Cami’s Georgia Patriots Romance Collection Page 3

  “Three, two, one. Nice job. Burpees with the bar.”

  She grabbed a bar and demonstrated: deep squat, legs out to plank, push-up while holding on to the bar, leap up, and finish with thrusting the weighted bar overhead. He watched, wiping the sweat off his brow with the back of his arm.

  “Go!” she yelled at him. “We’re not taking breaks here.”

  “Sheesh.” But he was smiling. He liked the spunk in her, a lot. The bar didn’t feel heavy at first, but by the time she counted down from ten, he was ready to cry uncle.

  The entire two hours kept going like that. She gave him a break every twenty minutes to get a drink and wipe off his sweat, and then they were back to their routine. Each of the twelve different exercises was difficult in its own right, and each round she upped the weight or the speed or the resistance. By the end of the two hours, he thought they might have to re-hospitalize him.

  Lily handed him a chilled towel and a cold water bottle from a small fridge. Their hands brushed, and he felt the same odd connection from when they’d shaken hands earlier today. It was why he’d gone for the second handshake, and he hoped she didn’t think it was odd. He needed to stop noticing these things and just be grateful he’d found a trainer who was tougher than she was pretty. That was saying a lot, because she was more attractive than Shayna, the last model he’d dated.

  “Great job,” Lily said. “You’re not much for complaining, are you?”

  “Didn’t think it was a hard workout. Why should I complain?” Some part of him knew he shouldn’t tease her, or he’d be paying tomorrow.

  She gave a surprised laugh. “You have sweat coming out of every part of your body, and your legs are trembling. You really want to go with ‘it wasn’t that hard’?”

  “I just realized you’ll probably take me apart tomorrow if I claim I’m not dying.” He grinned. “I’m dying. Thanks.” He swept the cool towel over his forehead again. “I learned early on complaining just made things harder, so I keep my mouth shut and go.” Truthfully, his dad had drilled that into him back in peewee league. His dad was a good guy—well, in some ways he was a good guy—not the “deserting of his wife” ways, but the “being there for and encouraging his son” ways. Up until four months ago when he’d left Hyde and his mom. Maybe for a final goodbye this time.

  “Good to hear, because today was just a warm-up.”

  Hyde looked at her to see if she was teasing. Her brows were tilted and she wasn’t smiling, though her eyes were filled with mirth and a challenge.

  “Bring it on,” he said.

  “I intend to.”

  Hyde laughed and shook his head. “Seven tomorrow?”

  “I’ll be waiting with bells on.”

  “Bells, really?”

  “Oh, yeah.” They walked down the stairs together and through the large entryway.

  Hyde pushed on the front glass door, ignoring some gawking teenage girls. He glanced back. “Thanks again.”

  “Sure thing. Oh, and Hyde? An Epsom salt bath might be in order. Work out some of the lactic acid buildup and soothe the muscle tears.”

  “A bath?” He grinned. “Real men don’t bathe.”

  “Oh my, male chauvinism.” She rolled her eyes and folded her trim arms across her chest. Hyde tried to keep his focus on her beautiful face. “Do you at least have a hot tub?”

  “Sure.”

  “Sit in it. You’re going to be sore.” She winked and walked into the women’s locker room.

  Hyde watched her go, unable to hide the grin on his face. He liked his new trainer. A lot.

  Chapter Four

  “I can bring home the bacon, dun-duh-dun-duh. Fry it up in a pan,” Lily sang as she danced her way into her apartment. Nothing could possibly dampen her good mood. She was training her dream client, and he was a total and complete stud. A mega-stud. She giggled to herself. Was mega-stud even a word? Who cared? She could make up words today and nobody would blame her. Hyde Metcalf had shaken her hand. Twice! He was funny and nice and tough, and Lily Udy was officially his personal trainer. She squealed and could only pray she hadn’t acted too much like a groupie today.

  “What on earth? Is this my girl singing?” her roommate and best friend, Wynette, asked from the kitchen, where she was frying something. Her highlighted red and gold hair was tied back in a ponytail, and her blue eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You don’t eat bacon.”

