Fated Hearts (Southern Bride 8)

“That’s it!” I cried out as my hamstring went into a full-throttle cramp, and Dylan dropped me like a hot plate.

“Roger!” Annalise shouted and got off the treadmill to come to my side.

“Oh, my…God! Everything hurts! Can’t breathe…heart…attack!”

Kneeling beside me, she rolled her eyes while she stretched my leg and said, “You need to get up.”

“Can’t. Move.”

“You need to get some water into you. Have you not been drinking any?”

I opened my eyes and looked at her. She had been sweating after all, thank God. A weird sensation in my chest made my breath hitch as her eyes stared into mine. I was hit by the urge to kiss her, and I had to look away. How could a woman who just ran for two hours straight look so fucking beautiful?

“I ran out,” I said, drawing in a deep breath while Annalise continued to stretch my leg.

“Is the cramp gone?”

“It is, but I feel like the second I go to stand, it’ll come back again.”

Mary rushed back into the gym. “Here! I bought some water and Gatorade. That should help.”

Annalise took both drinks. “Thank you, Mary.”

I nearly drank the whole damn bottle of Gatorade after Annalise handed it to me. Her eyes went wide, and I knew she was trying to hold back a smile.

“Take deep breaths in your nose for three seconds, then let them out for four,” she instructed.

I did as she said, feeling better as the seconds passed by.

“The cramp is gone.” I looked up at Dylan. “Sorry you lost, dude.”

He glanced at Mary and smiled. “I’m not. I got myself a pretty girl for our double date tonight.”

Frowning, I looked at Annalise. “You’re going on a date tonight?”

She laughed. “No, Mary and Dylan invited us to eat with them tonight. You said yes.”

“You can’t ask me questions when I’m in an exercise-induced state of confusion!” I argued.

Her smile instantly fell, and she shrugged casually. “It’s okay, you don’t have to go. Mary’s friend Lynn will be there, as well, so it wasn’t a date on our part if that was what you were worried about.”

“It is on ours,” Mary giggled as she and Dylan headed for the door. “It’s been fun. See you later, Annalise!”

Annalise gave them a smile, and I was struck again by how pretty she was.

“See ya around, Roger!” Dylan tossed over his shoulder as if we had been the best of friends forever.

When Annalise turned back to me, her smile once again faded away. “Do you need help getting up?”

“No,” I snapped, instantly feeling like a dick when I saw the hurt look in her eyes. “I didn’t mean to snap at you like that. I’m just tired.”

“It was a good run. You should run marathons if you don’t already.”

I stood and shot her a weary expression. “Annalise, does it appear to you that I’m a runner? The longest I’ve ever run was three miles once, and I thought I was going to die.”

Her smile was back, and I liked knowing I had put it there.

“Well, it was fun,” she said. “I like a little bit of competition.”

A thrill of excitement rushed through me. “Is that right?”

She reached for a towel and wrapped it around her neck. “Did you want to take a shower first?”

Being in that hotel room while knowing she was naked was not a good idea. “I’m going to do some more weights, maybe some stretching. You go on up and take your time.”

“Okay.” She nodded. “And just so you know, the front desk has my name down in case any rooms open up. I’m going to swing by and see if they have any rollaway beds.”

“Yeah, they, um, they told me they would give one of us a call should something come open, and I asked about the rollaways. They don’t have any.”

We both turned and looked out the window at the far end of the gym. The snow was coming down fast and hard.

Annalise sighed and said, “I have a feeling we won’t be flying out tomorrow if this keeps up.”

“Well, let’s hope it stops soon.”

When she turned and met my gaze, something passed between us. I couldn’t put my finger on what exactly it was.

“Let’s hope,” she whispered before she grabbed her phone off the treadmill and headed toward the exit. “I’ll see you in a few.”

“Yeah, see ya.”

The moment Annalise left the gym, I reached for my own phone that was in the cup holder of the treadmill. I pulled up Truitt’s name and pressed Call.

“Hey, how’s it going?” Truitt asked.

“Things could be better. The hotel double-booked my room.”

“What do you mean?”

With a frustrated groan, I ran my fingers through my hair. “I mean at two in the morning, I woke up to a half-naked girl in my room. The hotel booked her in my room by mistake.”