Working out had never been Arwen’s thing, but when she decided to do something, she gave it her all. And she’d decided it was time to get into shape. Sitting on her butt all day was not doing nice things to her body, and she was tired of getting out of breath just from climbing the flights of stairs at work—something she tried to do daily to get in a bit of exercise between appointments with her therapy clients.

The doors to the gym slid open and Arwen stepped through, then strode to the front desk.

“Hi there,” a young woman with a bright smile said. Her name tag said Michelle. “What can I help you with?”

Reminding herself that coming here would improve her health, Arwen smiled back. “Hi. I want to join your gym.” Maybe want was the wrong word. She needed to do this.

“That’s great! What’s your name?”

“Arwen Butler.”

The girl’s fingers clacked on her keyboard, then she looked at Arwen. “Would you like to take a tour?”

A tour? This wasn’t exactly a vacation destination. Then again, she’d be spending good money every month to come here, not to mention the time she would put in. She should probably take a look and make sure she would like it. “Yeah. Sure.”

“Perfect.” The girl’s smile grew. “Hang on a sec while I grab Susan.”

“Okay.”

The girl typed on her keyboard again, and moments later a fit woman with short blonde hair walked toward Arwen.

“Hello,” the woman said with a warm smile as she stopped in front of Arwen. “I’m Susan.”

“I’m Arwen.”

“Welcome, Arwen. I understand you’re considering joining our gym.”

Decided, actually. She didn’t have time to gym shop. “That’s right.”

“Perfect! I’d love to show you around.”

Arwen walked with Susan, assessing each room as they passed through it.

“We have several personal trainers on staff,” Susan said as they stood in the doorway of the main workout space and watched the men and women using the various pieces of equipment.

Hiring a personal trainer had never crossed Arwen’s mind, but she considered it now. With no clue how to reach her fitness goals, a personal trainer could be useful even though she preferred to do things on her own.

“Your first session with the trainer would be complimentary,” Susan added.

Arwen saw right through Susan’s sales ploy. Still, having the help of a personal trainer could have some value. Maybe just get some guidance at that first session and then she could take it from there. “Sure. I’d be willing to give it a try.”

“Perfect. Why don’t we go into my office and get you signed up?”

By the time Arwen walked out of the gym and into the warm August air thirty minutes later, membership card in hand and an appointment with a personal trainer scheduled for the next evening, she was actually looking forward to this new challenge.

* * *

Dressed in sweat pants and a t-shirt with the gym’s logo emblazoned across his chest, Tyler stopped by the gym’s office to see what they had lined up for him. He’d been doing this personal training gig for the last few months and was still building his clientele, so when the gym had a new member who wanted to try out their personal trainer services, Tyler was often the one to take them on. Which was fine with him. Several of those he’d initially trained had become regular clients.

“What do you have for me?” he asked Michelle, the girl manning the front desk.

She looked up and smiled shyly at him, but rather than being flattered by her obvious interest, he held back a frown. After his heart had been irreparably destroyed the last time he’d been in love, he had no intention of encouraging Michelle’s—or any other woman’s—attention. Ever.

“A new member,” Michelle said. “Her name’s…” She tapped a few keys. “Arwen.”

Arwen? What kind of name was that? Wasn’t that a character from the Lord of the Rings? Smirking, Tyler shook his head. “Okay.”

“Anything exciting happen at the fire station?” Michelle asked, her gaze steady on him.

Tyler had finished his two-day shift with the Park City Fire Department early that morning, and though he was proud of being a firefighter and paramedic, he didn’t like to advertise it here. Not after he’d noticed that some women at the gym seemed to act differently once they found out what he did for a living. Like he was some kind of hero or sex object. That wasn’t how he wanted to be seen. He’d become a firefighter because he loved the adrenaline rush he got when he was thrust into emergency situations that only he could fix. Knowing he was the one who could rescue people in distress, to solve their immediate problem, always gave him a high that he craved.