  “I might. I can afford to eat whatever I want now.”

  “Good for you, but sadly it would be, like, tofu bacon or lean chicken breast bacon or boiled eggs bacon or some such crap.” Wynette had a great job at the Coors factory right here in Golden, but she was training to be a chef at nights, her dream career, and she was a fabulous cook. She always had a good laugh when Lily asked her to cook clean foods or use coconut oil.

  “Wait.” Wynette’s eyes narrowed. “You can’t afford a pot to pee in. You’re always tight on money because you send most of it to your parents.”

  How did Wynette know that?

  “Not anymore.” Lily couldn’t help but do a little dance. Not that she wouldn’t send most of the money to her parents, but there was enough to go around now.

  “Wow, girl. I’ve never seen you this excited. What happened? Big client?”

  “Yes!” Lily grinned so wide her cheeks hurt. “You’ll never believe who I am training.”

  “Give me a hint.”

  “He’s a celebrity.” She squealed, clapped her hands together, and actually jumped into the air. Naturally a tomboy with her obsession with fitness and football, Lily usually didn’t react like this, but come on. Hyde Metcalf. She gave a dreamy sigh.

  “Wow. You are, like, in heaven. Who could it be?” Wynette’s eyes glazed over and she pursed her lips, thinking for a few seconds. “Chris Hemsworth?”

  “No. Cuter.”

  “There’s nobody cuter than Chris Hemsworth. Those eyes and biceps …” She sighed and then pursed her lips. “Hmm, speaking of blue eyes. Bradley Cooper?”

  “No. Cuter, and actually lives in our town.”

  “What! We don’t have any celebrities in our town, and there is no man on earth hotter than Bradley Cooper.” Wynette stirred some kind of sauce on the stove that smelled heavenly—strong on the garlic and fresh tomatoes—then flipped the meat she was frying. “Wait a minute. We do have a celebrity and he is super hot!” She dropped the wooden spoon, spraying red sauce on her spotless cooktop, and turned to Lily with wide eyes. “Hyde Metcalf.”

  Lily gasped. “How did you know he was back in town?”

  Wynette abandoned her post at the stove, grabbed Lily’s hands, and dragged her toward the kitchen chairs. “You’ve got to spill it. Now!”

  “You’re going to ruin whatever you’re frying.”

  Wynette waved a hand. “You got to put your hands on Hyde Metcalf today. I don’t care if I burn down the entire building. I want details!”

  Lily giggled, reliving each moment that she had put her hands on Hyde Metcalf: shaking his hand when they first met, twice; touching his lower back to remind him to keep his posture strong as he did a dead lift; and flattening her hand against his abs as he did a plank and was so exhausted from the two-hour workout he almost slipped on his form. She blushed as she remembered the last one. Those abs. If she was a singer, she could belt out an entire song about each striation and muscular bulge of his abdomen.

  “All I’m saying is today was the best day of my life.” Hands down. She couldn’t remember ever being this happy, and it wasn’t just about the money she was going to make.

  “Girl, you are so obsessed with Hyde Metcalf. I cannot believe you get the opportunity to touch and work out with your man crush. Who gets that? I mean, that would be like Curtis Stone showing up at class and telling me I had to cook with him for the next two months, and take breaks to hold his hand.” She sighed and placed a hand over her heart.

  “I know. It’s nuts, and he was so nice.”

  “Stop for a second. I want to
hear all about it, but I’m still having a Curtis Stone moment.”

  Lily giggled. She closed her eyes and let herself have another Hyde Metcalf moment. She wanted to call her family and shout it out to the world, but she had to respect his privacy. Oh, she should’ve thought before telling Wynette. She clutched her roommate’s hands. “Hey, Wynnie. Don’t tell anybody, okay? It’s in the contract that we won’t talk about it until after he’s done training.”

  “It’s going to get out.”

  “Yeah, but not from me.”

  “Okay, I get it, I get it. But oh my, I’m happy for my girl. It’s not every day someone’s daydreams become a reality.”

  “I’m not dating him, just training him.”

  “Ooh, but you’re definitely thinking about dating him.”

