Sweet On You
Katana Collins
Copyright © 2019 by Katana Collins
Kindle Edition – published 2019
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Cover Design by: Shanoff Designs
Edited by: Erin Marenghi, Derek Bishop, and Rachel Mason
Created with Vellum
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Epilogue
About the Author
Check out Bewitching You…
Chapter One
Sneak Peek of Callback
Chapter One
1
Ronnie
“You should get a cat,” my youngest sister, Callie said. As the only two girls in a family of boys, we’ve always been close. But also, we could not be more different. Callie had creamy skin and long, blonde hair that fell past her shoulders in mermaid-like curls, while I had dark brown hair that barely brushed my shoulders. And freckles. My face was covered in so many freckles, I resembled a Dalmatian.
I rolled my eyes and pressed my palms down harder against Callie’s sneakers. “Less talk, more crunches.” Somewhere behind us, a clatter of weights fell to the ground and a man grunted. “You hear that noise?” I jerked my head in the direction of whoever just dropped those weights. “That’s what you should sound like. You would be winded and barely able to talk if you were doing this right. It just means I’m not pushing you hard enough.”
It was Callie’s turn to eye-roll. “I’m serious,” Callie said as she curled her spine and sat up, her chin nearly hitting her knees. “I think a cat would be good for you. They’re independent enough that you wouldn’t need to be home for it all the time. And you know, you’re sort of like a cat, yourself.”
I blew a scoffing breath through my teeth that sounded a little too close to a cat’s hiss, merely confirming Callie’s claim. “I’m nothing like a cat.”
“Oh, oomph,” Callie grunted as she crunched, but continued talking. “Yes, you are. You’re aloof. A loner. But fiercely protective of your loved ones. You’re elegant, beautiful, mysterious, and muscular. You’re a cat. You even have spots… like a leopard.” Callie sat up and tried to poke one of the many freckles on my cheek.
I swatted her hand away. “Just for that, you’re giving me 10 more crunches.”
Callie snorted. “The hell I am.” She fell back against the mat, stretching her legs out to push me out of the way. I laughed and fell down on my back beside her, looking up at the mirrored ceiling of my gym. My own CrossFit gym. My dream. I couldn’t believe it was real. I’d put my blood, sweat, and tears into this place… literally. Even though my big brother Cam had built it for me at cost, I’d been here every day swinging a hammer right along with him. Over by the reception area, I had smacked the edge of my thumb with that hammer, spurting blood all over the subfloors. And on my opening weekend, when only two people had signed up for memberships—both of which were my brothers—I drank a whole bottle of wine alone, crying in the corner of the spin class room.
But now, look at it! I glanced around the busy gym, where my members were encouraging each other in daily work out programs—or WODs as the community had affectionately come to know them. Work Outs of the Day. WODs.
Business was booming. I turned something that was a passion—a hobby—into a thriving career. So thriving, I was considering opening a second location. I’d been saving for four years and I finally had enough to maybe make it happen.
“So?” Callie elbowed me in the ribs while still horizontal on the mats. “Do you think there’s a Fluffy in your future?”
“I don’t think I’m a cat person,” I said.
“Then a dog?”
“Definitely not a dog person. They’re so much work. I’m here almost all day, every day. The poor dog would be alone most of the time.”
“I could help,” Callie shrugged. “It would give Ruckus someone to play with.”
Ahhh, that’s what this was about. Callie got a dog and found fulfillment, and now she thought it was the answer to everyone’s problems. Not that I had problems.
Of course, Callie’s dog was just as crazy, wild, and free-spirited as she was. They were a match made in heaven. Or in Bellevue. “You know who else loves cats, don’t you?” Callie asked, though I got the distinct impression it wasn’t a real question. It was a setup.
My eyes fluttered closed. I knew where Callie was going with this line of questioning. And I didn’t like it. Not one bit. “Don’t, Callie—”
“Lex,” she whispered in my ear.
See? Setup.
“He loves his cat,” Callie continued. “It’s the most adorable thing watching him with that cat perched on his shoulder. And if I’m being honest, I think he just might love—”
“Callie, stop. He definitely doesn’t think of me that way.”
“How do you know?”
“I just do.”
“But how?”
I rolled my eyes. “Asking the same question again, more emphatically, won’t change my answer.”
“You two have been flirting nonstop since the day he moved to Maple Grove. You can’t tell me you don’t like him.”
I swallowed and stared at our reflection in the mirrored ceiling above. “I do like him. He just doesn’t like me.”
“Well, that’s a load of horse shit.”
