Although in truth, the run actually gave him more time to think about the way her tight black shorts molded to her butt and thighs. His hands itched to be trapped between her bright pink spandex sports bra and what promised to be soft breasts.
Trent pushed his legs harder and faster, willing Junior to stay low and in control.
***
By the third class, Trent had a few of the routines almost down. Granted, he sucked. Sucked big time, but being forced to stare at the sexiest gift God ever created for one hour three days a week wasn’t so bad. He had three more classes next week before he’d be done with this stupid bet. And then he would ask Rayne out.
He couldn’t date her while taking her class. It felt…weird. After brushing off the unwanted advances of Zoe and her clan, he hung around and helped Rayne pick up stray water bottles while she Swiffered the floor.
“Thanks for your help. Keep this up and I’ll throw in an extra week for you.”
“No,” Trent said a little too quickly. “Six classes are enough.”
“Six? Why only six? I’m not saying you’re not in excellent shape, but you should try sticking with it for a while. It gets easier to follow each time. Promise.”
Ouch. Okay, so she noticed he sucked. Not a great first impression to make. “No, it’s just that I, uh…” Since when did his mouth struggle to form a cohesive sentence or, hell, a smooth line for a beautiful woman? “I have a pretty busy work schedule coming up and this was something I wanted to try. I committed to six classes and I’m not a quitter. Zumba isn’t my…thing.” He tossed the bottles in a recycling box by the door.
“Oh yeah?” she said, smiling. “What exactly is your thing?”
Was she flirting with him? If so, it would be the first time all week. “Well, for workouts I usually run, rock climb, kayak in the summer, ski in the winter. That sort of thing.”
“Cool. I’ve never been rock climbing. It’s definitely on my bucket list.”
“I’ll take you. There are plenty of great spots around here.” Whoa, did I just ask her out?
“Sure! Great, that would be fun!” Rayne’s ponytail swung as she zipped through the room, dry-mopping the floor.
If she could be casual, so could he. “Yeah, let me know when you’re free and I’ll arrange it.”
“Cool.”
Cool as in I can’t wait to rip your clothes off cool? He wanted to ask her. Trent followed Rayne out the door and toward the front desk, where he was shocked and embarrassed to see Brian.
“Hey, man. Thought I’d check out the fitness center. See the class you’ve been raving about.” Brian smirked while rocking the baby stroller.
Trent hadn’t mentioned the class and he definitely hadn’t mentioned which fitness center he went to, or anything about the hot instructor who was currently the subject of Brian’s scrutiny. The beaming smile and knowing expression on his face pissed him off.
“Pardon my man’s manners. I’m Brian.” He reached out his hand to Rayne, who immediately accepted it and didn’t seem fazed when Brian held on longer than appropriate. Her eyes were focused elsewhere. The baby overshadowed them both.
“I’m Rayne,” she said with little interest in the men, then squatted down by the stroller. “And who is this beautiful girl?” She stroked the baby’s cheek with her knuckles and seemed to forget about everyone else in the room. Brian was right. Babies were a total chick magnet.
“This,” Trent said as he reached down to unbuckle his goddaughter, “is Faith.” He scooped up the tiny baby, held her to his chest and kissed her sweet-smelling, downy hair. Maybe he was scum, using Faith as a ploy to weaken Rayne, but it seemed to work.
“Oh, she’s beautiful,” Rayne cooed.
“Would you like to hold her?”
“Can I?” she questioned, her gaze darting from Trent to Brian.
“Sure.” The hand-off was exactly as he hoped. Rayne’s fingers caressed his arms as she reached under the little bundle and scooped the baby to her chest. Okay, so maybe she didn’t caress his arms, but the touch felt close, nonetheless. And electrifying.
Brian and Trent stood mesmerized by the sight. Perfection.
“Excuse me, Rayne?” the receptionist called from behind the front desk.
“What’s up, Sarah?” Rayne looked at the receptionist and continued to stroke the baby’s head, rubbing her cheek against Faith’s soft hair.
