Before Summer Ends & a Little Bit Pregnant by Susan Mallery

Author:Susan Mallery
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2021-03-05T18:41:10+00:00

Chapter 2

“So the guy says, ‘It’s only a parrot.’” Rob, one of the burly bodyguards employed by the company laughed as he finished telling his joke.

Nicki rolled her eyes and smiled. Rob loved telling jokes nearly as much as he loved puns. At times conversations with him were physically painful as he went from pun to pun.

“You’re not sweating, Nicki,” Ted called. “I want to see you sweat.”

“Bite me,” Nicki yelled back as she picked up the pace on the recumbent bike. Her thigh muscles ached, but in a good way. As for sweat, there was a river of it pouring down her back.

She hated aerobics. Oh sure, they were good for her heart and probably added years to her life, but she loathed them with a cheerful intensity that never faded. Unlike Zane, who thought all forms of physical activity were pure play.

Speaking of which, he chose that moment to stroll into the company gym. The bodyguards called out a greeting. Nicki ignored him because looking at him would spike her blood pressure and set off alarms.

But as he approached, she couldn’t resist a quick peek at his long bare legs, the loose gym shorts and cutoff T-shirt that exposed way too much flat, sculpted tummy. The man had a serious body.

She would have accepted that with good grace if she’d been able to study it impersonally. As if he were nothing more than fine art. Very fine art. But what she resented most was her visceral reaction to that A set of abs. She wanted. Yup, physical cravings set in that made the PMS need for chocolate seem wimpy by comparison.

“Hey,” he said as he slumped down into her wheelchair. “You’re not sweating.”

“That’s what I said,” Ted told him as he straightened and grabbed a towel. “The girl’s loafing.”

“The woman is busting her butt,” Nicki complained.

Zane ignored her. “I called you last night and you were out. How’s Brad?”

His hips were narrow enough to allow him to easily fit on her custom seat, but his legs were miles too long. He stretched them out in front of him and rested his heels on the hardwood floor.

“Boyd is doing great,” she said. “Thanks for asking. But I didn’t see him last night.”

“So where were you?”

“So why do you get to know?”

He grinned. “Because I’m fifteen kinds of charming and you adore me.”

He had that one nailed.

“I was at the bookstore.”

“Why not with your computer geek?”

“He’s in the middle of a big project right now.”

Zane looked anything but convinced. “Sure he is. You’re bored. Admit. You think he’s tedious.”

“I think you’re overcompensating because of personal inadequacy.”

Rob and Ted finished their workouts and left. Zane glanced at the timer on her bike’s program. “Your mom sent me cookies.”

“She mentioned she was going to.”

Nicki found a certain amount of irony in the fact that her parents were nearly as taken with Zane as she was. Maybe it was something genetic. A weakness in the Beauman family tree.

“So when are they coming up for a visit?” he asked.

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