Season of Strangers by Kat Martin

desk.
    â€œIf anyone’s looking for me, I’ll be upstairs in the fitness center. I’ll be back before lunch to check my messages.”
    Shirl just nodded and continued filing her long red nails. Julie thought of the fit Alex Donovan would have pitched if he had caught her, but company image was hardly a concern his son would have.
    Julie walked out the front doors, into a different entrance of the same building, and stepped into the elevator. She got off on the third floor and went into the health club. For a number of people who worked nearby, the place was well maintained and convenient and not too overly large. Julie had been attending aerobics classes with a fair amount of regularity for the past three years.
    She went into the locker room, changed into a pair of black shorts and a tank top, tied the laces on her Reeboks, then went into the weight room to warm up on one of the five stationary bikes. She stopped dead in her tracks when she looked over and saw Patrick on the treadmill, his tall frame drenched in sweat.
    â€œMy God, will wonders never cease.” She stopped beside the machine, grinning with disbelief.
    â€œHi,” he simply said. His face glistened with perspiration. A curl of damp black hair clung to his forehead. She had the strangest urge to reach out and brush it back out of the way.
    â€œI didn’t know you were a member here,” she said.
    â€œI wasn’t. Not until a couple of days ago. I thought, since it was so handy, it would be a good way to get in shape.”
    Her grin slid away. “Are you sure you’re well enough for this? I thought you were supposed to take it easy.”
    For a moment he looked uncomfortable, then he smiled his charming white smile. “I am taking it easy. I’m in bed every night by ten, no smoking, no drugs, no liquor. I’d say that’s about as easy as it gets.”
    One of her eyebrows shot up. “In bed by ten? I don’t doubt that. The question is with whom? Let’s see—could it be the lovely Anna? Or are you back with Charlotte? Or maybe by now there’s someone new.”
    A flush crept under his tan. Julie couldn’t believe it.
    â€œSuffice it to say, I’m staying out of trouble. I’m getting myself in shape, just like the doctors said.”
    She didn’t believe it, of course, or if by some miracle it was true, that it could possibly last. She studied him, struck by a sudden thought. “That wasn’t your car I saw in the parking lot this morning when I got in?”
    â€œI came to work early. I had some business I needed to catch up on.”
    Julie fell silent, for the first time allowing herself to really take a look at him. She had never seen Patrick in so few clothes, nothing but a pair of damp, clinging white shorts that hinted at the considerable bulge of his sex, a red tank top, socks, and running shoes. With every stride he made on the treadmill, long corded muscles bunched in his legs. His waist was lean, his shoulders very wide, more thickly muscled than she imagined, and the dark skin across them appeared surprisingly smooth. Curly black chest hair glistened with beads of perspiration above the scooped neck of his tank top.
    â€œI hope you like what you see,” Patrick said softly, his blue eyes suddenly intense, and this time it was Julie’s turn to blush.
    â€œI’m sorry. I didn’t mean to stare, it’s just that I-I…that seeing you here was so unexpected.”
    â€œI’ll be through in a few more minutes. Why don’t you finish your workout, and afterward—how about lunch?”
    Lunch with Patrick? “I-I’m meeting the Whitelaws, going over their escrow instructions.” Had she heard him right? Was he actually asking her out? He hadn’t done that in years.
    â€œIf you can’t go to lunch, what about dinner? We’ll go someplace quiet where we can talk.”
    This was crazy. Patrick hated