Working It Out (A Romantic Comedy)

by Rachael Anderson

  He returned to find Lanna laughing at something Alec had said. “What’s so funny?” Seth asked.

  “Alec was just telling me about your new way of playing basketball,” Lanna said. “I should have known you wouldn’t let your injury keep you from playing. You’re unstoppable that way.”

  “Yeah, well, I would have quit after the first attempt if it wasn’t for Alec. He gave us a bunch of pointers, and now he’s only slightly better than the rest of us.”

  “Whatever,” said Alec. “Any advantage I had went away a long time ago, which is fine with me. It makes beating you that much more satisfying.”

  Seth grinned. “Just wait until these soccer games get started, and we’ll see how satisfied you feel when my girls end up as the champions.”

  “If you can get them to remember which way to kick the ball.”

  “True.” Seth chuckled, feeling exhausted all of a sudden. The past couple of days had taken their toll.

  Alec let out a breath, glanced around, then placed his hands on the wheels of his chair. “It’s been real, Seth, but I’ve got to go.” He nodded at Lanna. “Good to meet you, Lanna.”

  “Likewise,” she said.

  One last nod and Alec turned, pushing himself over the uneven grass to his car.

  Lanna stared after him. “Okay, who is that guy, and why haven’t I met him before?”

  Seth raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you’re interested in Alec.” Lanna said nothing, but the way her eyes continued to follow Alec’s movements told Seth otherwise. He laughed and shook his head. He should have known the do-gooder in Lanna would be drawn to someone like Alec. She probably couldn’t help it. “He’s Grace’s brother.”

  Her eyes snapped to his. “Really?”

  “Really.” Seth threw the ball her way. She didn’t react in time, and it slipped through her fingers, tumbling to the grass behind her. Seth jogged over and kicked it lightly back to her, hoping to start a scrimmage to get his mind off the reminder of Grace, but Lanna scooped it up and tucked it under her arm. Her gaze immediately returned to Alec, who was now getting in his car.

  Seth rolled his eyes and grabbed the ball from her, feeling the sudden need to warn her. “I wouldn’t go there if I were you. Falling for a member of the Warren family brings nothing but frustration and trouble. Trust me. Walk away while you still can.”

  Lanna finally looked at him, a teasing smile on her face. “What’s the matter? You finally fell for someone who doesn’t want to follow you around like a loyal puppy, lap at your heels, and hang on every word you say?”

  Seth frowned. “Bark and nip at my heels is more like it.”

  She laughed. “Sounds like she’s perfect for you.”

  “Yeah, well, try convincing her of that.” Seth had thought he’d done exactly that, if her response to their kiss had proved anything, but afterward, when Seth had wanted nothing more than to pull her back into his arms and pick up where they’d left off, Grace had fled. Now his calls went unanswered and his texts unreturned. He’d even asked Alec for her address and went to her apartment last night, but her windows were dark, and no one answered. Now he was stuck waiting for his next appointment.

  Lanna’s hand rested on his arm, bringing him back to the present. “Don’t worry, she’ll come around. No girl can resist you for long.”

  Seth reached up to scratch the back of his head, feeling suddenly twitchy. “I wish I had your confidence, but I might have rushed things.”

  “You? Rush things? No,” Lanna said dryly.

  “Hey, I’ve been a very patient patient. I wanted to ask her out right away, but I held off and gave her time to warm up to me.” The kiss at the auction didn’t count.

  A smile tugged at the corner of Lanna’s mouth. “Meaning you flirted and teased and got her to go out with you in roundabout ways, like that day you brought her to the center, right?”

  Seth frowned. When she put it like that, he didn’t sound patient at all. “How else was she going to warm up to me? Not that it matters now. When I kissed her, she ran away like a scared rabbit.” Seth hadn’t intended to tell Lanna that—or anyone, for that matter—but the words were out before he could rethink them.

  “You kissed her?” Eyes wide, Lanna gaped at him.