“No,” he said in answer to Michelle’s question. No point in encouraging her hero worship or whatever it was she had going on.

“Oh. Well, your appointment is here.” She pointed to a woman fast-walking on a treadmill who could be seen through the glass wall separating the reception area from the workout space. “The one in the green tank top.”

“Thanks.” Tyler walked across the room and pulled open the door to the workout space. Familiar sounds washed over him—the clanking of free weights being set down, the whoosh whoosh of the treadmill belt coupled with the pounding of running feet, and the panting of people working hard to put their bodies through the paces.

The woman—Arwen—had her back to him, and as he assessed the fitness of her body, he nodded. Not bad. It wouldn’t take too much work to get her toned. If that’s what she was going for.

Her light brown hair was pulled into a high ponytail, and it bounced with each step she took. As Tyler approached the treadmill, the woman’s face came into view. Cornflower blue eyes, arched eyebrows, full lips. Each feature was beautiful, but when they were all put together—stunning. Tyler’s eyebrows pulled together in consternation.

Why was he noticing how attractive she was? She was a client. Nothing more.

* * *

Arwen kept a steady pace on the treadmill—she hated running so she kept to a fast walk. Moving her body felt good, like her muscles were waking up. Must be the endorphins pumping through her veins. She knew endorphins triggered a positive feeling in the body, kind of like morphine. Even helped with depression. Something to recommend to patients.

Feeling the positive effects firsthand, Arwen smiled. Working out might not be so bad after all. Which was a good thing, since she was going to be doing a lot of it.

“Are you Arwen?” a man asked from beside her.

Startled, she turned to him. “Yes.” The man was tall and well-built, and his t-shirt emphasized impressive biceps. His handsome face made Arwen wish she had taken more care with her hair and make-up before coming. But that was ridiculous. She was exercising, which meant she would be sweating.

“I’m Tyler. Your personal trainer.”

Not sure if she should be thrilled to have such a hot guy as her personal trainer or dismayed that such a hot guy would see her under such unflattering circumstances, she told herself not to worry about it. She didn’t have time to think about men and dating. Not now that she was trying to build her career as a therapist. Who cared if he was the hottest guy she’d seen in a long time?

She pressed a button on the treadmill to slow the speed of the belt, bringing herself to a pace that allowed her to catch her breath. “Okay. What do we do now?”

* * *

Tyler gestured to an area off to the side. “Let’s chat for a few minutes. Then we’ll do some exercises so I can get a baseline.”

When she turned off the treadmill and stepped onto the floor beside him, Tyler noticed that she was quite a bit shorter than him. At six two he was used to being taller than most women, but she was definitely petite. And though she’d been fast-walking on the treadmill before he’d arrived, when she stood near him, Tyler noticed a floral scent coming from her hair.

So she smelled good even after working up a sweat. Whatever.

He led the way to a corner of the gym that wasn’t quite so noisy.

“First off,” he said as they stood next to each other, “tell me what your fitness goals are.”

* * *

“I want to get in better shape.” Wasn’t that obvious?

His eyes slid up and down her body, making her acutely aware of every imperfection. Even so, having such a good-looking man appraise her so closely sent a delicious shiver through her.

Stop it. He’s just seeing how much work you’re going to need. Which is a lot, by the way.

“Be more specific,” he said as his gaze settled on hers. “Are you interested in better strength, or flexibility, or weight loss?”

Did she need to lose weight? Well, yeah, it wouldn’t hurt if she lost ten pounds, but did he think she needed to lose weight? With a barely withheld grimace, Arwen said, “All of those things, I guess. I just want to…I don’t know…feel healthier.” Embarrassed to admit the reason she’d finally taken this step, she knew if she wanted results she had to be forthright. “I get out of breath too easily.”

“Okay.” He smiled, which took his hotness to the next level, if that was possible.