I blinked back the burning sensation behind my eyes. I’d already cried too many stupid tears over a relationship that was never real to begin with. “Trust me, Callie, it’s not.”
“How do you know if you’ve never gone for it with him—”
“Because I have gone for it with him!” I hissed and immediately regretted my moment of honesty when I looked to my left and caught Callie’s pitying expression. It was the same face that I’d been met with when I was dumped the day before my wedding.
“You… you have?” Callie asked.
“Yes. I asked him out about a month ago and he said no. So can we drop it, now?”
It wasn’t often my sister was rendered speechless. But there was truly nothing left to say. “But… but that doesn’t make sense. When? And why in the hell am I just hearing about this now? I’m your sister, Ronnie. I thought we were closer than that!”
“It’s embarrassing, Callie. I didn’t want to admit to anyone that I’d been rejected so
hardcore.” I didn’t add that I especially didn’t want to admit it to my gorgeous, bombshell blonde baby sister. “And … it happened the day Steve proposed to Yvonne at the top of Mount Washington. Lex baked the cupcakes for the party after.” I swallowed and managed to blink back my tears, causing them to disappear somewhere deep and dark inside of myself. “We were flirting—or at least I was flirting. Joking about the stupid gluten-free cupcakes, and he actually baked me one with almond flour and no refined sugar. I thought…” I shook my head. I’d jumped to conclusions. Read too much into the stupid gluten-free cupcake. “It doesn’t matter what I thought. Bottom line, I asked him out and he said no.” I shrugged nonchalantly, but inside, a heaviness fell on my gut. “It’s fine. But… no, Lex does not like me. Cat-like or not.”
“I had no idea,” Callie said, and I felt my sister’s fingers entwine with mine.
“Why would you? It’s not your fault.”
I gave her hand a squeeze. “No… but…” Callie nibbled her bottom lip in the same exact way she used to when she was a kid and got caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to do.
“But… what?”
Callie blinked. Her long black lashes were free from any makeup, but still as glamorous as a beauty queen’s. “I did something that I thought was helping.”
Oh, God. I narrowed my eyes. “What did you do?”
“Well… you know how you give us those coupon things to hand out to new clients?”
“The free week of personal training? Yeah…”
“I kind of gave one to Lex.”
I exhaled the breath I’d been holding. “Oh. That’s all?” Most people never even redeemed those coupons. And Lex didn’t exactly seem like the gym rat type. I swatted the air. “I’ll deal with it if he calls to set up an appointment.”
Callie cleared her throat. “Um, well, that’s the other thing…”
“Now what?”
“He’s sort of your next appointment today.”
Well, shit. I knew when I hired Callie to handle reception that there was a chance she might meddle in my business affairs, but I definitely didn’t expect her to meddle in my love life. My non-existent love life.
“Why didn’t I see his name on my schedule?”
Callie sat up and hugged her knees. “Because I put him in as Alex.”
“Dammit, Callie!”
“I’m sorry! I had no idea about… that he… that you two weren’t…”
“That he flat out rejected me?”
Callie grew quiet. “Yeah. That.”
I glanced at the clock. My next training appointment was at four o’clock. In fifteen minutes. It was too late to cancel. And he was probably already on his way. I could maybe find one of my other trainers to take him on, but then… wouldn’t that look suspicious? I sat up, too, pressing the soles of my feet together, stretching my hip flexors. “You know what? It’ll be fine. Lex and I need to find a way to coexist in this town anyway. Maybe this is an opportunity to clear the air.”
Or maybe I can work his ass so hard, he never wants to come back to my gym ever again.
I smirked wickedly as the bells over my front door jingled.
“Uh oh,” Callie said. “I know that evil grin. What do you have planned?”
“Nothing,” I said and pushed to my feet as Lex entered the gym. He hadn’t seen us yet, back here in the corner, and I watched as he checked his phone and nervously pushed his hand through his russet-colored hair. “Just some tire flips and burpee-box jumps.”
Callie’s eyes widened. “Aren’t those usually for seasoned CrossFitters?”
Yep. They sure are.
2
Ronnie
The gym floors were a mix of hardwood and rubber pads—easy on the joints and feet, but still durable. Well, hardwood floors weren’t so durable, but I wasn’t blind to the fact that CrossFit was a trend right now, and even though I loved it, it might not last. So, I wanted this to be a fully functioning gym without the CrossFit angle. The hardwood floors allowed that. I could do spin and yoga classes; I even had a dance instructor come once a week to teach hip hop. There was something for everyone here, even though the central focus was CrossFit.
However, when people signed up for one-on-one training? They weren’t coming in for a spin class—or a dance class. They wanted their asses kicked. And that was my specialty.
