Page 17 of Fit for Love

Though our meal is supposed to be comped, I throw some cash on the table on the way out.

As we cross the street and enter the elevator in my building, I tell her stories about the silly excuses I’ve heard from clients for why they don’t want to work out, like “I’m going to the bar tonight, so I won’t make our one p.m.appointment tomorrow,” or “My dog had an upset stomach, and I ended up walking her so much that I don’t need any more exercise.”

“Is that what I’m going to be?”she asks as we approach the door to my apartment.“A story about how a client fell off the treadmill and got covered in soup?”

“No.”Hopefully, this will be the “how I met you mother” story that I tell our kids.

Wait, what?Kids?Where did that insane thought come from?

Minutes ago, I was contemplating a one-night stand...and now, reproduction?

One way or another, I need to get this woman out of my head before I do something stupid.If my short and disastrous relationship with Gwyneth taught me anything, it’s that I’m not ready for a serious commitment.Not anytime soon.

Shit.Now that I’ve thought of Gwyneth, I realize that Kendall reminds me a bit of her—at least insofar as she is also the type of woman my parents would love and therefore push me toward.

“Jeesh, that was just a joke,” Kendall says.“You don’t need to get all serious.”

Fuck.“Sorry.You just made me realize that I should have something like trainer-client confidentiality, like shrinks do.”

I unlock the door to the sound of happy barking and grin as Ems looks up at me with his intelligent eyes, wags his tail for all he’s worth, and gives me a doggy grin.

“How are you doing, bud?”I ask.

He wags his tail harder.

“You’ve been knighted,” I tell him.“Henceforth, you’re Sir Ems.You may rise.”

He cocks his head in confusion, but Kendall laughs, which is when Sir Ems becomes aware of her for the first time and showers her feet with as much attention as he usually pays to the butt of the neighbor’s Chihuahua.

“He likes you,” I say.

“He just wants to lick the soup off of me,” she counters.

Huh.“You might be right.”I look down into my dog’s soulful eyes.“Are you hungry?”

Dumb question.Hearing the code word, Sir Ems waddles excitedly to the kitchen.

I sigh.“Can I feed him quickly and then give you the clothes?”

She nods.

We head to the kitchen together.As soon as we enter, she grins and says, “That’s adorable.”

I follow her gaze.

Sir Ems is doing his usual shtick—lying flat on his belly, his short legs stretched out behind him.“That’s called a corgi sploot.”

“Well, feed him.Quick.He looks like he’s starving.”

“Yeah, right.I fed him before I left.”

I open a can of wet food and spoon it into a metal bowl.As Sir Ems attacks it, I lead Kendall to the closet.

“Take whatever you want.You can shower and change in there.”I gesture at the bathroom.

She dubiously eyes the closet and then the bathroom.

“Don’t worry,” I say.“While you do that, I’ll take the dog for a walk.”

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