6
SHARI’S FIRST THOUGHTon waking was that she’d better not break a nail hiking, since she was growing them for thewedding.
“You’d think it was your wedding,” Therese had chided after hearing about the all-out body sculpting, nail growing, clothes shopping and date-prepping program on which Shari hadembarked.
Therese could mock her all she wanted, but Shari was determined to show B.J., Randy and their mutual friends that she was doing absolutely fine, thank you verymuch.
A naturally early riser, she had the lunches packed, her apartment tidied and still had time for a hundred sit-ups…well, seventy-three. But, as she rose, groaning, she vowed to get up to a hundred before the week wasout.
She took the time to change the water for the roses that graced her coffee table, stopping to touch a silky red petal and then dip her head to catch its delicatescent.
Luke had sent her flowers. It was such a sweet gesture she smiled, almost immediately realizing he must have got the idea from that book, which had her shaking her head as she padded to the bathroom to add another layer of strengthening topcoat to herfingernails.
When he knocked on her door she was all ready. Then she saw him, and her pulse fluttered. She hadn’t seen him since he’d kissed her in the parking lot the night before last. The contact of their lips had been so brief and yet hinted at so much, he’d left her feeling confused and somehow empty. Her tongue traced her lips without any planning on her part, and Luke’s eyes darkened as he watched thegesture.
When she realized what she was doing she yanked her tongue back in her mouth. “Shall wego?”
She grabbed her backpack and they made their way to the parking garage where he led her to one of those macho SUVs that was so dusty and scratched she suspected he, unlike most SUV owners, actually took his off-road.
“The trail I’m thinking of takes around five hours round trip. That okay withyou?”
If she’d known she’d be hiking for five hours she might have skipped the sit-ups. She flexed her leg muscles and confirmed they were still a little sore from yesterday’s workout. Still, she only had three weeks left until the wedding. She imagined she’d have sore muscles most days. “Yes,fine.”
“I like this trail. It follows a river and you get some nice views when you get uphigh.”
They chatted on the drive there as though they were nothing but friends, but there was a silent pull, like the undertow of a seemingly placid sea, that hinted at more than friendship. She wondered if she’d been wise to let Luke talk her intothis.
Once they set off on the hike she was suddenly glad she’d come. The air smelled fresh and clean, of pine and new spring growth. Weedy wildflowers poked through the greenery. The sky above them was blue with a couple of cotton-candy clouds. Her muscles were warming and stretching as they walked, and she had to admit that five hours of this ought to be a major fat burner, thigh toner and buttfirmer.
Birds, flowers, fresh green things, and the view… Well, mostly the view was of Luke striding ahead of her in shorts, which, as views went, wasnice.
Although, as the trail steepened, the view began to seem less nice. In fact, the sight of those muscular legs striding ahead with perfect ease began to irritateher.
As he’d promised, he’d brought the water. He wore a belt with a pocket on each hip containing a waterbottle.
“Hey,” she said. Wheezedactually.
He didn’t seem to have heard her. She glared at the jaunty gunslinger belt containing water bottles instead of six-shooters. “Hey!” sheyelled.
“What’s up?” He turned, and she could see that he wasn’t even panting. Orsweating.
She, on the other hand, was pumping out perspiration like a garden sprinkler, and her ribs felt as though they were flapping like bird’s wings as her lungs dragged inair.
“Needwater.”
He dug out a bottle and presented it to her. “I’ll slow down.Sorry.”
She drank water thankfully. “No. It’s fine.” She’d be so thin and toned by the wedding, B.J. would barely recognize her.Ha.
“Drinkas much as you like. I’ve got lots more in mypack.”
After a couple of life-restoring breaths, she motioned Luke ahead, sneakily hanging on to the water bottle. She was certain she’d need it againsoon.
After a while she noticed the ground had leveled, and from somewhere her body had tapped into a new burst of energy. “How are you doing?” Luke asked, turning toher.
“I got my second wind,” she replied, liking the way his T-shirt looked when he turned from the waist and it plastered against his chest. He must have perspired, after all, for it clung damply against his muscles. Yum. She felt her own chest tighten at the sight and involuntarily imagined how his chest would feel, naked, rubbing against hers. She had a feeling it would feel fantastic. There was nothing complex about that move. She could teach him how to ace it in notime.
Already she was thinking like a teacher. She couldn’t help herself. She’d learned early to give her students small challenges to rev up their confidence for the tougherstuff.