“Lex,” I greeted him as I approached, my sneakers squeaking against the hardwood floors. “I had no idea you were my four o’clock until Callie just told me.” I did my best to give him a casual smile, hoping it didn’t come across like a grimace.
“Hey, Lex,” Callie said from behind me and moved behind the counter to take her shift answering phones.
“I hope that’s okay,” Lex said.
“Why the sudden interest in fitness?” I couldn’t help but ask.
“Well, you know,” he said. I had almost forgotten how sexy his British accent was. Almost. “Lifting those sacks of flour has been getting harder and harder. Plus, my insurance covers four training sessions and a gym membership yearly as long as I go 150 times in the year.” He shrugged and smiled sheepishly. “So, here I am.”
“We don’t take insurance here.”
“No, no, they reimburse me. You do nothing.”
I took a swig from my water bottle and it went down my throat like sand. “Gotchya. So… what are your fitness goals?”
My eyes traveled down his boyish face, with only the slightest lines around his eyes and mouth. “My fitness goals?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I never even thought about that, to be honest.”
“Well, I had a client last year whose goal was to be able to do a split before her next birthday, so we focused on flexibility. Another one of my clients wanted to run her first half-marathon. Another man wanted to lose twenty pounds.”
“Right. Well, for me, I just want to be my healthiest self. I want to live a long life. And when I was younger, my weight was a lot easier to maintain. In my line of work, it’s a hazard of the job—taste testing my baking creations and whatnot.”
I avoided the urge to slide my gaze down his lean, but strong body. I’d seen him shirtless before while hiking. He was the only person I knew who went hiking with his cat. That cat was more dog-like than my best friend, Yvonne’s damn chihuahua. “Sure. My dad used to say that skinny chefs can’t be trusted.”
Lex laughed at that and his smile was like a beacon of light. Women gravitated to it. And to his easy charm and conversational attitude. Problem was, it came across as flirting. I should know. And he should be more careful. Women all over this town thought he liked them because he was so damn nice. So polite. Stupid British mannerisms.
“So,” I said in an effort to get my brain back on track. “Overall health. Got it.”
A sliver of his pink tongue peeked out and swept across his bottom lip. “Also…” he faded off.
“Also?”
“My doctor said that my blood pressure was a tad high. I thought maybe exercise could help.”
I nodded. “Exercise can definitely help with that. Is there any sort of work out that sounds specifically exciting to you? Or interests you?”
He looked around the gym. “I have to admit, I’m not a very sporty guy. I tend to prefer reading a book to going to see American football. But, I like being outside. I like hiking. And I’ve always wanted to learn how to do that.” He pointed across the gym to the rock climbing wall.
My brows rose. “Rock climbing? I’m impressed. I’ll need to give you a tutorial on it first. And you might want to work your way up to it. I do a monthly beginner class the first Sunday of every month.”
Lex’s eyes lit up at that. “Oh yeah? Is it hard?”
“It’s not too hard… just different. Why don’t I show you around and then we can get started?”
Ten minutes later, I’d given Lex a quick tour of the gym—everything from the locker rooms and steam rooms to the climbing wall. Now, we were outside on the sidewalk just
one block away from the town center. In front of us were kettle bells and a tire.
Lex shifted his weight, looking around the busy sidewalk. “Isn’t it kind of crowded out here?”
“You said you like being outside, right?”
“Well… yeah. But I meant more like, I enjoy fresh air and going hiking. Not exercising while vacationers get ice cream and give me weird looks.”
I totally understood where he was coming from. But, to me, breaking through those emotional boundaries was a huge part of the fitness experience—feeling no embarrassment or shame for where you are in your health journey. “If you want to go inside, we can. You mentioned you like being outdoors, which was why I chose this. And it’s such a beautiful day.”
“It is gorgeous out,” Lex agreed. It was a warm late-April day—high 60s, which was warmer than normal for New England at this time of year. But as anyone who grew up here knew, summer was fleeting and passed quickly. Too quickly, if you asked me. I was a beach girl through and through, much like Callie.
“So? Do you want to go back inside?” I asked.
Lex sighed. “I might embarrass myself, but let’s stick it out here. For now.”
“Good.” Though this might have begun as a way to push him to the limits and maybe make him find a new trainer, I was in my element. And the more time we spent together, the more I realized that we might be able to get back to being friends. “So, with high blood pressure, we want to strengthen your heart. A stronger heart can pump more blood with less effort. So basically, if your heart can work less to pump, the force on your arteries decreases, lowering your blood pressure.”
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