Just One Fake Date: A Contemporary Romance (Flatiron Five Fitness Book 1)

by Deborah Cooke

  “What bridal shower?”

  “Next Sunday at my aunt’s.”

  Now Shannyn was the exasperated one. “Tyler! I don’t want our lives entangled like this. That’s not the deal. Let’s go back to the original agreement and stick to the terms.”

  He exhaled. “We can’t do that.”

  “You don’t have a choice.”

  “There’s always a choice, Shannyn.” Tyler spoke with a conviction that was persuasive in itself. “I just need to change your mind.”

  It was on the tip of her tongue to wish him good luck with that, but she knew he’d just take it as a challenge.

  “I’m not going to,” she said, hoping it was true.

  “We’ll see about that,” he said with a resolve that was becoming familiar. Shannyn shook her head that she’d stepped right into it and given him another challenge. “Don’t you dare...” she started, but Tyler interrupted her smoothly.

  “Goodnight, Shannyn,” he said in that smooth dark chocolate voice and was gone.

  That man!

  That woman!

  Ty could have chucked his phone through the plate glass window. Why was Shannyn so prickly and independent? Everything was going well and then—bam! She did her feral cat thing. Why did he care? Whatever the reason was, he couldn’t stop—and it had nothing to do with their fake date.

  She wanted to solve her problems alone.

  Okay. Ty respected that.

  But it wasn’t in his nature to stand aside when he could help.

  Ty got out his laptop and checked his email, hoping something had been resolved since the partners’ meeting earlier. To his relief, it was. They’d agreed at the meeting to make Meesha a job offer and she’d already accepted. She was hitting the ground running, and had already created a list of qualifications for the photographer she’d requested.

  Ty forwarded the job listing to Shannyn. It wouldn’t be a lot of work, but it would be steady and the money would only help. He added a note, suggesting that she might be able to put together an application with shots taken on Saturday while she was at the club.

  He didn’t wait to see whether she replied.

  He had laps to swim.

  Woe to anyone who thought he’d share a lane tonight.

  Suddenly Shannyn had a guardian angel.

  Or a fairy godmother.

  In an Ermenegildo Zegna suit.

  It was strange, unprecedented, and kind of...well, nice.

  Tyler hadn’t needed to send her that job listing. It was thoughtful that he had, even if his note had been terse and professional. There was no mistaking that he was annoyed with her—yet he’d done something for her even so.

  She didn’t miss that he was helping her, even realizing that doing so might mean that she didn’t need his assistance on the roof issue.

  The new job at F5F would be perfect for Shannyn, if she could get it. Maybe a day a week at the club, taking the candid shots that were her best trick. Not a lot of money, but a steady trickle she could rely upon. There was a lot to be said for steady trickles.

  And maybe more about the offhand chance of seeing a certain man at intervals. Of course, she could plan it otherwise. She could go to the club on weekdays, when Tyler was at his other job, and avoid him completely. He hadn’t suggested a routine that would include his presence. He must have thought of it, but he was backing off, because she’d asked him to.

  But he was still looking out for her. There was something seductive about protectors and guardian angels, for sure.

  Even though Shannyn knew better than to rely upon anything permanent developing out of this inclination. He might watch out for her until the wedding and no longer.

  The fact was, though, that if Tyler had really truly been an asshole, he would never have sent her the job listing. The truth was becoming more inescapable. The fiction that she hated him was her only armor against his charm and persistence. What was she going to do when it eroded to dust?

  She’d fall.

  Hard.

  And he’d know it, and then she’d get hurt.

  It was as inevitable as the sun rising in the morning—unless she held her ground.

  She thought about it as she worked long into Thursday night. She thought about it at the Cloisters on Friday. She thought about it as she ate reheated leftovers in her kitchen at night. She thought about it when her phone did not ring and a certain man seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth. She thought about it when she considered the wisdom of buying the smallest bottle of a certain men’s cologne, and did it anyway.

  She thought about it as she lay awake Friday night.

  When Shannyn finally fell asleep, she slept through her alarm. She was only awakened when Fitzwilliam jumped onto her chest, as was his routine. The weight of him drove the air out of her lungs, but that wasn’t enough for Fitzwilliam. He batted her cheek with one gentle paw, persistent in his desire for breakfast. When she opened her eyes, he yowled, then jumped off the bed and stalked to the kitchen, tail waving like a banner.

  If she didn’t follow, he’d repeat the exercise.

  Shannyn took the hint. It looked like it would be a nice day, so the light would be good at the club. She fed the cat, then showered, dressed and headed downtown, hoping she could finish the job at Flatiron Five Fitness quickly.

  She wondered all the way what Tyler would say to her.

  She’d checked out the F5F app, and figured out where she could find each of the partners. Candid shots of them in the middle of working would be best. Damon Perez was scheduled to coach in the weight room, right around the time she’d reach the club. Shannyn decided to start with him. It wasn’t because she was ducking a conversation that she decided to take pictures of the other partners first. She had a couple of Tyler already. That was all.

  It was an excuse and Shannyn knew it. Her own heart proved she was a liar by racing as she approached the front desk to check in. Was Tyler in the office behind? Would he come out to talk to her?

