said you have a gentlemanly streak, but I have to say, I never believed it until I saw it." Truth be told, I thought chivalry was long gone.
"You're welcome, Mel. So, what else did Isabelle say about me?"
"Lots of things. Such as how she was hoping you and your brother would bring someone to the wedding. But I think she's given up all hope now."
"Good. I was worried that she still had her hopes up, and I’d have to do something about it."
Sadness passed over his eyes. He looked away, but I'd caught it, and my heart hurt for him. He deserved to be happy. Every instinct in me wanted to fix whatever was wrong, and although I couldn’t do that, I could make him smile.
“Do you always tease your sister?” I had to crane my neck to look up at him; I was tall, but my five feet seven to his over six feet made me crane my neck a bit.
“Yes. But she teases us right back, so don’t feel too sorry for her.”
“Oh, I don’t. I find it all very funny.”
He grinned. “She decided she wanted to be a counselor back when we were kids, so she played everything from the family’s peacemaker to the bad cop.”
“That sounds like so much fun,” I said wistfully. I was an only child, and my mom left Daddy and me when I was one year old. I didn’t even remember her.
Back then we lived in Harrisburg, and Daddy always said Mom longed for a bigger life than he could give her. We only moved to New York City when I was in college. Dad found a job in construction here shortly after I came to town. He said he didn’t want to be far away from me. Thank heavens he was close by. It made it easier to help him through the recovery after his stroke.
Dylan kept entertaining me with antics from their childhood once we started the weight training. I was doing my best to keep my eyes off him and only slipped a couple times. Thankfully, he didn’t notice. Fortunately, I kept my professionalism throughout the entire circuit. Dylan did three sets of everything. I offered him some additional mat work to incorporate, and he managed it all with ease.
"Okay, that's it. We're wrapping up this session," I said an hour later. Glancing at the giant clock at the back of the room, I grimaced.
"Damn. I’ll be late,” I muttered.
“For your next session?”
“No, I’m done for the day. I’m heading out to help a friend with her shelter, and I’m supposed to be there in forty minutes.” Crap, I’ll really have to hustle.
"Where is it?" he asked.
“Queens. I’ll never make it in time. And it’s raining too. I hope the gym has a spare umbrella.” We kept a few for clients, but they were typically gone as soon as it started raining.
"I have a company car that’s going to take me to my next meeting. You can ride with me, drop me off, and then he can drive you there."
“There’s no need.”
“It’s raining, Mel.”
“Ah, there you go, being chivalrous again.”
The corners of his mouth tilted up. He took one step closer. “Besides, it will give us more time to talk. I still haven’t heard about all those secrets. Not even one.”
I laughed. “I’ll add cunning and tenacious to your list of attributes.”
“Always,” he confirmed. He trapped my gaze in his. Holy shit, the man was intense and so hot that I felt my body temperature rise just because I was around him. He smelled like a spicy-scented deodorant and even a bit salty, but not sweaty. Perfect.
“Okay, thank you. I’ll change quickly. Thank you so much. I don’t want to be late, and my friend is counting on me. Otherwise I wouldn’t bother you.”
“You’re not bothering me, Mel. Quite the opposite.”
That was the only reason I was saying yes, I told myself. I didn’t want to be late, and it was raining.
I was lying to myself, and by the way he was looking at me—with a mix of smoldering heat and amusement—he was thinking the same thing.
***
Dylan
I showered and changed in fifteen minutes, and to my astonishment, Melanie was already waiting for me at reception. I was wearing a suit, and by the surprised look on her face, I could tell she liked what she saw. Her round green eyes perused me from my shoulders down and then back up. I cocked a brow when our eyes met. She