“Your seven-thirty private lesson cancelled. Seems Ms. McIntyre is down with the flu.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. I guess I’ll do some paperwork until my nine o’clock class starts.” She returned her full attention to Faith.
Brian cleared his throat. “Yeah, uh, Kip, did you get my message? I got called in to work. Think you can watch the baby for a couple hours?” Brian smirked, looking from Rayne—who was oblivious to the world around her except for the baby in her arms—to Trent. And just like that Brian made it back to Best Friend status.
“Sure. Take your time. Faith and I will go for a walk around the Back Cove.” He waited for Rayne to say something, but she was too caught up with the baby magic. He’d have to try harder. Trent caught Brian’s gaze, then nodded to the door. When Brian left, Trent turned back to Rayne. “Since, ah, you’re off, want to go for a walk with us?”
“What?” Rayne lifted her chocolate eyes to him and his knees nearly buckled. Damn. Zumba was turning him into a freakin’ girl.
“I’m on babysitting duty for a few hours. Feel like going for a morning stroll around the cove before your next class? Unless you have a lot of work to do…”
“Oh! I’d love to. Can I push the stroller?”
Laughing, Trent took Faith from Rayne’s arms and strapped the baby back in her carriage. “Sure.”
“Great. Let me clear a few things here first.”
He waited in the lobby area while she talked quietly with Sarah at the front desk and then she jogged over to him wearing the biggest, sexiest smile he’d seen in ages.
“Move over, papa. This mama bear wants a turn.” She elbowed him away from the stroller and pushed it as if she did this every day.
“I never thought to ask…do you have any kids?” Damn if he’d tangle himself with a single mother looking for a stand-in father. Trent held the door open as she followed the stroller outside into the warm June morning air.
“Me? No. I do want a big family someday. Lots and lots of kids. I love them.”
Too bad. “I can tell.” He’d rather know up front what the woman’s expectations were. It made things less complicated later on. Knowing she’d be the type, Trent tucked his thumbs in the waistband of his shorts and sighed in disappointment.
“You’re pretty good with babies.” Her cute dimple and infectious giggle perked him up—the upper and lower extremities.
“And you know this how?” He laughed.
“You’re a natural. A woman can always tell when a man is nervous around kids. It’s obvious how much you love Faith.”
“She’s the best. I’d never been around babies before, hell, any-aged kid, but Faith makes it easy.” And not being responsible for her welfare and happiness helped his aversion to having kids. He could be the loving uncle, but would never have a child of his own. He came from bad blood. Bad genes. And refused to pass them on to someone else.
Rayne stopped walking, put her hand over her chest and glanced up at him. “Wow. I think I’m in love.”
Trent pulled back, fear and trepidation cinching his chest. Of course a girl like Rayne would want more than he could offer. Too wrapped up in staring at Faith again, Rayne didn’t seem to notice his hesitancy. She continued walking and laughing, waving a hand in the air as she pushed the stroller, asking questions about Faith and telling him about the other classes she taught. Trent would have hit the ground running as soon as she started talking about babies and the white picket fence, but she wasn’t pressuring him into being her other half or hinting that she wanted anything to do with him other than smother his goddaughter wit
h attention. Part of him was offended that she wasn’t falling all over him. And then she stopped, squatted in front of Faith, and made the same ridiculous raspberry noises with her mouth he’d often see his sister do.
The instant attraction morphed into something else unrecognizable to Trent. Appreciation? Admiration? He hadn’t a clue.
They talked and laughed during their hour walk around the cove. He couldn’t remember having such a relaxing time with a woman. She wasn’t hitting on him and he wasn’t hitting on her; they laughed and enjoyed each other’s company. It’s like they were becoming…friends.
***
Rayne
Her heart danced and twirled during their walk. If Trent Kipson wasn’t gay she’d be desperately in love…again…and running to Macy’s to pick out a china pattern…again. Maybe he was a gift from heaven. Rayne knew she had issues and fell in and out of love too easily. She wanted to marry and have the house full of babies she so desired. Soon.