  Lily blushed, but had to admit, “That would be heaven, but it’s never going to happen.”

  “What! Why not? You’re a gorgeous specimen, my friend.”

  “Who was raised dirt-poor, thinks Under Armour is the top designer brand, and more often than not smells like sweat. Yeah, I’m really Hyde Metcalf’s type.” It hurt to say but it was true. She followed him closely enough to know the perfect women he dated, women who didn’t appear to ever have a bad hair day. Lily rarely did more than pull her hair into a ponytail.

  “Scoff if you want, but he’ll notice you, if he already hasn’t. At some point a man’s got to get sick of prissy models and want a girl who can eat real food. Okay, never mind, you still don’t eat real food, but you’re real, at least.”

  Lily smiled, but it felt strained. Hyde Metcalf was never going to notice her like that, and honestly, she couldn’t afford him to. She needed that money. Her family needed that money. She wasn’t going to jeopardize her hundred dollars an hour or her ten-thousand-dollar bonus to be one of Hyde Metcalf’s flings. She knew he’d been through his share of women. It must come with the territory. It didn’t matter how good-looking she thought he was, how impressive his football stats were, or what a nice guy he seemed to be; she would keep it professional, and she would get that paycheck.

  Chapter Five

  Sore didn’t begin to describe how much Hyde hurt the next morning when he rolled out of bed. There was a thumped-on-the-football-field kind of sore which hurt a lot, but right now the situation was training-muscles-you-forgot-you-had kind of sore, which hurt in a completely different way. He didn’t enjoy either kind of torture, but they were part of his life.

  He crawled out of bed at six-fifteen to the smell of pancakes cooking. “Oh, Mom,” he groaned quietly. Dressing quickly in shorts and a T-shirt, he slipped on his socks and gym shoes and made his way through the upstairs. His mom and dad had built this house when he was three. When he’d decided to move back in after his dad disappeared and his mom was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Hyde had the entire home renovated and added on two more cars to the garage and then built himself an apartment above the now five-car garage. His parents’ master suite was on the main level, so he basically had the upstairs to himself. It was weird to be living in the home he’d grown up in. He’d been on his own since he started college, and in the last couple years, at the advice of his accountant, he’d purchased homes in Dana Beach, California; Park City, Utah; and St. Thomas, Virgin Islands; but he knew this was where he needed to be right now or his mom might burn down the house and herself trying to cook. Maybe someday soon his dad would come back home to stay, but if he didn’t, Hyde would either be here, hire someone to be here, or somehow convince his mom to move with him to Atlanta.

  He said ouch as he went down each step. How many stinking lunges had that beautiful woman put him through? He grinned to himself. He might be sore, but he was excited to see what she had planned for him today. Being around Lily, with her drill sergeant style of training yet with a touch of sweetness and attitude, was like a breath of fresh air. She’d kept things professional between them, which was good, but he was still looking forward to seeing her today.

  “Hey, Mom,” he called out as he came into the kitchen.

  She whirled, brandishing the spatula like a weapon. Her face broke into a smile when she saw him. “My boy.” She offered a cheek to kiss.

  Hyde crossed the room and bent down, kissing her soft, slightly sagging cheek. How had his mom grown old without him even realizing it? She was still a beautiful lady, and her best friend, Allie, made sure she stayed on top of hair, makeup, and fashion, no matter if she was having a confused day or not.

  “Ready for pancakes?” she asked.

  “I can’t this morning, Mom. Remember? I told you I’d be training every morning.”

  She frowned. “But you always loved my pancakes.”

  “I do, Mom. You know I do.” He hated this placating act. His mom of even a few months ago would never have done this to him. She would’ve whipped him up a green smoothie or protein shake and told him to go kick some rear, but stay away from all those girls who chased him. He sighed. This was the new reality since she’d been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s a few weeks after the Super Bowl, and she’d been steadily declining. He was shocked by how quickly she’d become confused and lost her zest for life.

  At least she still remembered and loved him. She just got irritable easily and forgot a lot of things. Sometimes he wasn’t sure she remembered he was a world-class athlete. “Could you put them in a bag and I’ll throw them in the freezer and eat them Sunday morning?”

