Fated Hearts (Southern Bride 8)

“Roger,” I replied with a smug smile. “I’m about to run a few miles.”

The guy on the treadmill next to me had just slowed down and gotten off. Roger glanced at the now empty machine, then back to me.

“A run, huh? How about a little friendly competition?”

I lifted a brow. I loved a good challenge. Widening my smile into a full-on grin, I asked, “What did you have in mind?”

Roger

SHE WASN’T JUST beautiful. She was fucking thrilling as hell. The way she lit up when I issued a challenge… It was nice to meet a woman who wasn’t afraid to spar back with me. Something told me Annalise Michaels liked to win at everything.

Giving her a quick once-over, I had to concentrate on not going hard just from the sight of her. “First person to stop running loses.”

“Oh, this is going to be good,” the girl on the elliptical said.

Not even bothering to look at her, I said, “Put your bets in, folks.”

Annalise laughed but quickly stopped when the guy who had vacated the treadmill called out, “I’ve got ten on the girl giving up first.”

“I’ll take that bet!” Elliptical Girl said, coming to a stop and walking over to the guy.

“Wait, what?” Annalise asked as she stared at the two strangers standing off to the side.

“I’ll up to twenty,” Runner Guy said.

Elliptical Girl turned and walked toward Annalise, gave her a good look-over, and then turned back to Runner Guy. “She looks like she’s in good shape.”

Annalise grinned. “Thank you.”

“I’m upping it to fifty.”

I laughed when Annalise’s mouth dropped open. “So, this is what happens when people are stuck at hotels during a winter storm, huh?” I joked.

“Done. Fifty it is. How’s this going to work?” Runner Dude asked in a serious voice.

Annalise and I looked at each other, and she shrugged. “Rules?”

“It’s simple: Get on the treadmill and run,” I explained.

“No set speed or incline?”

“Let’s keep it simple, princess. It’s all about endurance, and trust me when I say I’m like the Energizer Bunny. In all aspects.”

She rolled her eyes as Elliptical Girl said, “Oh, my.”

Annalise shot me a dirty look. “Fine. Be prepared to get your ass beat.”

“Ha!” I mused, taking my place on the treadmill next to her. “You have no idea what you’ve just gotten yourself into.”

With a smug expression, she started to jog. “Maybe now would be the right time to inform you I went to state three years in a row in high school for cross-country. Oh, and I ran cross-country on scholarship in college.”

I was positive my jaw hit the treadmill. How I didn’t fall and launch off the damn thing like Elliptical Girl’s friend earlier, I will never know.

I let out a disbelieving laugh. “You little liar. You’re trying to get into my head.”

She winked at me. She actually fucking winked at me. My dick instantly went hard.

Then she said, “Guess you’ll have to wait and see.”

The door to the hotel gym opened and Runner Dude, whose name was Dylan, walked in. “How’s it going, Mary?”

Mary, also known as Elliptical Girl, smiled as she looked at me. “He’s wearing down, I can tell.”

“I…am…not…,” I gasped.

Dylan shook his head. “Dude, she’s hardly busting a sweat. She’s kicking your ass. Not only has she gone farther, she’s running faster than you. Move, man!”

“You get up here if you think it’s so easy, Dylan! I’m trying! She’s a fucking machine!” I retorted.

Mary fist-pumped from her place on the floor where she was watching some stupid YouTube video. “Yeah, she is! Keep going, Annalise!”

Annalise smiled and pulled out her earbud. “What was that?”

Mary gave her a thumbs-up. “Keep going, girl. You’re kicking his ass!”

Pulling her eyes from Mary’s reflection in the mirror, Annalise turned to me, maintaining her pace on the treadmill. “Oh dear, Roger. You look a little red in the face. You okay?”

“How…are you…talking so…normal?” I gasped for air between each breath.

With a shrug, she replied, “State champ, three years running.”

“Don’t give up, Roger!” Dylan chanted from the other side of me.

A pain shot through my right leg. “Muscle. Cramp!”

“No!” Dylan cried out at the same time Mary yelled, “Yes! Yes! Yes! He’s going down!”

If I didn’t stop soon, my fate was going to be the same as the girl who had fallen on the treadmill earlier. And I would be damned if I let Annalise see that happen.

I hit stop while Dylan cried like a baby next to me.

“You can pay me at dinner tonight, Dylan.” Mary walked up to Annalise, who was still running, and high-fived her. “Thanks, Annalise. See you at dinner.”

When I stepped off the treadmill, my legs felt like jelly. Dylan had to grab hold of me so I didn’t fall to the ground.

“How long…were we running? Like, what…five? Six hours?” I asked.

Dylan glanced at the clock on the wall and then back at me with a look of utter pity. “Almost two hours.”