  Now Seth really wished he’d kept that part to himself. He suddenly felt like the kid who’d grabbed a fistful of chocolate cake because he couldn’t wait for someone to serve him a slice on a plate. Not that he’d learned his lesson. If he could rewind time and do it all over again, the only thing he’d do differently was put the phone in the fridge first.

  Feeling his frustration come back full force, Seth dropped the soccer ball and kicked it across the grassy field.

  A hand on his arm had Seth catching Lanna’s eye once again. Her smile was filled with sympathy. “You’re the type of person who doesn’t stick your toe in the water to see if it’s warm or cold before going in. Instead, you race to the diving board and launch yourself off, splashing everyone else with one of your cannonballs. It’s the way you approach every situation. Which is really great and something I love about you. But sometimes, with certain people, a cannonball is a bit much, you know? A toe in the water would be better. Maybe Grace is that type of person.”

  Seth’s eyebrows drew together. Although he saw Lanna’s point, he’d already executed a few cannonballs and didn’t understand how he could go back to simply sticking his toe in the water. Or was she saying it was too late for that? “So what do I do now?”

  Lanna hesitated. “Maybe you should take a step back and let the waters get calm again, then try approaching her again with a little less oomph, if you know what I mean.”

  Seth didn’t, not completely, anyway. “And how do I go about letting the waters calm? Find a new therapist and stay away from her completely?” He didn’t like the sound of that at all.

  “No,” said Lanna. “I’m saying that you’re her patient, so be her patient—a regular, non-flirting, does-what-he’s-told, patient.”

  “Sounds boring,” Seth said. Not to mention impossible. He couldn’t imagine being in the same room with Grace and not trying to coax a smile or goad her into saying something that would make her blush. Nor could he imagine not touching her when given the chance. But if that’s what it took to turn the situation around, he’d give it his best shot.

  Lanna gave his arm a pat. “Give her time, and she’ll come around. You’ll see.”

  Seth only hoped she was right.

  GRACE DRUMMED HER fingers against the counter as she attempted to concentrate on one of her patient’s files. But it was no use. Seth would walk through the door any minute, and her heart felt as though it might burst from racing way too fast. Almost as soon as she’d made up her mind to give Seth a chance, the phone calls and texts had stopped. He was so unpredictable that she had no idea what to expect from him when he walked through that door. What would he say? Do? How would he act? How should she act?

  The door handle turned, and Grace tensed. But it was only Cameron, coming back from his lunch break. Whew.

  Calm down, it’s only Seth. You’ve had lots of therapy sessions with him before. This is no different. But the jittery feeling refused to subside. Grace should have answered one of his calls or texts. She should have called him and gotten that first awkward conversation over with. At the very least, she should have sent him a text saying sorry for running out on him the other night. Now she was stuck having to face him again in front of Cameron.

  Oh joy.

  “I’m such an idiot,” she muttered.

  “What did you say?” Cameron said, making her jump.

  She glanced up, meeting his bemused expression. “Huh?”

  “Did you just call yourself an idiot?”

  Had she said that out loud? Grace swallowed a groan, trying to think of a reason she’d be calling herself names at 1:30 in the afternoon. “Oh, yeah. I, uh, just forgot some notes at home.”

  Cameron pointed a finger at her as though
accusing her of something. “That’s what happens when you take your work home with you. You really should take my advice and learn to leave work at work. It’s very liberating.”

  Grace nodded and turned back to the file, grateful he hadn’t seen through her lie. The click of the door sounded again, and she stiffened, forcing her eyes to stay on the file as though she hadn’t heard anything. Was that Seth? Was he walking toward her with that heart-stopping smile?

  Just act like nothing happened. It’s just a regular day, and he’s just a regular patient. A really hot, amazingly good kisser of a regular patient.

  Oh geez.

  Grace dropped her forehead to her hand, trying to get her body to relax and her heart to stop racing. She was a professional. She could do this. She would not freak out.

  “Hey, Grace.”

