Page 8 of Between the Paragraphs

I rise to find Nikki already lacing up her running shoes. “You slept in today. You were also making some noises in your sleep that made even me blush. It was enough that I heard you through your door.”

My cheeks instantly heat as I glare at Nik. “Good morning to you too, and no I wasn’t.”

She laughs. “Hurry up. I’m ready to hit the pavement.”

I grumble as I head to the bathroom. It doesn’t take me long to get my workout clothes on. I step back out. “I need to clear my head.”

“You dreamed of giving Mason head?” Nikki responds with a smirk, deliberately ‘mishearing’ what I just said.

“You wench,” I say in response with a laugh. I shove her shoulder and step out of our door.

We head down the flights of stairs and step outside, the crisp morning air instantly clearing my brain and feeling amazing on my heated skin. There aren’t many people out, which is exactly how I like it. We match our paces and begin a nice steady jog, the steady rhythm of our feet hitting the pavement providing a comforting backdrop of sound.

We’re about twenty minutes into our run when Nikki turns to me, looking gorgeous with flushed cheeks, her breath barely affected. She’s one of those people others despise because she looks so good working out. Me, on the other hand, drip gallons of sweat. I love it, though, because I feel amazing when I’m finished. It’s a full body detox.

“Last night was fun,” she says. How she continues to run while having a conversation evades me. Meanwhile, each of my responses come out in a labored pant.

“It wasn’t bad,” I admit. I need to be careful here. It’s clear I’m attracted to Mason whether I want to be or not. Since it’s been a while since I’ve felt a true spark with a man, she’ll zero in like a shark smelling blood.

“Tell me more. You crashed so hard when we got to the room, we didn’t get to gossip,” she says.

I concentrate on running and what I’m going to say. I can’t lie to my bestie. That’s the worst sin imaginable. “He’s . . . interesting. He’s also cocky.”

“Some call it confidence. He didn’t seem over the top to me like Bobby. Then again, Mason has a lot to be confident about. That man’s hot as hell.”

“He’s okay. I’ve seen hotter,” I say. It’s true. Where there’s one gorgeous man, there are a thousand more behind him. That doesn’t take away from how appealing Mason is, though. Attraction is also amped up when a man is funny and intelligent.

“He has you more intrigued than I realized,” Nikki says, easily blowing right past my BS.

I let out a sigh, my peaceful jog not feeling so peaceful right now. “Okay, maybe he intrigued me. But I have a lot to focus on today and I don’t have time for men or their egos.”

“There’s always time for men,” she tells me.

“Look who’s talking. You can’t stay with a man longer than a month before you’re bored.”

“Well, they shouldn’t be so boring,” she says, making me laugh as we turn. We make our way back to the hotel after picking up our pace and stopping our talk. It’s far from over, but Nikki will bug me about it later. We head straight to the gym to do some lifting. Just because I’m at a conference is no excuse not to exercise. If I get out of my routine, it’s too easy to fall off the wagon. I’ve gone months with no workouts and then I feel like crap. I already feel inferior to Nikki in the athletic department. No need to make that worse.

We grab a weighted ball and toss it to each other for a while before I move to the ropes, and she does some pull ups. The sweat and effort we’re exerting helps clear my mind, getting me prepared to make it through a long day of meetings.

We move around the gym from one machine to another. We’re getting close to the end when a group of men enter the gym, their eyes immediately zeroing in on us. This is why I hate using hotel gyms. I’m here to workout, not to be hit on.

One of the men make a beeline straight to us where I’m spotting Nik on the bench press. There are tons of open machines, but of course he bypasses them all.

“Need a spotter?” he asks with a confident smirk. I meet Nikki’s eyes and roll mine.

Nikki then looks up at the man as she pushes up a perfect press. “I think we’re covered,” she tells him with a sassy grin. She loves shooting men down while shamelessly flirting at the same time. It always confuses them.

Another of the men, a bit shorter, but equally persistent, joins his buddy. “Come on, ladies, we just want to be helpful. It doesn’t hurt to have more than one pair of eyes on you in case something falls.”

Nikki finishes her presses, then sits up and flips her ponytail over her shoulder. “I know we’re just petite little ladies, but we know how to pound some steel,” she tells him with a bat of her eyes. Both men’s jaws practically drop to the floor. “Thanks for the offer though. We’re all done. Time to soap up in a nice . . . hot . . . wet shower.”

She grabs my arm and we walk away from the men. It takes all I have not to laugh. I don’t look back, but imagine they’re sporting some wood right about now. We leave the gym to head to our room.

I shake my head as we ascend the stairs. Might as well finish off with a thirteen-story hike. “I don’t know how you flirt while shooting men down so beautifully,” I tell her.

“What can I say? It’s a gift,” she tells me with a giggle. We race up the stairs, both of us breathing heavy as we reach our suite. We each have our own bathroom so we head in and clean up. I dress quickly then sit at the table, in the shared living space, with my laptop.

I let out a squeak of happiness when I see that Miles Bennett has replied to my email already and he’s free to meet me for lunch. This was far easier than I thought it would be. I figured I’d have to stalk the man for at least two days to get him to agree to meet me. He hasn’t agreed to anything, but getting the initial meeting is the hardest part. I’ve always had a gift for charming people once they’re in my grasp.

---