by Sienna Skye
The gym was a good first step and that was the way I needed to look at it. The first step to a new me.
Chapter Three
Madison
I took a calming breath before pulling on the gym door. I scanned the room, already able to recognize a few familiar faces. I felt eyes watching me and looked to see Jace smiling at me. He was standing with Trey and Julia and a young woman with long auburn hair and big grey eyes.
Jace waved me over and I headed over in their direction.
“Hey Madison. Good to see you again. You remember Julia and Trey, don’t you?”
“Sure, I do.”
Julia spoke up gesturing to the young woman. “This is Callie. She works at TechStone. She also happens to be a babysitter extraordinaire.”
Callie laughed at that and then reached over to shake my hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, Madison. How long have you been coming to Stepping Stone?”
“Well, today would be day one.”
“Uggh, I remember my first day. It was nerve wracking for me.” She looked at me with kindness and understanding in her big grey eyes.
Trey piped up with his smooth baritone voice. “A journey of a thousand miles and all that.”
“This is very true,” I answered.
When I glanced back at Callie, I fought back the urge to giggle. That girl had it bad for Trey. No matter how hard she tried to hide it, she looked at him like she was hanging on every word he said. A warm flush colored her cheeks and I could see the rise and fall of her chest quicken. She had good taste, that was for sure.
She recovered enough from her adoration to respond. “You’ll do great. Jace, you will take it easy on her for the first day, won’t you?”
“No promises.” But, I caught him wink at her.
Trey turned his attention to Julia. “Well woman, are you ready to start your session? Just for the record, I have absolutely no intention of taking it easy on you.”
“What else is new? Let’s go. Madison, good luck on your first day.” She walked over to Jace, gave him a hug, and then whispered something in his ear. With all the noise in the gym, there was no way for me to catch any of it. But, whatever she said made him smile. She smiled at me and as she was about to walk off with Trey she said goodbye to Callie.
“Well, I am done here for today, so I am going to head on home. Goodnight guys.”
And with that, Callie walked off leaving me and Jace all alone. Well there were at least a hundred people in the gym, but they didn’t count. I was so caught up in my own thoughts that it surprised me when Jace spoke.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“For what?”
He laughed at me. “To get started with your workout. More specifically, with your initial evaluation.”
“Sure, let’s get started.”
He placed a hand on my shoulder. “Madison, listen to me. There is nothing to worry about and there is no judgment here. This is so I know your starting point. To make sure we don’t push you to the point of injury. And trust me, if you keep to your schedule, you will be surprised at how much progress you will make.”
I nodded. “I will hold up my end of the bargain.”
“Good. That’s all I ask for. And for you to trust me.”
I did trust him. I didn’t really know the man, but my gut told me he was someone who wouldn’t let me down. I hoped to hell my gut was correct. I nodded to him and he continued.
“Now, last time you were here, you told me you wanted to concentrate on weight loss and flexibility. Is that still what you want to concentrate on?”
“Yes, definitely.”
“Well then let’s get started. First, we are going to get you on the scale…” He paused when he saw the look of horror on my face. “No judgment, remember? And you promised to trust me. After the scale, we will take your measurements. As I am sure you know, as you build more muscle you will likely see more loss of inches rather than pounds.”
“Got it. Can you help me with diet, too? I mean, I can figure it out myself, but I was just wondering.”
“Sure, I can give you some basic ideas. We do have a nutritionist on staff here, though. I can set it up for you to speak with her if you like.”
“Maybe. Let me think on that one. I’m a nurse after all. I should be able to design a decent meal plan.”
“It’s always harder when you are doing it for yourself. Besides, having someone to be accountable to can be helpful.”
He weighed me and took my measurements. I couldn’t even bring myself to make eye contact with him. I know he noticed. The whole intake took longer than I thought it would. I was watching people coming and going around me.
Then he brought me through a series of stretches, cardio exercises, and some strength training. The entire time, he gave me instructions, pointers, and feedback. He also tapped away on that tablet.
“No clipboard and paperwork, huh?” I pointed my chin in the direction of the tablet.
“You do know that the owners also own a software company, don’t you? Morgan designed all the programs. The cases keep them pretty well protected. There have been a couple of casualties here or there, though.” He entered a few more details then picked up my water bottle and handed it to me. “Hydrate. You did pretty well today. You did much better than what you think you did.”
“You think so?”
“Yeah, I do. You don’t give yourself enough credit, Madison. We are going to work on that too.”
“Oh, so you are a therapist now as well?
He laughed. “You have no idea. All kidding aside, I want to help you get to the point that you believe you can do anything I throw at you. You have seen the interaction between Julia and Trey a couple of times now. He is constantly pushing her limits. She trusts that he wouldn’t give her anything that he didn’t feel she can handle and also knows that Trey will dial things back if needed. That is the point I want us to get to. Where you have enough confidence in both me and yourself that you are up to trying whatever I put in front of you.”
“I don’t trust all that easily.”