  She jumped and knocked over her pencil holder, spilling the contents all over the counter. As Grace frantically tried to pick them up, she shot Seth a totally fake smile. “Oh, hey. How’s it going?” The pencil holder seemed to shrink because the pens and pencils no longer fit. She finally dropped what remained on the counter and stood, smiling way too brightly. “Ready for your workout?”

  The heart-stopping smile appeared. “That’s why I’m here.”

  “Right.” Her hands fidgeted, finally clasping together in front of her. “I, uh, think you should start with a fifteen-minute swim. Then we’ll go from there.” Perfect. That would give her fifteen minutes to regain her composure and stop acting like a nervous teenager on her first date.

  “But I thought swimming was for recovery—you know, after the workout?”

  Curse him for listening . And for probably seeing right through her.

  “Normally that’s the case,” she backpedaled. “But today it’s going to be your warm up. I thought I’d give you a break from the bike and rower.” She held her breath, waiting for the inevitable teasing to begin. Would he accuse her of using his swim for her recovery? Or would he tell her to jump in the pool and take the recovery swim while he warmed up on the bike?

  Seth only shrugged. “You’re the boss.” Then he headed down the hall toward the changing room, saying nothing more. No teasing smile. No sarcastic remark. Nothing.

  With a frown, Grace watched him go, mentally kicking herself yet again for not responding to his calls or texts. Of course he would act like nothing had happened. Grace would react the same way if she’d tried to reach out and had been met with a solid brick wall of no response. Technically, the ball was now in her court, and it was all her fault. She didn’t like it there. She wanted to volley it back and tell him to keep it. She didn’t want it.

  But maybe he didn’t want it either.

  Grace leaned against the counter and folded her arms, ignoring the scattered pens and pencils. Her gaze flickered to the windows surrounding the endless therapy pool where Seth had just entered, wearing only blue and white plaid board shorts. Her breath caught. From his biceps and deltoids to his obliques and abdominals, every muscle in his upper body was beautifully sculpted. The sight of him instantly brought back the memory of those strong arms around her, his solid chest pressed against her, and that kiss—oh that kiss.

  Seth glanced her way and gave a little wave when he caught her staring. Heat flew to her cheeks, and Grace forced her attention back to the file on her desk, rereading a sentence she’d probably read a hundred times. But it still didn’t stick. If Seth planned to keep acting as though nothing had happened, how would she go about letting him know she’d had a change of heart? Walk up to him and say, “Hey, about that kiss—mind giving it another try?” After reiterating over and over that she didn’t date patients, she’d sound like a total hypocrite.

  She was a total hypocrite.

  Her fingers drummed against the counter. Good grief, what was wrong with her? This was ridiculous. Grace was a mature, independent, and confident woman. As soon as Seth returned from his swim, she would face him with her head held high and her mind intact. If he flirted, she would flirt. If he asked her out, she’d calmly reply that she’d love to go. And if he ever kissed her again, she’d definitely kiss him back.

  She was Grace Warren, after all—a woman who faced life head on.

  “Psst.”

  Grace jumped, nearly knocking over the pencil holder once again. She looked up to find Seth rubbing his damp hair with a hand towel and looking so good she wanted to kiss him right then and there.

  She cleared her throat. “Done already?” Time had never passed so quickly.

  “Fifteen minutes, as ordered.”

  Grace waited for him to do something Seth would do, like plop down on her desk, grin in that teasing way of his, and say something flirty, something meant to upset her equilibrium. But he didn’t. He merely glanced over his shoulder toward the weight area and raised an eyebrow. “So, what next? Bike? Rowing? Bosu ball? Lunges? Or possibly some light jogging? My knee’s feeling great.”

  Grace blinked for a moment before mentally shaking herself. Did he really want to work out and not flirt? Jog, not joke around? Was he finally going to keep things professional now that she didn’t want him to? Talk about Murphy’s Law kind of timing.

  “Earth to Grace.”

