Page 39 of Exposed

She bends down to play with Simon’s toes, and he kicks his little feet and smiles. “Not really. I thought I had a great job, but that bridge went up in flames.”

“But family. Friends. You miss them?”

“No, Matt. Not everyone has family and friends like you.”

Shit. That’s sad. Pepper seems like such a cool person.

“You’ll like Hope, then,” I nod. “I’m going to get a workout in. Want to work out with me?”

“Yeah. I’ve got time.” She smiles, then back peddles. “Wait. No. Never mind.”

“What? Why?”

“I, um.”

Her only belongings are in that backpack.

“I’ve got a spare t-shirt you can use,” I offer.

“I don’t have a sports bra though, or shoes besides my work shoes. I don’t have shorts either,” she says quietly.

I can’t imagine having everything I own fit in a backpack. That’s got to be rough. I want to see her smile.

“No worries. My shirt will come to your knees, so you don’t need shorts. Plus, I have zero problems with you working out sans bra.”

“Okay, perv. And I’ll just wear my regular bra, thank you very much,” she rolls her eyes but fights back a smile.

I’ll do my best not to perv out on her wearing my t-shirt and doing squats. She doesn’t even own shorts, and mine would be huge on her. I’m determined to behave though. I don’t want her to think I’m only after her for her body. She’s so much more than her beautiful outside.

15

ARM WRESTLING

PEPPER

“Okay, Simon. Ready for this?” Matt rolls his son to his tummy on a blanket in his exercise room.

We’ve finished our workout, which consisted of Matt taking me through a weight lifting circuit.

I caught him checking me out a few times in the large, wide mirror he has on the wall, but it seemed more like he was checking my form than lusting after me. I guess that’s from the years he spent working at his dad’s gym.

I’ve got no room to talk, though. While Matt was lifting, my eyes drank him in like a starved man in a pizza parlor. And I wasn’t looking to see if he was using proper form. He banged out set after set of pull ups while I wassupposedto be doing assisted push ups.

Instead, I was mesmerized by the way the muscles in his arms and back rippled every time he dipped down andpulled up. He’s too yummy to ignore. Did I mention he did those pull ups with Simon strapped to his chest in his carrier?

Matt’s personality gets to me. I’ve never met a man so protective and caring. Seeing him with Simon makes my ovaries almost explode. My childhood was hard, but I still want kids. I want to raise little people to know they’re loved and cherished.

Several times, Simon got fussy. Matt didn’t get frustrated. He simply scooped him up, cuddled him, then laid him back down on his blanket with a toy with a, “You’ve got this, little man.”

Matt is a natural at parenting, maybe because he saw it modeled so well from his parents. A couple of times, I picked up Simon when he fussed so Matt could get another set in. I’m happy to dance around with Simon to Matt’s playlist while Matt lifts. Simon is too cute for words, and cuddling him is way more fun than lifting a barbell. I love when he snuggles his nose against me and babbles.

Post-workout, Matt made us both some kind of recovery drink. Not that I need one. I didn’t work out nearly as hard as he did. Matt worked out shirtless, and now he’s laying on his stomach next to Simon.

Matt tickles Simon’s palm, and Simon’s tiny fingers grip tightly onto one of Matt’s long fingers. They’re both laying on their bellies, and I wish I had Matt’s camera to take a photo of them.

“One day, you will beat me at arm wrestling,” Matt rumbles in his sexy deep voice while he pretends to arm wrestle with his newborn. “But not today.” He gently pushes Simon’s hand to the ground. “I win.”

“You want to work out with me again, Pepper?” He looks up at me with a smile.

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