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She studied me for a minute before surprising me. “How’s your sister?”
Her eyes were hard to read, but I noticed fine lines near her mouth.
“Which one?” I knew which one, but I wanted to be sure.
“MJ. I haven’t seen her since Hudson and Charlie’s pub opened. And I didn’t even get a chance to talk to her before she bugged out of there.”
I remembered MJ getting an emergency call from a client and having to head all the way back to Dallas late that night.
“She’s okay. Working too hard, as usual.”
“Oh.” Neckie looked down at her belly where her hands roamed affectionately over her pale pink sweater. “Is she… is she seeing anyone?”
My brain whirred in vain, trying to determine how to play this.
“Um… no? I mean… she’s…” I ran out of stupid words and just stared at her.
“Will you… ah, tell her I miss seeing her? I’d like to…” Her voice faded. “You know what? Never mind.” She took a deep breath and plastered on a fake smile, rubbing the giant belly in front of her. “I’d love for you to help in the weight room if you don’t mind. Several people have had dangerously bad form lately, and it’s getting harder for me to correct them myself.”
“Yeah, no worries,” I said quickly, taking the out she’d offered me. I wasn’t great at awkward conversations.
When I got back to the ranch much later that night, I told Doc and Grandpa that I suspected Neckie and MJ were star-crossed lovers. Doc’s eyes got hearts in them while Grandpa’s narrowed in concern.
“Don’t mess with your sister’s love life, Saint,” Grandpa warned. “Nothing good will come from that.”
“I disagree,” Doc said, reaching over from his spot on the sofa to squeeze Grandpa’s knee. “We should at least get them in a room together and see what happens.”
“Liam,” Grandpa groaned. “No one wants their grandfathers to set them up on a date.”
“Pfft, how would you know? And I’m not suggesting we set them up. I’m only suggesting we facilitate a conversation. Saint, get her on the phone.”
“Which one?” I asked.
“MJ. I’m going to tell her to come home.”
“Wait. How do we know Neckie’s available? She’s pregnant. Doesn’t that kind of imply she’s with someone?” I asked.
My grandfathers exchanged a look before turning to me.
“Saint,” Doc said. “It’s not her baby. She’s a gestational carrier for someone else.”
The information surprised me, but ultimately it seemed to be good news for MJ. “Okay. Why are you acting like it’s some big secret?”
Grandpa met my eye. “The secret is whose baby it is. We can’t tell you that. But Neckie is single as far as we know.”
That’s all I needed to hear. I picked up the phone and told my sister to get her ass to Hobie.
I spent the next day before Augie’s lesson helping Neckie as much as possible at Twist. Assisting with a yoga class was a harsh reminder of how little patience I had for meditation and calm stretching, so by the time Augie turned up that evening, I was wired for some true physical work. Anything to get out of neighborhood gossip and soccer moms doing downward dog. I wondered idly how to get more men to sign up for the yoga class.
When Augie entered the building, I was standing at the reception counter chatting with Leona, who was one of the personal trainers at Twist. She’d been telling me about her sister’s wedding that weekend and how she’d caught the bridal bouquet.
“Leona,” I said. “You’ll make a gorgeous bride.”
I heard a surprised sound and looked up to see the startled hazel eyes of my client. They were framed by inky smudges indicating poor sleep.
“Mr. Stiel,” I said with a nod. “Welcome back.”
Augie looked from me to Leona and back again. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said in his quiet voice. The sound of it set off little vibrations of interest in my gut, and I straightened up from where I’d been leaning on the counter.
“You’re not. Leona and I were just talking about tying the knot. Have you two met?” I asked.
Augie shifted a gym bag to his other hand before reaching out to shake Leona’s hand. I wondered if he found her attractive as another potential fake girlfriend. She was petite and elfin-cute with a tumble of dark curly hair. The two of them would make an attractive couple, but just picturing it irked the hell out of me the same way seeing him with Katrina Duvall had in all the photos online.
He’s gay, jackass. But you’re going to have to get it through your thick skull he doesn’t want someone with a thick skull.
They shook hands and Leona seemed to pop a few candy hearts out of her eyes when she noticed him smile at her.
Shit.
“Well,” I said a little too loudly, “let’s get changed.”