  Nothing had changed in twelve years. She was still hoping to catch a glimpse of him like some obsessed fan-girl.

  The only mercy was that Tyler had no idea about that.

  She checked in and headed to the weight room, telling herself to concentrate on the job.

  Damon was a big guy with dark hair and dark eyes, at least partly Hispanic and ruggedly handsome. He also had a wary manner and seemed mysterious. He was wearing a black singlet with the club’s logo that showed his sculpted body to advantage. Shannyn would never have imagined that muscles like his could be real.

  “But I’m not one of them,” he said when Shannyn introduced herself.

  How interesting that he felt like an outsider. Shannyn immediately felt a kinship with him. “Well, you’re one of the partners now.”

  “But I didn’t go to your college.”

  “Still. Flatiron Five Fitness. Five partners. Do you mind if I take a few shots of you at work?”

  Damon looked at the guy he was coaching, inviting his opinion. There were three other guys in the weight room, which was bright and well-equipped. Two obviously had their own routines that they followed and she saw one go and spot the other for some lifts. She guessed that they regularly worked out together. The third was more slender and taking instruction from Damon.

  “I’ll have to get written agreement from you, if you’re in the shots,” Shannyn explained. “But that doesn’t mean the editor will use them. Just do what you do and forget about me. I’ll show you what I have at the end and we can talk about it. If you don’t like any of the images, I’ll delete them.”

  “The joys of digital photography,” Damon said.

  Shannyn smiled. “Exactly.”

  “Suits me,” the guy said and Damon resumed his instruction.

  He was focused and intense, which made his few murmured words seem important. He gave his student a lot of encouragement, too, which Shannyn liked. It mattered, too—she saw the difference in the guy’s posture even during
the course of his lesson. She was amazed by the quality of her shots, then she realized what was going on.

  The warm hues of the lighting and the colors chosen for the wall paint made everyone look their best.

  At the end of the guy’s lesson, she showed them her images and deleted the ones the student didn’t like. She had half a dozen that she liked and he signed off, then asked if she could send one of them to him for his social media. It was a really good shot of him, his arms flexed and his expression filled with resolve.

  Shannyn agreed and took his email address, making a note of the image. “Who chose the decor for the club?” she asked Damon and he glanced at her in surprise.

  “I did the design. Why?”

  “The images are awesome and not just because I know what I’m doing. It’s the light and the colors in here. All warm. No blues. I think it might be impossible to take a bad shot.”

  Damon’s smile surprised her. “No fluorescents,” he agreed. “We didn’t know that selfies would become such a huge thing ten years ago, but we knew that people have more confidence in trying something new if they look good doing it.” He turned and indicated the wall of mirrors. “It’s all motivation.”

  “That’s really clever.”

  “Tell Ty that if you get a chance. We’re still arguing about changing over to LED lights, which use less juice...”

  “But tend to be blue.”

  “You can get warm ones, but they’re comparatively expensive.” He shrugged. “I think it’s worth the cost.”

  “I think you’re right. You want great images shared on social media.”

  He smiled again and this time, his eyes lit. What a gorgeous man.

  Yet his presence and even his smile didn’t set her on fire like Tyler did.

  “I have another appointment, if you want to watch that one, too,” he said, gesturing to the door.

  “The weight rooms are divided by gender?” Shannyn followed him to another room, just down the hall. It was filled with weights and benches, too, but the members here were all women. She’d thought it was just a coincidence, but saw now that there was signage to that effect.

  Damon shrugged. “We asked. A majority of members wanted it that way.”

  “More confidence in trying new things?”

  “Maybe.” He smiled, checked his watch, then strode across the weight room to a petite brunette who was apparently waiting for him. She stood up, her enthusiasm clear. He shook hands with her and welcomed her, his words revealing that it was her first time using weights. Shannyn took a ton of shots of Damon giving her an orientation, and some truly great ones of him demonstrating the way to hold the barbells.

  What a physique. And he had charisma. The woman was just glowing as she learned. A lot of these shots would be awesome for the club’s social media.

  Shannyn took a few more shots of Damon. Why were they buying or commissioning photo stock for their ads when one of the partners—well, two, because she’d seen Tyler naked, too—was so ripped?

  Next Shannyn looked for Cassie in an aerobics class for a group of women in their forties. There were two instructors but she guessed the tall blonde in black yoga gear had to be Cassie. She was the right age, although Shannyn didn’t know her. Again, the decor and lighting were warm and again, everyone looked good in the wall of mirrors.

  Cassie waved at Shannyn, obviously expecting her, and explained her presence to the class while they were doing their stretches. Members were given the choice of opting out of the photographs, but none of them did. Shannyn went to work, trying to capture the sense of community she was finding at F5F.

  Cassie was as positive as Damon had been, darting around the class to adjust postures and give encouragement. She also remembered the names of all the members she addressed and there were about thirty in the class. Shannyn wondered how many classes she taught. The music was upbeat and there were a lot of smiles, even as the room heated up. Cassie was also beautifully muscled. She could have been a professional dancer, given how toned she was. At the end, she came to talk to Shannyn and review the images. They chose half a dozen and Cassie identified the members in the shots so they could sign the permissions.

