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“How do you avoid guests when you swim?”
“I wake up at five and swim before it opens for the other guests.”
“Ah, got it.”
“So where is this run of yours?”
“Echo Park. The entrance where we’re meeting is not too far from the hotel.”
“I know where it is. I’ll be there at three.”
Wow. Color me surprised.
“You could fake a little more enthusiasm,” I tease.
“Oh, I am more than enthusiastic. Just not about the run.”
My palms were suddenly sweaty. I was being silly again. This wasn’t rocket science. Reid needed to establish a basis of trust with me. That was all he wanted. I was making it to be more than it was in my mind because I couldn’t keep my thoughts straight.
Besides, it was a good idea to meet up. I’d just had a breakthrough about how to approach his case, and I wanted to run it by him. I was betting he’d fight me on it. I didn’t plan to back down, and well... I did win my fights more easily face-to-face.
That was why I was looking forward to Wednesday so much. Yep, that was the only reason. And the big smile on my face after we ended the call and I got out of my car? Well... I wasn’t ready to analyze that just yet.
Chapter Six
Hailey
On Wednesday, I was one of the first to arrive and started my stretching exercises while searching the crowd for Reid. This run took place every year in the third week of March. I’d wanted to participate right after my parents passed away, but kids under a certain age weren’t allowed. I had done my best not to miss the run since my fifteenth birthday.
Since my parents had been victims of a hit and run, we didn’t know for sure that the driver was drunk, but still... raising awareness was important.
The weather today was just splendid: sunny, pleasantly warm.
Reid arrived just as the run was about to start. My mouth went dry at the sight of him. Holy hell! I might never see Reid in swim trunks, but I was more than okay with seeing him in running gear too. Tight, elastic fabric stretched over his arms and chest. Washboard abs, of course. He was facing me, so I couldn’t get a good look at his ass, but I planned to rectify that as soon as possible. I was betting it was just as well-trained as the rest of him. All that from swimming, huh?
“Hey! Thought you were going to bail,” I said playfully.
“I’ve got to do something to improve your opinion of me, don’t I?”
“Well, you showed up.” I grinned, continuing with my exercises. “Stretching is mandatory. Unless, of course, you’re still searching for an excuse to get out of this.”
I felt him come up right behind me when I straightened, tilting my head from one side to the other.
“You won’t get rid of me so easily, Hailey.”
My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth as a small shiver ran through me. Had inviting him over today been a mistake?
I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone: convince him to agree to my strategy while contributing to raising awareness. But I was beginning to think I wasn’t running this show.
He only had a few minutes to stretch, and then the run started. Reid was in great shape. Damn, the man was too sexy. We ran on a narrow pathway between palm trees. The park’s lake was to our right.
“Thanks for talking to Bianca,” he said after a while.
“My pleasure. She was very open to my suggestions. I wasn’t expecting that.”
“Well, my sister’s not like me.”
“Stubborn and infuriating?”
