Page 71 of Take Hold of Me

“From my vantage point, you got that backwards.”

I shake my head. “You met Wills when he was guarding Cole, right?”

“Yup.” He leans over to me. “I whipped his butt into shape, so you can thank me now.”

I laugh. He is a good guy. I am so happy Wills has Zak in his life. Once we finish our smoothies, I ask him to finish up my tour of Complete.

We walk across the gym to the far side of the building, which has a series of smaller rooms. Zak points to a set of five doors. “That’s for classes like Zumba, yoga, spin, that sort of thing.” He points to another set of doors. “Acupuncture, massage and nutrition classes go on in there.”

“Wow. That is very impressive. Not many gyms offer these choices.”

“Wills and I were talking about adding on other professionals, like physical therapists. You know, to live up to the name ‘Complete.’”

“Very interesting.”

We wander into an empty room, set up classroom style, with a chalkboard. Zak heads over it, picks up a piece of chalk and starts to doodle. From my seat, I try to figure out what it is.

Seeing my expression, he drops the chalk. “I’m a personal trainer, not an artist. Sue me.”

Zak is an open book. I bet he can give me some insights into Wills that he would not tell me himself. “So, you are going to be working closely with Wills here at Complete?”

He claps and chalk dust flies through the air. “Yeah. I’m really looking forward to the challenge. I was honored when Wills asked me to join him. You know, he was always pretty quiet, but after his partners were killed, he practically shut down.”

“It has been rough on him.”

He sits next to me. “I think Complete will help him heal. Even though I’ve just met them, I can tell the members and staff here are great.”

I nod. “Everyone seems very friendly.”

His face turns serious and his tone changes. “I know you’re used to jetting off at a moment’s notice and all, but Wills takes his responsibilities here seriously. If you’re only looking to add him to your port of call, then do us all a big favor and drop him now. He’s been through enough.”

My muscles turn rigid and I sit up straighter in my seat. Looking Zak directly in the eye, I say, “I am not like that.”

“Good. I thought I had you pegged correctly. Just had to be sure.”

Our conversation is cut short when Wills breezes into the room with David and checks out the chalkboard. “What are you up to in here?” He squints. “What is that?”

Zak smiles. “You don’t recognize your girlfriend?”

“Looks like one of those Rorschach tests to me. Stick with the personal training.” Wills arrives at my side.

David shakes his head. “Do you like our little classrooms, Emilie?”

Silently rejoicing that Wills has loyal people in his corner, I reply, “Oui, very much. You have been very inventive here, David.”

His throat bobs like he swallowed hard. My heart goes out to him for having lost his wife. I cannot imagine living without Wills, and we have only just started dating. “We came to get you two. There’s a cake out front.”

Leaving the classroom, we return to the reception area. All of the people gathered take photos of Wills. Not me for once. It feels good.

The members clamor to welcome Wills to the gym, but I can tell his smile is forced. The more they circle around us and wish us well, the more introverted he becomes.

A chant goes up. “Speech! Speech!”

Wills runs his hand through his hair, his eyes going all around the room, ending on mine. I whisper, “They want to hear from you. Speak from your heart.” And because he looks so uncomfortable, I add, “It does not have to be long.”

He raises his hands to quiet the crowd down. “I didn’t prepare any speech, and I’m not good at it. I just want to say it’s been a pleasure meeting you and I’m looking forward to continuing what my sister and her husband started. To make sure Complete provides you with the best options for you to become your best self.”

The group claps as Wills steps back. Laura rolls out a large sheet cake and hands Wills the knife. Before he makes the first cut, David interjects, “One-hundred push-ups for every piece!”

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