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“You take care of your body,” she pointed out, tapping one of his sculpted shoulders, “even though you think it’s uncool.”

“I don’t think that, but thanks for noticing…” He flexed his right biceps. “And anyway, you’ve always known I work out. Religiously.”

She narrowed her eyes, tilting her head to the side. “Don’t change the subject.”

“I see you, Tina.”

She made an unintelligible sound before blustering, “I don’t know what you mean.”

He gently touched her chin, drawing her face toward his. “You go by the arena’s gym a lot .” His fingers danced through her hair, his touch almost reverent. He stroked his hand through her hair, pulling a few strands as his fingers tangled.

“Ow!” She tried to pull her head away, protesting, until he held up a bobby pin that had been holding back her growing-out bangs. “My office is near the gym and I have recipes to deliver to lockers!”

Chad gave her a slightly scolding look, then smiled. A smile that seemed to suck the air from her universe, create black holes and supernovas of longing. His voice was low, rumbling in a way most women would consider alluring and incredibly sexy. “Don’t worry, the feeling is mutual, babe.”

“Conceited much?”

“Come on. You’re hot.” He was close, so close her breath hitched as the warmth from his body intensified her own.

His fingers brushed through her hair again, sweeping it away from her face.

He still had the bobby pin, and he deftly slid it into place, tying back the piece that usually fell across her face.

“That dress you wore to the gala? Very sexy. And your clingy pink sweater?” He shook his head slowly, biting his lower lip.

She swallowed hard and tried to recall what they’d been talking about before he’d deftly changed the subject and washed her brain of all thought other than what it might feel like to straddle those strong, thick quads of his.

“Why do you fight me?” she asked, edging out of his force field. “You work out, but you crumple up my recipes and encourage the others to ignore me.”

Those flirtatious eyes grew pained when her voice trembled. Athena shifted so she was resting against the car, her shoulder to his, facing forward so she didn’t have to see the changes in his expression.

“It’s not personal,” Chad muttered, with a darkness to his tone that surprised her. Secrets, secrets, secrets.

“So then?” she prompted.

“This body doesn’t just happen.” He gestured to his chiseled, muscled form.

“You don’t eat as much crap as you pretend to.” Honestly, she should have clued in sooner. She’d been so preoccupied with the minutia she’d missed the big picture. “I’m onto you.”

One corner of his mouth turned up devilishly. “You want to be on me like ham on cheese.” But there was a lack of conviction in his flirtatious tone and, beside her, he inhaled deeply.

She leaned away to better take him in. Pale. Sweaty. Clearly unwell. “My word, you’ve wrecked yourself.”

“Nope,” he said, carefully rotating his shoulders. “I’m fine.”

“Yeah?”

“Totally.”

“So you don’t need to barf? Want to ralph? Feel the need to hurl? Upchuck? Vomit?”

He hunched over, hands on his knees, inhaling slowly, methodically. Through gritted teeth, he said, “Everyone else is wrong about you. You’re not just mean, you’re cruel.”

She laughed and slipped a hand into the crook of his elbow, her chest pressed against his arm. “Let me take you home,” she said gently, resting her chin on his wide shoulder. The poor man was in no shape to drive himself all the way to the city.

“Yeah.” He hoisted himself up and handed her the fob to his car.

“Why did you binge all of that?”

He didn’t reply.

“To get my attention?” Her tone was soft. “Because it worked. You’ve got me here. Ruined my date and everything.”

He groaned, running a hand through his dark hair. “I’d like to say I’m sorry, but he’s the wrong guy.”

“Yeah? How do you know?” She was more curious than upset. Probably because it had been clear within the first minute or two of meeting Glenn that they weren’t a good match. Friends, maybe. But a love connection? Not quite.

“You need more thrills.”

“Tried it. Didn’t enjoy how it all panned out in the end.”

Chad frowned as he moved to the passenger side. “Lonnie’s not the right kind of guy. Neither is Professor Loves-Beige. You need a man who straddles the line somewhere between the two.”

He wasn’t wrong. She’d swung from one end of the spectrum to the other.

Athena gestured toward the diner. “Want me to grab a bucket or something?”

He shook his head.

“You sure?”

“I’m not puking in front of you. Or in my car.”

“By sheer willpower alone,” she announced in a deep, dramatic tone as she unlocked his gorgeous machine. He really must not be feeling well if he was letting her get behind the wheel of this sensational beast.

She opened the driver-side door, and the scent of Chad’s dreamy aftershave wafted over her. It was going to be a long drive to the city.

“You need more laughs,” Chad said.

“That’s what Meddy and Jenny say.”

“They’re right.”

“Yeah?” She was realizing that with each passing year she was becoming less fun. Without even noticing, she’d been carving it out of her life, bit by bit.

Maybe it really was time to let go a little and see where serendipity took her.

“And where can I find more laughs, Chad?”

“Start with me.” He smiled at her over the Corvette’s roof. “You laugh at me all the time.”