  Her scowl became deeper. “They aren’t good after they’ve been frozen. I’ll make you a new batch Sunday morning.”

  “Okay. Thanks.” He quietly went about whipping himself up a protein shake with chocolate-flavored powder, ice, water, natural peanut butter, and a banana.

  His mom turned off the griddle, sat down, and started eating a pile of pancakes with coconut syrup. She was what some might describe as pleasantly plump. Hyde loved her that way, and he loved her cooking. But most of it wasn’t in a diet that helped him play to the best of his ability, so he was forever making her sad when he didn’t eat certain things, especially when she knew he loved that food. Sometimes she seemed almost childlike, and he hated being a parent to a sixty-two-year-old woman at twenty-six.

  The back door banged open and his mom’s twenty-four-year-long best friend, Auntie Allie, sashayed in. “Hey, hot stuff. You’re looking good this morning.”

  “Thanks, Auntie.”

  She grabbed him and kissed his cheek. “I love kissing on you. Sexy stubble and all.”

  Hyde laughed. “Glad to be of service.”

  “So, which beautiful girl you kissing for real this week?”

  “None.”

  “You said that last week. Come on, boy. They’ve got to be banging down your door.”

  “Not much fun to bang down the door when the guy’s living with his mom.”

  His mom turned to him with concern on her face. “Girls don’t like you because of me?”

  Oh, no. “Of course they like me, Mom, and they all love you.” He glanced to Allie for help. His mom had ruined a few relationships saying awkward things about his girlfriends to the press. He’d never been too serious about a certain girl, so it wasn’t the end of the world, but it wasn’t like he could be a part of the single scene right now with his mom struggling and him living at home.

  “What girl wouldn’t want our boy? He’s just waiting for the right one,” Allie said.

  Hyde drank a swig of his shake, grateful to Allie as always. She dealt with his mom so well.

  “My boy doesn’t need a girl.” His mom beamed up at him.

  “Yes, he does,” Allie argued with her. “You find yourself a good Christian girl who wants to have lots of babies.”

  “Only if he stays here with us,” his mom inserted.

  The peanut butter banana shake went down the wrong hole. Hyde sputtered and covered the huge granite bar with brown yuck.

  “Hyde!” his mom exclaimed.

  “Sorry,” he managed. “I’ve got it.” He pulled a
fresh hand towel out and started swiping up the mess.

  Allie watched him with amusement. “Babies isn’t a word you like to hear? Or is it living with Mama once you marry your hottie?”

  His mom glared at her best friend.

  “I’m only twenty-six, Auntie. Cut a guy some slack.” No, the thought of living here with his mom downstairs wasn’t an ideal start to newlywed bliss. That is, if he ever found a girl his mom wouldn’t offend, and he wouldn’t get bored of, or realize she was a fake mask after a few weeks.

  “You ain’t getting any younger.” Allie walked around the bar and looked him up and down. “You gotta strike while you’re still hot.”

  He shook his head, not shocked by her brazenness because he’d known her his entire life, but wondering how he’d ever bring a woman around these two. The few times he’d tried had not been successful, but admittedly those girls had been high-maintenance and not Allie-approved.

  “You find the prettiest, most fun, and sweetest girl in Colorado, and then you bring her home to your mamas and we’ll make sure she’s worthy of you.” Allie helped herself to a stack of pancakes and poured on the coconut syrup liberally. Hyde’s mouth watered just watching her. Sunday was only five more days away, and then he’d take a free day and eat all the stuff that’d been banned from his diet.

  “Sorry, Auntie, but I think you two would terrify a sweet girl.” He rinsed the rag out, then wiped the counter one more time.

  “Maybe, but at least we’d see right through a chickie who just wants you for your body, your fame, or your money.”

  It was always tough to know why a woman went after him, but he’d become pretty leery the last few years as the awe of women throwing themselves at him had worn off and his fame had risen to epic proportions. Little boys and girls who wanted an autograph—awesome. Women who wanted him to sign their T-shirts or something even more intimate—so wrong.