Shine With Me (With Me in Seattle 15.5)

Seriously? I pull into a parking space and cut the engine, looking around. Either this is it, or I’m going to get murder-death-killed.

Because this doesn’t look like a gym.

I pull my bag out of the car, walk to the entrance, and open the door, shocked to see that it is, in fact, Sound Fitness.

Ben sees me right away and walks over. Yep, he’s still hot as hell. No one warned me that my personal trainer, the person I would be attached to at the hip for the next six weeks, is a hottie. Towering well over six feet tall, with blond hair and blue eyes, he’s attractive. Add in the muscles for days, and the devastating smile, and he could probably drop a girl at a hundred paces.

I’ve been around some of the most attractive men in show business, and this guy leaves them all in the dust.

It’s almost annoying.

“I’m so sorry I’m late,” I begin as soon as he walks to me. “I’m never late, but I couldn’t find this place. Why isn’t there a sign out front?”

“The former owner never had one. It’s taken me a while to have a logo designed and stuff, but a sign is on the way.”

I take a deep breath and ignore the smell of sweat. I can see that it’s a well-maintained, clean place. But the smell of perspiration is always present in places like these.

I avoid them like the plague.

“I won’t be late again,” I promise him.

“I believe you. Go get changed, and we’ll get started.”

He leads me to the door of the women’s locker room, and I hustle inside, choose a temporary locker, and change into yoga shorts and a loose tank top. I pull my blond hair into a ponytail, slip on my sneakers, and lock my things in a locker.

Ben’s waiting for me when I come out of the locker room.

“Thanks for the extra day to get settled,” I say. “It helped a lot.”

“You’re welcome. Starting tomorrow, I’ll meet you at your house, and we’ll start a morning routine there. So today was your last day to sleep in.”

“I was up at six,” I inform him.

“Like I said, last day to sleep in.”

I feel my eyes narrow. “I’m not a morning person. And I’m not complaining, I’m warning you.”

That easy grin I’m already coming to appreciate slides over his handsome face. “I’ve been warned, then. Okay, I’m going to warm you up with ten minutes on the bike.”

He gets me situated on a stationary bike and then walks away to talk to a customer. He’s distracted today, I can tell. I’m sure that being torn from his business to work with me has taken a toll on him. Luke told me that Ben owns this gym, but that it’s new for him. And now I’m taking up a huge chunk of time.

I assume the studio is paying him well but it’s still an inconvenience.

I hate the stationary bike. Truth be told, I hate all of the equipment in a gym. I prefer to be outside, running, biking, or even kayaking. It’s one of the reasons I moved to Bend about ten years ago. There’s so much to do outdoors, even in the winter. I’ve become addicted to cross-country skiing.

Who knew the famous little girl from dozens of movies and TV shows back in the day would turn out to be an outdoorsy hermit?

Not me, that’s for sure.

But I’m not here for fun, I’m here for a job. Which means, I can’t be choosy. I’ll leave the how and why up to the professional.

Ben.

Bless his sexy little heart.

Just as I’ve started building up a sweat, he rushes over to me and grins when he sees how far I’ve gone in such a short time.

“You’re hustling.”

“I like to ride my bike,” I say. “My real bike.”

“Really? I like to cycle, too. We’ll incorporate that into your routine.”

I grin and follow him to the weight area.

“Cardio is going to be important because it sounds like you’re going to be put through the paces with a stunt instructor, as the fights in the movie will be choreographed. You’ll need the endurance for long days of training.

“But we also need to define your upper body muscles, particularly your shoulders and arms. Your character is an FBI agent badass who chases serial killers for a living, and she’s going to be in top physical condition.”

“Agreed,” I reply with a nod. “It’s the first thing I said to Luke when he told me about the role—that I’m not in shape for it. And I’m no slouch.”

“Not at all,” Ben agrees. “You’re in great lifestyle shape.”

I tilt my head to the side. “What does that mean?”

“That you can go about a normal active lifestyle without trouble. You can hike a mountain, or run a 5k, or kayak across a lake just fine. You don’t need muscle definition for that. Now, protecting yourself and others for a living requires a different level of fitness.”