“I figured that out already. But don’t worry, we will get there. I know you already trust me more than you think you should and that worries you. It shouldn’t. I won’t give you reason to regret trusting me.”
I shook my head. Not because I didn’t believe him, not even because I did. It was because of how well he could read me.
He leaned in and spoke in a low voice. “We both know I am right, but don’t worry, I won’t make you admit it. Not now anyway. Someday in the future, we will revisit this conversation.”
There was no cockiness to his tone. His words were said with a lightheartedness, maybe even mischievousness, but nonetheless, I was absolutely certain we would be talking about this again someday. We both knew he was right, yet I felt the need to tease him and deny it.
“I have no idea what you are talking about,” I insisted.
“No. No. Of course, you don’t.”
“Should we set up appointments for me for this week?”
“Are you planning on doing two sessions this week or three?” he asked.
“I guess that depends on when you can work with me. I was thinking of coming back on Wednesday afternoon. Same time?”
“That works for me.”
“Then maybe Saturday?”
“Saturday is out. It’s my niece’s birthday party. I’m going early to help set up so I will be there for most of the day.”
“Your niece?” I smiled at the thought of Jace being a playful goofy uncle.
“Sophia. You met her the other day.”
I was confused. “I didn’t realize she was your niece.”
“Family doesn’t have to be blood.”
“No, I guess it doesn’t.” It’s just that I had never experienced that. “You and Morgan are pretty close, huh?”
“Yeah. The man is like my brother. Same holds true for Julia. That woman means the world to me.”
&n
bsp; “Like she’s your sister?”
“I wouldn’t say that. It’s different with Julia. The dynamics are different, but I love her just the same.”
I fought back a look of irritation. I would never be able to compete with someone like Julia Angelini Stone. Not in looks anyway. Not in any way. This whole line of thinking was absolutely ridiculous. I wasn’t competing with Julia, or with anyone else for that matter, for Jace’s attention. The man was my trainer. That was it. When I came out of my own thoughts, I noticed the expression on Jace’s face. Intense was an understatement. He was looking right through me and I wasn’t sure if he liked what he was seeing. Then, literally out of nowhere, a thought popped into my head.
“Did you and Morgan go to school together?”
“Yeah, since kindergarten.”
Okay. I knew how old Hunter was and I knew Morgan was his younger brother, I just didn’t know how much younger. Any which way you sliced it, Jace was younger than me, but I wanted to know by how much.
“How about you and Hunter? Are you guys close?”
“Sure, Hunter and I are friends. We all grew up together. And Morgan and Hunter are tight, even for brothers, so we have always been in each other’s company quite a bit. But, my relationship with Hunter is not as close as the one I have with Morgan.”
“Hmmm. I guess the age difference plays into that. Hunter would have been ahead of you guys in school and all. He graduated what…a few years ahead of you two?” I was quite pleased with myself until I saw that damn smirk on his face that let me know he was on to me. Damn him.
“A year. Hunter is one year older than Morgan and me.” A full blown grin spread across his face and I knew he was waiting for me to do the math.
That would make him twenty nine. It wasn’t difficult to do the mental math to figure out he was eight years younger than me. I didn’t think it was possible for that grin of his to get any bigger, but it did.
I struggled to come up with something to say. Anything. I was drawing a blank. It was starting to get embarrassing when he broke the silence.
“You should come.”
“Excuse me?”
“To Sophia’s party,” Jace clarified.
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Why? It doesn’t even matter if you don’t have the kids. I don’t have kids and I’m going.”
“It’s not that. I have the kids. I just don’t think that Morgan and Julia would appreciate that.”
“What wouldn’t I appreciate?” Morgan walked over, a towel slung over his shoulder, and greeted me. “Nice to see you again, Madison.”
“I was telling Madison that she should come to Sophia’s birthday party.”
“And I was just explaining to Jace what an imposition that would be. I know how much work goes into planning kid parties. He shouldn’t take it upon himself to just go and invite me.”
I saw Morgan’s eyes dart over to look at Jace. I wished I knew these people better because I couldn’t quite read his expression, but I felt like there was something important in that look.
“Well, I’m inviting you now. That should put your mind at ease,” Morgan told me.
“The kids are home with me this weekend…”
“Bring the kids. How old are they?” Morgan asked.
“Eight and six.”
“Perfect. Sophia is six.”
“I’m sure Julia wouldn’t want three last minute guests,” I insisted.
“My wife lives for this stuff. She won’t have any issue with it. I promise you.”
He pulled his phone out of the pocket of his shorts and typed something in. Barely a moment went by when his phone chimed, and he read the message. He smiled and looked up at me.
“Julia is happy to have you guys come.” He looked down as another message came through. “Oh, she wants to know the names of your kids. For goodie bags.”
“Ryan and Alexis.”
“Ryan is the older one?”
“Yes.”
He texted the information to Julia and then looked up at me and smiled.
“All set. Jace can give you the address and all the information. I need to go get my work out in before my dinner meeting tonight.” Morgan slapped Jace on the back as he left.