  Snap out of it. This wasn’t the time or place for flirting anyway—or any sort of personal conversation, for that matter. What had he said again? Oh, right. Jog. He wanted to jog. Grace stood and shook her head. “Sorry, but not yet. You need to give it another few weeks at least.”

  “But—”

  “Trust me.”

  He sighed and leaned against the wall, folding his arms. “It’s been over nine weeks, Grace. I’ve done everything you’ve asked and then some. I work with you and even harder at home. My leg’s strong, and jogging will make it even stronger.”

  She’d had this conversation before. Many times, with many different patients. Sometimes it happened earlier, sometimes later, but eventually, they would all get to this same point of frustration when progress didn’t happen fast enough for them. Normally, Grace would give her practiced response—one meant to encourage and inspire patience. But today, with Seth, her heart broke a little at the look of frustration on his face. She knew he wanted to get back on his mountain bike or go for a run, and she hated that she couldn’t say yes. But Grace would hate it even more if she gave him the go-ahead and he ended up re-injuring himself.

  With a sigh, Grace said, “Follow me.” She moved past him and walked to the Bosu ball, where she put one foot on it and executed a deep, single-leg lunge to the side. Then she stepped aside and gestured for him to do the same. “Give me ten of those, and we’ll talk about jogging.”

  Seth smiled in that confident way of his and moved to do as she asked. He placed his foot on the ball and slowly sank into a wobbly, shallow side lunge. His knee shook and his face turned red as he pushed himself back to standing position. His second attempt was even more pathetic.

  Grace cocked her head to the side and offered a sympathetic smile. “You’re not ready.”

  “I went jogging yesterday and was fine,” he said. “My knee felt great.”

  Of course he’d jogged. In fact, Grace wouldn’t be surprised if he’d done it more than once. Seth wasn’t the type of person to be held back when he thought he could do something. But that didn’t mean he was ready.

  “Of course your knee felt fine,” Grace said. “Jogging is a forward and backward motion. You do it every day when you walk or ride a bike. But as you just proved, it’s the side-to-side motion that you need to worry about. If you were to step on a crack, get thrown off balance, or tweak your knee in any way, your muscles aren’t strong enough to self-correct yet, and you’d probably land yourself right back where you started.”

  Seth watched her, saying nothing.

  “Trust me,” Grace said. “I’m speaking from experience when I tell you that you’re not ready to jog yet. In another few weeks, possibly. But not yet.”

  “You’re really cramping my style, you kn
ow that, right?” He let out a breath and stared at the Bosu ball as though it were to blame. “Fine, you’ve made your point. No more jogging.”

  Grace placed her hand on his arm and gave it a squeeze. “You’ll get there. I promise.”

  “Yeah, yeah.”

  For the remainder of the session, Seth was the type of patient she’d wanted him to be in the beginning—all work and no play. He didn’t make her laugh, didn’t make her blush, and didn’t give her one opportunity to flirt back. She found herself missing the old Seth—the confident, chaos-inducing Seth that she had grown to care so much about.

  Why had Grace run away from that kiss? Why hadn’t she figured out sooner that she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from falling? Why couldn’t she just blurt out her feelings now and not care that they had an audience? Why did the ball have to land in her court, and why couldn’t she knock it back with a solid thwack? Was it pride or fear holding her back? Or maybe a little of both?

  More than ever, she wished for a do-over.

  GRACE SLOWLY MADE her way down the hallway of Magnificent Minds toward the voices coming from the back room. When she walked in, she stopped short. The once cavernous room was now half the size, made smaller by a wall painted black with chalkboard paint. The remaining walls gleamed with a cool mural of kids playing, reading, and talking. The windows were open, and the combined smells of paint and fresh air made the room feel new and alive. Over a dozen kids sat at scattered desks, working and talking quietly, and through a door on Grace’s right came muffled sounds of laughter and the ping, ping of an air hockey table.

  Grace blinked at the transformation and how different it looked and felt. No longer stale and boring, the room now offered children a place for both learning and fun—exactly what Seth had envisioned. When he committed to something, he followed through and then some.