Page 11 of Isolated
The number of times I’d fantasized about the man in front of me was unreasonable. But I was rather traditional when it came to dating, so no matter how ambitious I was in other areas of my life, I couldn’t bring myself to be the one to ask him out.
Seemingly without any ideas of how to make that happen either—or merely unwilling to take the bait—Landen jerked his chin toward the squat rack behind me. “Is this about you feeling genuinely stronger today, or is this simply utter determination?”
I glanced at the weight on the bar before returning my attention to him. “It is a touch more than usual, isn’t it?”
“Yes. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I’m merely curious about what prompted it.”
He’d taken two steps closer to me, but still maintained enough distance between us that I could only just barely take in a hint of his scent. But that trace amount was just enough for me to recall the refreshing and robust scent of him. There was a richness and warmth in the musky and woodsy fragrance. Nothing light or citrusy. Just enough tocomplement the self-assured and masculine man that Landen was.
“Well, I’ve been at my previous weight for a while, so part of this is about it really being time to try for a bit more.”
Curious, Landen pressed, “And the other part of it?”
“I’m just trying to keep the good vibes going,” I confessed.
Landen was even more intrigued, his head tipping slightly to the side. “Good vibes?”
I nodded. “It all started Friday with a job promotion at work. I’ll officially start my new position at the beginning of the year, assuming the next four months go accordingly.”
“That’s great news. Didn’t you just recently get a promotion to your current role as… What was it? Marketing manager?”
“Marketing director,” I corrected him. “And yes, I did. But apparently, I’ve been doing such a great job that my boss is prepared to promote me to the vice president of marketing.”
“It sounds like a great accomplishment. Congratulations, Iris.”
The smile hadn’t left my face. “Thank you, Landen. Honestly, it was the perfect way to start my birthday weekend.”
His brows shot up. “It was your birthday?”
“Yes. On Saturday.”
A hint of a brighter smile formed, but he still didn’t show any of his teeth. “Happy birthday. I hope you had a fun weekend.”
“Thank you. I did.”
Waving his hand toward the squat rack, he said, “Well, are you ready to see if you can keep this good streak going?
“I am.”
Without hesitating, I positioned myself beneath the bar. In the mirror directly in front of me, I watched as Landen moved in behind me. I wouldn’t have needed to see him there to know he’d come closer. He had such a dominating presence, and the scent of him wrapped around me like a warm blanket.
But this wasn’t the time to get cozy. Determined as ever, I hoisted the bar onto my shoulders, took a few steps back, and squatted. I wasn’t one to cut corners when it came to anything I did, so I went as low as I always did, fully convinced that even if this wound up being more than I could handle on my own, Landen wouldn’t falter. He’d step in to help if I needed him.
As I moved to stand up, Landen didn’t hold back his usual words of encouragement. “You’ve got it, Iris. Push… push… Good. Four more.”
“Four?” I grunted, disbelief in my tone. He was crazy if he thought I could do that.
“You can do it. I’m right here.”
He was.
He always was.
I should have expected nothing less than more words of motivation from him after succeeding with the first squat at the new, heavier weight.
It was slow and controlled, but I managed four more reps. Sometimes, I told myself I could do just about anything when I refused to fail in front of someone like Landen.
“One more. Let’s go for a total of six.”