“I can’t believe you did that.” I threw my arms in the air in exasperation.
“Did what?”
“What do you mean, did what?” You pushed Morgan into inviting me to his daughter’s birthday party.”
“I didn’t push Morgan into anything.”
“Well it’s not like he could have said no after you put him in that position.”
“I wouldn’t have put him in that position if I didn’t think he would be alright with it. We just talked about how well I know these people. I wouldn’t have disrespected them by doing that and I wouldn’t have put you in the middle either.”
His words were spoken gently, but there was no denying the intent behind them. He wanted to let me know that he was an honorable man. A man of his word. I just wasn’t used to that either.
I nodded my head. “Okay, got it.”
“Are we good then?” Jace asked.
“One more question.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“What would Sophia like for her birthday?”
He smiled brightly again. There was no doubt how much he loved that little girl.
“She loves drawing. Actually, she loves making pictures of any kind. I bought her an easel. Hunter and Sarah got her some kiddie artist’s desk.”
“Okay. I can work with that. Will you text me the time and address?”
“Sure. Would you rather I pick you guys up?”
“No, that’s not necessary. You never know when kids will get cranky and you need to bring them home. Besides, you already said that you are going early. We are fine going on our own.”
“Alright. I will text you the time and address. If you’re ready, I will walk you out.”
“Before I go, I’d like to check out Pebbles. I’ll be bringing the kids there on Wednesday.”
“I will have to go with you. It’s a safety measure for the kids. If you haven’t already signed up, you need to be accompanied by either me or Trey.”
“Only the two of you?” I asked him.
“Morgan and Hunter trust our instincts. They know we will pick up on anything that doesn’t seem right. If you want, we can get them all signed up today so it will save you time on Wednesday.”
“Sure, I’d appreciate that.”
Pebbles was quite impressive. They had a ton of activities for the kids and the staff seemed amazing. I signed Ryan and Alexis up and then Jace walked me to the door and we said goodbye.
As soon as I got to my car, I started to feel the loss of not being with Jace. I was in trouble. Deep, deep trouble. And in my heart, I knew I had no intention of trying to get myself out of it.
Chapter Four
Jace
I got to Morgan’s early on Saturday morning to help out with the set up for Sophia’s party. First, I was treated to breakfast with the Stone clan. I always found it entertaining to watch Morgan wrangle the twins. Morgan and Julia were trying to pull double duty, cooking breakfast and tending to Sawyer and Wyatt. I offered my help.
Morgan looked at Wyatt who was trying to climb out of his highchair because he accidentally knocked his kiddie cup on the floor. “Why don’t you help Jules? These two are in rare form this morning.”
“On it.” I walked across the kitchen to where Julia was cooking. “Hey Beautiful, what can I help you with?” I leaned over and gave her a kiss on the head.
“Would you slice the strawberries and bananas and start putting everything on plates?”
“I think I can handle that.” I started getting busy with my task. “I gotta tell you, it surprised me when Morgan told me you were only making some of the food for the party. I thought for sure you would be making some ten course feast.”
She chuckled. “I am trying to be better at knowing my
limits. Your Wake Up Call has me doing this five part series. Each day it’s a different advice subject. Basically, they figured out five of the most common topics people asked about. They wanted to plan theme days and have me answer the requests they chose. I told them I wanted say over what questions were chosen.”
“Smart. Did they give you any push back?”
“Not really. Well, just a little, but I held my ground.”
“That’s my girl.”
“It’s a ratings game. I get that. But, it’s a reputation thing for me. I worked hard to create my personal brand and I want to protect that. I want to stay true to who I am.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less from you. They shouldn’t either. You have worked for them long enough for them to have figured out at least that much.”
She nodded in agreement, but I saw the set of her lips. How carefully she concentrated on cutting pancakes into little pieces. She was concerned.
“Julia, stop worrying. Putting your foot down on this was the right thing to do. Your segment is a popular draw for them. They are not going to risk losing you. And even if they did, someone else would pick you up. Don’t take my word for it. Have you spoken to Hunter about it?”
“Not yet, but I will. Anyway, I decided I would be stretching myself way too thin trying to take care of that and doing all the food myself.” She shrugged, the worry still a shadow on her face. Then I saw her expression change and a wise ass grin took its place. “Besides, Morgan would have put me over his knee if I decided to go too crazy.”
I laughed and then leaned in so no little ears could hear me. “I’ve heard stories you know.”
She picked up a strawberry and shoved it in my mouth to shut me up. “Now, I know that is not true. I know Morgan better than that. He isn’t putting any ideas in anyone’s head.”
I finished chewing my strawberry and swallowed it down. “True, but nonetheless.”
She tossed her head back and laughed. It was that head toss that told me she was truly relaxed. The worry that was taking up space in her head was gone, which is exactly what I set out to achieve.
After breakfast, I headed outside with Morgan to help him set up the yard. They had rented some tables and chairs and we busied ourselves with setting them up. After about ten minutes, I saw Morgan looking at me with a frown on his face.
