with your joints and not against them. That will take more than once or twice, it will take regular training. So, if you want to do this right and you want to get better and back to the stage, you need to do it my way.”

She seemed to weigh what he said in her mind. Then she nodded and took a half step closer. “Thank you. That would be helpful.”

That was all. He’d admit his tone had been a bit rough, but he’d assumed she would come back with both barrels loaded.

“But I don’t have much money.” When he opened his mouth to respond, she held up her hand, cutting him off. “I can pay some, but I know it isn’t what a trainer costs. But the sooner I’m better, the sooner I will leave Heritage, and the sooner I can get out of your hair. Deal?”

The studio to himself. That was exactly what he wanted, right? Then why didn’t this feel like a bargain? He shook off the uncomfortable feeling. As long as it was enough for gas to and from work, it was enough. “Deal. When do we start?”

She shrugged and offered a half smile. “The sooner the better.”

“Tonight, at seven. Don’t be late—I have another client at eight.” With that he headed back up to his apartment to get ready for work. Another client. Seemed funny to say. An hour ago, he’d woken up with no food and no money for gas. Looked like God had provided. Now he just needed God to provide a way for him to set up that ninja gym in Lansing. Because right now, that would take more clients and more hours of working than he had to offer.

Grace refused to let her parents bully her into moving home, but the past twenty-three years had taught her this would not be easy. As much as she loved them, she had to be the one calling the shots in her own life. Grace sipped her sugarless tea as she perched on the edge of one of Ms. Margret’s armchairs and waited for her parents to speak. Her parents sat side by side on Ms. Margret’s blue and mahogany Victorian settee with both of their gazes fixed on her.

She wasn’t completely sure if they were trying to stare her into submission, which they’d perfected over the years, or waiting for the right moment for a unified pounce. She had honestly believed that the worst part of this dinner would be the silent dinner itself, but she’d underestimated how painful a silent after-dinner conversation could be. She drew a calming breath and tried not to think about all of the things she could be doing instead on a Thursday night.

She could be dancing right now, or training with Seth. That she would definitely prefer. She still couldn’t believe that he’d agreed to train her. After the way he’d so rudely dismissed the idea of helping her the first time, she’d come up with a long list of reasons to convince him to change his mind. But before she could do that, he’d shown up and laid out the reasons she needed his help. All the reasons she’d already thought of the day before.

All except for the fact it would take regular training rather than just once or twice. It did make sense though. If she was going to get back to 100 percent as quickly as possible, she needed someone who knew what they were doing every time she lifted. So she’d agreed and hoped that they could limit their hostile encounters as much as possible.

But for as grumpy as he’d been in their first few encounters, he seemed to let his guard down when they were discussing training. Although he had also been so in-the-zone that he seemed to see her only as a client and not as a person of the opposite sex. She couldn’t say the same. So much so that the memory from yesterday still sat rent free in her mind.

“Good, now put your hands a little farther apart on the bar.” Seth had stood on the opposite side of the bar, supporting most of the weight. Their heads just inches apart. “You got it?”

She had no idea. All she could think about was how close he was. She’d just nodded. He slowly let go and stepped back. Okay that was heavier than she thought.

It must have shown on her face because he rushed forward and took the weight again. “Maybe we aren’t quite ready for this yet.”

No kidding. “Can’t we go back to squats?”

“I know you’re concerned about strengthening your legs, but your legs are amazing.” He stared at her legs for a moment, then seemed to realize what he was doing and what he’d just said. His gaze darted out the window as his cheeks reddened. “I just mean, they’re very strong for your size.”

“Good to know.” Grace bit her lip to keep from laughing. “But I need to be able to dance for hours without tiring, not to mention jumps and leaps.”

“All right. Legs it is.” He walked over to where they had done the squats and started adjusting the weights. “I have a new one for you to try.”

Grace grabbed her water bottle and downed a few swallows. “Where did you learn all this?”

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