Chapter Ten
The next morning, Amy was in the kitchen cooking one of the few meals she was kind of good at, eggs and bacon. Humming to herself, she got the feeling she was being watched. She glanced up and found Hawke eyeing her. He’d been doing that a lot the last few days.
Her cheeks heated. Awkward. He was attracted to her, she understood that. But she still had a hard time wrapping her head around the fact he wanted her that way. He couldn’t seem to get enough of her. Well, she was just as passionate about him, and she had to keep reminding herself this was all temporary.
“I noticed the other day how you always make a big breakfast, and I thought maybe I’d help out,” she said to break the silence. “I’m not a great cook, but I’m fairly decent with the protein part of the diet. I eat a lot to keep my muscles strong.” Why was she rambling?
Because he still makes you nervous.
“You don’t have to do that, but I appreciate it,” he said.
She poured a glass of juice and put it on the breakfast bar. “You’re welcome.”
“I was wondering when you’ll start dancing again,” he said, and then took a sip of the juice.
Was he already trying to get rid of her? “Well, a couple of weeks. Right now, it’s a lot of working on the Pilates machines and strength training, so the muscles don’t atrophy while the injury heals.”
She put their plates on the bar.
“I’d like to come with you to one of your physical training sessions,” he said.
She paused, forcing herself not to ask why.
But he noticed the hesitation. “We’re trying to make this look real, and it would make sense I would be interested in your dance career. I’ll be honest, I’m curious. You’re so small and yet so strong. I just want to understand all of this better.”
A small part of her soul was secretly flattered by his curiosity. “It’ll probably be boring for you. It’s just a lot of stretches and core training.”
He shrugged. “I have some time off this morning, and I thought maybe I could take you to therapy and then we could grab some lunch after.”
Was her husband asking her out on a date? Don’t get excited. He’s just trying to be nice.
“That sounds like fun.”
An hour later, after a lengthy shower together that involved some unusual scrubbing techniques, they were at the sports training facility.
“I see you’ve brought a friend.” Gelsey stuck out her hand to shake Hawke’s.
“I’m the husband,” he said in that deep voice of his, and there was just a hint of possessiveness. She not-so-secretly might have smiled a bit right then.
It isn’t real.
But it felt like it in the moment.
“Of course you are,” Gelsey said. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Oh no. Wait. This is going wrong.
His eyebrow shot up.
“All good, I promise.”
“She, um, wondered who the hot guy on the bike was when you dropped me off,” Amy said quickly. “I told her about our whirlwind romance.” She smiled up at him.
“Well, that’s true, love of my life.” He reached over and pulled her to him, lifting her chin with his hand so they were looking into each other’s eyes. It felt a little too real and good.
Gelsey clapped her hands. “Let’s get started. Are you staying to watch?”
Hawke nodded.
“You can sit over on that bench. I’ll explain as we go through each movement. But I ask that you not interrupt. We’re working the muscles in a specific way, and it’s important she never stops or cools down too much,” Gelsey told him in her no-nonsense way.
“Yes, ma’am,” Hawke said as he took a seat.
“Let’s start with the suspension ropes,” Gelsey said.
Amy smiled and climbed into the ropes, but when she lifted her head, she was mesmerized by the way Hawke’s eyes were following her every move.
He was really into this.
“Amy. Focus,” Gelsey ordered.
…
Amy’s body did the impossible and then went even further. For an hour, her body moved in ways he didn’t think a person’s could. Her ankle was by her ear and her other leg straight out in the air. And the grace with which she moved was nothing short of beautiful. He’d never seen anything like it.
“It’s important that we are always lengthening the muscles,” Gelsey said. “Unlike many athletes who work on tightening and contracting the muscles, we want them to be strong and long.”
Hawke had a million questions but kept his mouth shut. He didn’t want to interrupt the session, and he’d basically been told not to. Amy did this five days a week for hours. He was impressed. He spent a lot of time in the gym. For him, it was to work out his frustrations.
But this was about beauty.
His respect for Amy and what she did grew as he watched her. More than once, the flexibility shocked him, and he caught himself gasping. He was looking forward to seeing her dance, to understand how all of this came together in one of her performances.
Did you just hear yourself? You want to see a ballet?
No, just one ballerina in particular.
Damn if she wasn’t under his skin already. It’d only been a few weeks. What would it be like at the end of two months? He didn’t want to explore that particular topic at the moment.
He wondered why some nights she slipped off to her old room upstairs. She fell asleep in his bed every night, but he’d wake up and find her up there. But asking her seemed too personal.
Maybe she needed space. Maybe he snored. Maybe she was trying to remind him this was all temporary.
He frowned and wasn’t sure why that pissed him off.
Last night, he’d tried to ask her about the money and why she’d needed it. She’d countered by asking if he wanted to tell her why he had to marry her. And he wasn’t quite ready to be that honest with her. So he’d changed the subject by sliding his hand down to her heat.
But he hadn’t forgotten how she’d clammed up. Was there another guy? Who the hell was Bo? Cannon had done some digging, but so far they hadn’t learned much other than he was in real estate and his financials didn’t look so great.
Why would she be mixed up with that guy?
Amy finished up and thanked her instructor.
“Ready for lunch?” he said as he took her bag from her shoulder. The thing was almost as big as she was.
“I’m kind of sweaty, let me shower real quick in the women’s locker room and then you’re on. I know we just ate breakfast, but I’m starving.”
“I can imagine, after that workout. I’ll wait for you outside.” And then he kissed her. When she leaned into him, it was all he could do not to grab her legs and wrap them around his waist.
“I’ll shower fast,” she said when he pulled away.
A little while later, they were at a small café off of Sixth Street in the middle of Austin. He remembered she’d said she liked eggs Benedict.
“I know it doesn’t look like much, but they have one of your favorites,” he said as they sat down at one of the ten tables in the tiny place.
She picked up the menu. “Yay. Eggs Benedict.” Then she glanced up with a question in her eyes. “You remembered that?”
They’d been in bed one night talking about memorable meals. She’d said one of her last meals with her dad had been at a pancake house that had really good eggs Benedict.
She laid her hand on his. “Hawke, that’s super sweet of you. Thank you.” Her eyes were a little shiny. Was she going to cry? Did all of this make her sad?
He squeezed her hand. “I’ve got something to admit. And I’m a little embarrassed to say it.”
She started to pull her hand away, but he held it tight. “I’ve never actually had it. So I thought maybe you could share some of yours? I’m going to get the breakfast steak and pancakes.”
Smiling, she squeezed his hand back. “Don’t be embarrassed. I’m happy to share. That is, if I can have a bite of your pancakes.”
“You can have whatever you want of mine.” The words came out before he could pull them back.
Her brow furrowed, but then she grinned wide. “I’m going to make you regret those words,” she joked, and she waggled her eyebrows. “I’ve had my eye on those abs and what’s below them all morning.”
He was relieved she hadn’t taken him too seriously,
Am I?