her hands over the muscled bulk of his body. Allie was terrified
that her fingers holding his wrist were about to go rogue. Keeping on task was
a difficult exercise in willpower which she succeeded in only by pretending to
misunderstand. “I’ll see when I can get you scheduled tonight. Or tomorrow
morning, if you’d rather.”
Marc started a protesting breath but swallowed it
before it could turn to words. His jaw flexed. “Thank you,” he said instead.
“Tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Allie brightened a smile. “You should make
use of all the amenities before you go. They’re going to work you hard, right
until the end. Have you been to the recovery center yet? I’ve heard rave
reviews about the plunge pools.”
“Will you be there?”
Allie shook her head as she started to put things
away into her kit. “I have a seminar this evening in one of the presentation
rooms.” It would be so much better to watch the water polo boys jumping from
pool to pool in their little suits. She was going to miss the view once they
left in two days. She bit her lip and cast a sideways look at Marc. “I’ll see
you tomorrow?”
“Yep.” Just like their first appointment, he stood
up without concern for her space to duck into his shirt and grab his gear to
go.
She tried not to think about how, in a few days,
the only time she’d see those abs again would be on television.
Allie used to love the seminars.
Medicine had been her field and her focus and her love for so long. But instead
of being distracted by sports medicine’s frontiers, all she could think about
was her subject.
Leave it to Violet to read it on her as they met up
for dinner. “Hey there, disappearing act.”
Allie rolled her eyes and flopped into her seat.
“Come on, don’t look like that.” Violet nudged at her
foot from under the table. “I’m not the one who torpedoed our chances for
winning the trivia trophy.”
“I’m sorry I’ve deprived your bookshelf of holding
that honor.” Allie slanted an uneven smile across at her friend as she twirled
at her pasta with her fork.
“Don’t you worry, hon.” Violet winked at her around
a bite of salad. “I got the score I was looking for the other night. Hot water
polo player, check .” Violet swayed as she mimed drawing the mark into
the air between them. Grinning, she nudged her toe at her friend. “But I want
to know what happened to you.”
“I should be mad at you for saddling me with Blake
like that,” Allie said down to her plate, her shoulders hunching.
“You should be thanking me, you mean.”
“He started to put on the moves,” Allie confided.
“But I couldn’t do it.” She was blushing just thinking about it. “He is
gorgeous,” she admitted.
“I’m not sure I could say no to a man with a
private jet, especially when he looks like that, that’s all I’m saying.”
“He wasn’t offering me a ride in his jet.”
“A ride on his jet,” Violet amended her
words slyly. Allie threw a grape at her.
“Well I didn’t go jetting anywhere.” Allie couldn’t
look at Violet. She picked at her grapes. “And I don’t know what Blake did, but
I drove downtown and bought overpriced tea in Starbucks so that someone could
have the room for her nefarious purposes.”
Violet cackled. “You make me sound like some
villain. It’s not like there’s anything evil about sex, Allie. Some of us enjoy
other people.”
“I do, too,” Allie said defensively. She shrugged
one of her shoulders up towards her ear and peeked across at her friend. “Just.
With my clothes on.”
Violet gave her a look like she was hopeless.
“I ran into one of the other players on the way
driving back.” Maybe it wasn’t the best defense to hold up as an example to
Violet. Especially when recalling the previous night made Allie’s smile spread
beyond her control. “Marc.”
Violet stuck her tongue in her molars and made a
humming noise of tentative approval as she scanned a new look over
that her fingers holding his wrist were about to go rogue. Keeping on task was
a difficult exercise in willpower which she succeeded in only by pretending to
misunderstand. “I’ll see when I can get you scheduled tonight. Or tomorrow
morning, if you’d rather.”
Marc started a protesting breath but swallowed it
before it could turn to words. His jaw flexed. “Thank you,” he said instead.
“Tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Allie brightened a smile. “You should make
use of all the amenities before you go. They’re going to work you hard, right
until the end. Have you been to the recovery center yet? I’ve heard rave
reviews about the plunge pools.”
“Will you be there?”
Allie shook her head as she started to put things
away into her kit. “I have a seminar this evening in one of the presentation
rooms.” It would be so much better to watch the water polo boys jumping from
pool to pool in their little suits. She was going to miss the view once they
left in two days. She bit her lip and cast a sideways look at Marc. “I’ll see
you tomorrow?”
“Yep.” Just like their first appointment, he stood
up without concern for her space to duck into his shirt and grab his gear to
go.
She tried not to think about how, in a few days,
the only time she’d see those abs again would be on television.
Allie used to love the seminars.
Medicine had been her field and her focus and her love for so long. But instead
of being distracted by sports medicine’s frontiers, all she could think about
was her subject.
Leave it to Violet to read it on her as they met up
for dinner. “Hey there, disappearing act.”
Allie rolled her eyes and flopped into her seat.
“Come on, don’t look like that.” Violet nudged at her
foot from under the table. “I’m not the one who torpedoed our chances for
winning the trivia trophy.”
“I’m sorry I’ve deprived your bookshelf of holding
that honor.” Allie slanted an uneven smile across at her friend as she twirled
at her pasta with her fork.
“Don’t you worry, hon.” Violet winked at her around
a bite of salad. “I got the score I was looking for the other night. Hot water
polo player, check .” Violet swayed as she mimed drawing the mark into
the air between them. Grinning, she nudged her toe at her friend. “But I want
to know what happened to you.”
“I should be mad at you for saddling me with Blake
like that,” Allie said down to her plate, her shoulders hunching.
“You should be thanking me, you mean.”
“He started to put on the moves,” Allie confided.
“But I couldn’t do it.” She was blushing just thinking about it. “He is
gorgeous,” she admitted.
“I’m not sure I could say no to a man with a
private jet, especially when he looks like that, that’s all I’m saying.”
“He wasn’t offering me a ride in his jet.”
“A ride on his jet,” Violet amended her
words slyly. Allie threw a grape at her.
“Well I didn’t go jetting anywhere.” Allie couldn’t
look at Violet. She picked at her grapes. “And I don’t know what Blake did, but
I drove downtown and bought overpriced tea in Starbucks so that someone could
have the room for her nefarious purposes.”
Violet cackled. “You make me sound like some
villain. It’s not like there’s anything evil about sex, Allie. Some of us enjoy
other people.”
“I do, too,” Allie said defensively. She shrugged
one of her shoulders up towards her ear and peeked across at her friend. “Just.
With my clothes on.”
Violet gave her a look like she was hopeless.
“I ran into one of the other players on the way
driving back.” Maybe it wasn’t the best defense to hold up as an example to
Violet. Especially when recalling the previous night made Allie’s smile spread
beyond her control. “Marc.”
Violet stuck her tongue in her molars and made a
humming noise of tentative approval as she scanned a new look over
Similar Books