  The women filed out of the workout room, chatting to each other and planning their days. “It’s not just a gym, is it?” Shannyn asked, starting to understand F5F’s success. “It’s a community.”

  “That’s always been our goal,” Cassie said. “People feel a stronger commitment, not just to their own exercise program but to the club, if they have an emotional bond. We have chat boards and mingling sessions so members can meet each other socially as well as in class.”

  “And there’s the dance club.”

  Cassie laughed. “Kyle’s brilliant idea. It makes so much sense in a way, because once you tone up, you want to show off.” She gave Shannyn a curious glance. “You should stop in one night. It’s fun.”

  “Were you a dancer before?”

  Cassie looked surprised when she nodded. “How did you know?”

  “Rock-hard calves and slim thighs. Only women who seriously danced in their teens and twenties have those legs in their thirties.”

  “Then I guess it was worth something after all.” Cassie’s smile was bright. “Who are you looking for next? Tyler?”

  “Kyle or Theo. Then I need that group shot.”

  “Lap pool for Kyle. It’s not on the schedule but he’s always there at this hour on Saturday. I don’t think Theo’s in yet.” She raised her brows. “And Tyler, of course, will be doing his heavy lifting in the office.” Shannyn didn’t say anything. Why was Cassie so sure she wanted to see Tyler? “Kyle set up a basketball game for eleven since Ty said you wanted candid shots.”

  “That’s a great idea. Thanks.”

  Shannyn headed out, well aware that Cassie was watching her.

  Why?

  Kyle was helping a member with a shallow dive. Shannyn had the sense that it was spontaneous instruction, not a booked lesson, and got a few shots before they were aware of her. She shook her head as she reviewed the images on the camera, amazed by the genetic good fortune of the partners. It didn’t hurt that they were all perfectly toned, either, muscled up in all the right places and well-groomed.

  They were the best possible advertising for their own venture. It was incredible that they hadn’t realized as much—which just might mean that there was an opportunity for Shannyn. She just had to figure out a way to present her revelation as a marketable idea, one they could hire her to execute.

  There had to be a way.

  She’d finish up with Kyle, then find Theo before the game.

  Tick tock. Ten o’clock.

  Four hours since the club had opened for the day, two and a half days since Ty had talked to Shannyn, three days since he’d ensured that Paige wouldn’t barge into Shannyn’s house and terrify her with her nosiness.

  Not that he thought Shannyn would be easily terrified.

  Today was the day, if she had called Derek for a quote, but Ty didn’t know what she was going to do. He had no clue whether she had called Derek. He had no idea what would happen with Shannyn in the next twelve hours of his life.

  He should be getting used to that.

  He didn’t know if he was going to be at her house when Derek came by, whenever that might be, if they were going to have dinner at all—never mind if she was going to come to the bridal shower. He’d put off his mom a bunch of times.

  Ty drummed his fingers on the table in the conference room, then checked his phone again. Nothing. Not an email or a text message, much less a call. For someone who said her main concern was getting a new roof, Shannyn didn’t seem very interested in his solution.

  He wanted to negotiate the terms of their next deal, but she wasn’t playing along.

  Ty knew that wasn’t a coincidence. If there had ever been a woman who liked to mess with his expectations, it was Shannyn. He knew she’d arrived at the club a few hours before. He knew she had a job to finish
, but still.

  Why didn’t she come to take any pictures of him?

  Someone came into the office and Ty got to his feet, turning to the door. He hid his disappointment that it was Theo. “Running late?”

  Theo dropped his workout bag and hung up his coat, then yawned as if he couldn’t help himself. “Jet lag. It’s wicked this time.”

  “Going west is the worst,” Ty agreed. “I never asked you how your dad’s doing.”

  “Really well,” Theo said and Ty could see his relief. “Although my mom might kill him with kindness. My sister is staying with them to help get him to rehab twice a week—and be referee.”

  Ty grinned, easily imagining his parents being the same way. “I bet you reminded him of the benefits of regular exercise.”

  “Absolutely. We worked out a routine of easy walking that he can increase as he heals. The rehab team is awesome, and my mom’s walking with him.” Theo snapped his fingers. “I forgot to mention at the weekly meeting that the local residents’ association here is organizing a 5K run in July with a block party afterward and they’re looking for sponsors. I talked to them before I left, but they pinged me again.”

  “I think it would be a great opportunity for us to make better connections with our neighbors.”

  “Do you think they’re bad now?”

  “No, but we’re getting to be a big enterprise and when the apartments go in, our neighborhood profile will be even bigger. I want us to be seen as both innovative and good neighbors.”

  “What’s the progress on the permits, anyway?”

  “We’re still waiting.”

  “I’ll make a couple of calls next week.”

  One of the things Ty most appreciated about their team was that they knew each other’s strengths and counted on each other to keep each area up to their own standards of excellence. He’d missed Theo’s insights and connections in the couple of weeks he’d been gone. “It’s good to have you back.”

  “I really need to get back into my workout routine.” Theo patted his stomach, which was completely flat. “My mom’s cooking has its price.” They laughed together.