She needed to stop thinking about how he looked and just think about what he could do for her. That was why she was there. That was why he was there. He was just a guy with a gorgeous face and an amazing body who knew about fitness. He probably wasn’t even all that smart. All brawn and no brains.

Feeling more confident—after all, she had her master’s degree in marriage and family therapy—Arwen held back a sniff of superiority. “So, Tyler. What can you do for me?”

* * *

Tyler wasn’t sure if it was his imagination or if her tone sounded condescending.

Ignoring the vibe he was getting from her, he reminded himself that she was a client, so it didn’t matter if she was stuck-up. As long as he got paid, what did he care?

“You’ve already warmed up on the treadmill, so that’s good,” he said. “Now I’ll take you through several different exercises to get a baseline of what you can do. Then I can design a program for you to help you meet your goals.”

“Great.”

“Make sure you’re hydrated, then we’ll get started.”

“Okay.” She drank some water from her water bottle before following him to a mat.

“Normally a session lasts forty-five minutes to an hour,” he said, “where you would do three sets with eight to ten reps. Today though we’ll just do one set of ten reps for each exercise to get you familiar with the program.”

She seemed to be listening closely. “All right.”

“The first exercise we’re going to do is a basic squat.” He showed her how to do it, then had her give it a try. “You’re doing great,” he said. “Don’t forget to breathe.” He watched her go through the motions and tried not to notice how gorgeous she was, but it was hard to ignore. Then, after having her do another leg workout, he took her to a weight bench to work with free weights.

“Let’s do some bicep curls to work your upper body.” He demonstrated what he wanted her to do, then he watched as she tried, giving her encouragement throughout. “You’re doing great. Three more. Breathe. Nice.”

After taking her through a number of other exercises to assess her body strength, flexibility and fitness level, he mentally began designing her program.

“What do you think?” she asked as she stood and faced him.

He didn’t think she was as stuck-up as he had initially thought. Glad about that, he told her what exercises he recommended.

“Also, you should keep an eye on your diet,” he said. “Do you want to talk specifics?”

Lips pursing, she shook her head. “I know what to eat.”

There was that tone again, like she already knew it all. Why was she bothering with him then?

* * *

Did she look like she needed to change her eating habits? Sure, she liked chocolate from time to time. Well, maybe it was more often than that, but she hated that Tyler might think she needed to eat better. Not when his body was Adonis-like. Chocolate probably never passed his lips.

Despite being self-conscious about her flaws, for the most part she’d enjoyed this workout session. Not sure if that was because she had such an attractive personal trainer or because she was eager to start this new adventure, in either case she was pleased that it hadn’t been the torture she had feared.

“When can you come back for another session?” he asked.

Another session? With him?

When she pictured the way his muscles had bulged when he’d demonstrated the bicep curl, a butterfly beat its wings inside her chest. The man was several degrees above hot. Scorching was a better word. If he was her personal trainer her undeniable attraction to him would become a distraction. A distraction she didn’t need.

His brown eyes were steady on her as he waited for an answer.

She pushed a confident smile onto her mouth. “I think I’d like to try this on my own first.” She was being chicken, but that didn’t change her mind.

A hint of disappointment swept over his face.

Because he wouldn’t be able to spend time with her? Or because she wouldn’t be paying for his services? Certain it was the latter, she was glad she’d turned him down.

“Okay.” He smiled, and Arwen regretted turning him down.

With him standing only inches away she had the inexplicable desire to run her hands over his biceps—so firm, so strong.

Oh don’t you dare!

Clearing her throat, she took a step back.

“Well,” he said, “if you need me, you know where to find me.”

She nodded. Right. And that was her first problem. The second being that she just might want to find him. But she wasn’t going to. She was there to work out. Not to flirt with some muscle-bound personal trainer who probably did nothing but work out all day long.

“Thanks for the consult,” she said, then she grabbed her towel and headed to the women’s locker room.

* * *