Owning and running her fitness studio paid the bills, but her heart wouldn’t be complete until she had a child of her own.
Rayne liked being in a relationship, but men seemed to shy away when she started talking about starting a family. She’d fallen for two men who said they wanted the happily ever after with her, yet when it came down to deciding on venues and dates, they got cold feet and strayed. Thankfully falling out of love wasn’t hard to do when the men she dated had cheated, didn’t want children, wanted no-strings sex, or bored her to death.
However, Trent was different. He was adorably handsome and panty-dropping sexy holding his daughter. It was totally inappropriate, thinking about sex when holding a baby, but wasn’t that how they were made? God knew what he was doing when he made Trent. And his boyfriend wasn’t too hard on the eyes either.
They talked about sports, movies, Maine, and fitness as they walked. It was a relief not to have to hold her heart at bay or be constantly wondering when he was going to try to shove his hand down her pants. Instead of pondering how long she’d have to date Trent before he popped the question and they had oodles of babies, she focused on getting to know him. Without the added pressure of hoping he’d be her soul mate, Rayne let loose and giggled and snorted like she was hanging with her sisters, not worrying about making a fool of herself.
Rayne knew she didn’t have a striking face like her sister Sage, or a cute button nose like her sister Thyme, but she had a great body. Now. She was half the size she was ten years ago.
For the first two months of college, she seriously hated her college roommate. The girl was beautiful, bouncy, and hit it off with all the boys, but she took Rayne under her wing and got her into parties and introduced her to people. By the end of their freshman year, Rayne had lost fifty pounds, learned how to apply the right amount of makeup, and had an in with the “cool kids” on campus.
Once she gained a little self-confidence, life was a breeze. By the end of her sophomore year, she changed her major to health and fitness with a minor in business management. She realized feeling good about her appearance actually helped her come out of her shell and gave her time to enjoy life.
Not that Rayne was a wallflower before her physical transformation; taking care of her sisters and trying to be noticed by her parents had sucked any type of enjoyment out of her. The typical middle child syndrome—needing to please everyone. All she ever wanted was to be loved and to have someone to love.
“How about next week? If the weather is nice we can go rock climbing? I’ll take you on some easy cliffs and work our way to the steeper climbs once you’re comfortable.”
They had circled the trail around the cove and were back at In Motion, thus ending their lovely walk. “That sounds awesome. What’s your work schedule like? Hey!” She stopped and put her hands on her hips. “You know about me and my work, but you never even told me what you do for a living.”
She watched him sigh and stare over her shoulder. Uh oh. Did she offend him? Was he unemployed? A Wal-Mart greeter? A male stripper? The latter, she could imagine.
“I work at a bakery.”
“My younger sister is a great baker. Me, not so much. I take it you don’t work the morning shift or you wouldn’t be at the early Zumba class.”
“Actually, I put in a few hours before coming here. I should probably head back to work soon.”
“Wow, you’re a workaholic then? Boss must love you.”
Trent laughed. “Some days. I actually own the bakery. Sweet Spot.”
“Cute name.”
“You’ve never heard of it?”
Rayne shrugged. “No. I don’t eat out much unless I’m doing a girls’ thing with my sisters.” She smiled. “And I’m a health fanatic. No offense to your bakery, but I don’t eat sweets. They’re really not a necessary part of one’s diet.”
He gasped and clutched his chest. “Ouch. An arrow through my heart. I don’t think I could make it through a day without something sweet to tide me over.” He winked flirtatiously at her and she laughed.
“If you say so. I’ll stick to coffee and an apple. A green smoothie is as sweet as I get.”
“Oh, honey,” he drawled and snaked an arm around her shoulders. “I’m going to convert you. Just watch.”
He pecked her cheek and took over stroller duty, walking away from her and around the building to the parking lot.
“Oh, no honey. I’m going to convert you,” she mumbled, fanning herself with her hand.
Chapter Two
Rayne
“He’s gonna break your heart, Ray-Ray,” Rayne’s older and man-hating sister Sage said while rolling up her piece of sushi.
