Page 6 of Up All Night

I had known she deserved more attention and devotion, but I couldn’t give her what she needed and also put in what was required with my job. Ultimately, I’d picked my career over her. I hadn’t wanted to string her along when she could be out finding someone else who could be a better boyfriend than me.

It had been about a year since we’d broken up, and I’d only been on a handful of double dates with Cannon, and only then because he’d set them up. Dating wasn’t in the plans as of right now. Once I could show my dad that I was worthy of a promotion and serious about taking over the family business one day, then I could think about dating and settling down.

I pulled into the gym parking lot and jogged up to the building, pulling open the door.

Ben stood there, glancing down at his watch. “Only a minute early. I was about to send out a search party.”

“Ha, ha,” I said at his teasing. Normally I was at least five minutes early, but my little stunt had put me behind schedule.

Ben smiled. “We’re going to start on the rowing machine today.”

“Sounds great,” I said as I followed him.

Getting set up on the machine, I waited for Ben to tell me what I’d be doing today. Once he gave me the rundown, I started rowing.

“So I wanted to let you know that I’m going to be going out of town for a few weeks. Me and Nina are finally going on our honeymoon.”

“Honeymoon?” I asked, surprised. “You got married almost a year ago.”

“I know,” he nodded. “We’ve both been swamped with work, and there never was a good time. Not that now is great, but we are sick of waiting. If we don’t go now, it’s never going to happen.”

“Well, that’s great. I hope you guys have a great time,” I said, happy for him that he was finally able to get away. “When do you leave?”

“Sunday.”

I stopped rowing. “Like in two days, Sunday?”

“Yep.” He motioned for me to keep rowing. “It was kind of a last-minute thing. We saw a deal on flights to Hawaii and just booked it.”

I started to feel the burn in my legs and arms but kept rowing, knowing I still had another eight minutes.

“But don’t worry,” Ben added. “I already made sure you’ll have a great personal trainer while I’m gone. She’s one of the best. I’m actually worried you’re going to like her better than me and not want to come back to me after the three weeks.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“I don’t know,” he said knowingly. “She’s a lot prettier to look at than I am.”

My breathing was heavy when I responded. “I don’t need my trainer to be pretty. I need them to give me a good workout.”

“Oh, she’ll definitely do that.” He nodded. “She’s even tougher than me.”

Tougher than Ben? In the two years I’d been working out with him, he’d never once let me have an easy session. It was one of the things I liked about him. He never eased up, never let me get away with bad form, and pushed my mental strength to the limits. I was in the best shape of my life, thanks to him.

“I don’t think that’s possible,” I argued.

He slapped me on the back and laughed. “Either way, she’s a great trainer, and she’ll give you a killer workout.”

I grunted in response. Whatever. It was only three weeks, and I could deal with whatever trainer Ben had scheduled. As long as I got my hour workout in at six every morning, I’d be happy.

I’d stayed two hours longer at the office than I had planned, but when my dad had poked his head into my office and given me an appreciative nod, it had made the long day worth it.

I took the first flight of stairs up to my apartment and could already smell the undeniable spicy scent of potstickers. Reaching my floor, I let my head fall back, sending up a silent plea.Why me?

Shuffling to my front door, I could see a bright pink sticky note waiting for me.

To Mr. Wicked Witch of the West,

Thank you so much for the lovely wake-up call this morning. It had me bursting with energy enough to fit in an early grocery shopping trip so I could make one of my favorite meals for dinner! And I owe it all to you.

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