“It’s not like I’ll actually convert him. It’s only my wishful thinking. He’s obviously in love with his boyfriend. I still really like him. As a friend,” Rayne emphasized when Sage gave her the death stare.
“I know you, hun. You’re going to obsess over this guy—”
“Trent.”
“Trent. And then fall in love knowing he doesn’t swing your way. Then you’ll come crying to me, and I’ll soothe and console and we’ll have a bucket of margaritas while I try not to say ‘I told you so,’ and then you’ll be in love with the next hottie to cross your path two weeks later.”
Rayne would have been furious with her sister, had she not been right.
“It’s not your fault you wear your heart on your sleeve.” Sage placed the sushi on a rectangle platter and carried it over to the coffee table in her cramped apartment. “It’s the only reason I don’t kick your ass.” She picked up a pair of chopsticks and pointed them at Rayne. “You’re a pathetic romantic.”
“I prefer the term ‘hopeless.’”
“Whatever.” Sage sipped her wine and glared at Rayne over the rim of her glass. “You’re destined to fall in love, but don’t turn so desperate that you do something stupid.”
“I won’t.”
Sage’s eyebrow lifted as she snorted.
“Oh please, you’ve been a love cynic since you were five and Tommy Whitehouse refused to share his chocolate ice cream cone with you,” Rayne teased, and then sunk her mouth into one of Sage’s famous sushi rolls.
“Love isn’t on my agenda. And you know how I stick with my agendas.”
“You’ve told me the pitiful story of little Tommy a dozen times during girls’ nights out, and I don’t buy your agenda crap for a second. You’re scared to fall in love, and you turn all OCD to play interference.”
Sage’s life was planned to the minute. She had lists, agendas, Blackberries, iPads, laptops, iPhones and back-up systems to her back-up systems to organize her every move. And true, nowhere on her lists did she write “Fall in love.” Rayne knew when Sage was ready she’d write it on a list and snap, it would happen. She knew how to play up her strengths, which was what made her a fabulous event planner.
“Whatever,” Sage said. “Back to you. What’s the deal with Kevin, anyway?”
“I told you already,” Rayne said around a mouthful o
f fish.
“Yeah. A month ago you said you knew he didn’t really love you, and you broke it off. No big tears over him. So what gives? Why are you going out with him tomorrow night?”
Rayne cringed and hid her face in her glass of wine.
“Didn’t think I’d find out about the date, huh?”
“Well, he showed up at work and sort of asked me out to dinner. I felt bad turning him down in front of Sarah and the other girls.”
Sage snorted. “If Mr. Hot and Hunky Zumba Boy wasn’t gay, would you have said yes to your bodybuilder?”
Rayne shrugged.
“Bullshit. You’re a one-man woman. You’re only going out with Kevin again because you know you can’t have Mr. Zumba.”
“Maybe,” Rayne said into her glass.
“Definitely.”
“Yeah.”
***
Trent
Not wanting to appear too anxious, Trent walked through the doors of In Motion three minutes after eight.
“Hey, right on time!” Rayne said with a bounce and a smile.
He’d been sitting in the parking lot for ten minutes having a heart-to-heart with Junior, telling him to tone it down a bit, but couldn’t blame his head—either of them—for swelling. Rayne made him smile and laugh and, hell, his body vibrated with need when she was around. He hoped she wouldn’t notice the strain against his zipper. Somehow Trent managed to make it through all six Zumba classes without completely embarrassing himself. Well, his moves may have been somewhat humiliating, but concentrating on where and how to shuffle his feet, arms and booty kept—sort of—his mind off the sweet booty in the front of the room and helped keep him from making a complete spectacle of himself.
“A slight change of plans.” Her smile dropped, giving him great pleasure in knowing how excited she was to see him. “Nothing major. It looks like a storm is rolling in. It’s too dangerous to be out on the rocks, so I thought we’d go over to the rock climbing gym up in Auburn. It’s usually where people go to familiarize themselves with the ropes, footing, and all before climbing outside.”
Sweet on You (The Wilde Sisters #1) Page 2
