Page 17 of Restless Obsession

“Me?” She pointed at herself before fixing her ponytail. I watched, full of envy as her fingers weaved in and out of her strawberry-blonde hair that made my hands itch to touch.

“You made Halloween sound… fun.”

“Fun?” She giggled and shook her head. “It’s more than fun. It’s amazing! Easily my favorite holiday of the year.” The excitement in her voice was contagious.

“Over Christmas?” I asked, unable to believe how a bubbly sprite of light like Lucy would be so enamored with the darker holiday.

“Definitely.”

“What about New Year’s?”

“Overfilled parties with drunk, depressed people looking back at what they wished they would have done over the year? Yeah, no thanks, I’d rather go in for a root canal.” I turned to her and, because I couldn’t help myself, I took her hand.

“How are you this fucking perfect and not snatched up?” The question slipped past my lips without a second thought, and she rewarded what she thought were sweet nothings with a playful eye roll.

“I don’t know? Luck of the draw, I guess.” She laughed, her eyes sparkling up at me.

“Marry me,” I asked in a teasing tone I didn’t mean.

I was dead serious.

If she batted her lashes at me and agreed, even if joking around, I’d say fuck the gym, toss her over my shoulder, and march us out to city hall right then and there.

“Maybe ask me tomorrow? I have a full day planned today.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yup. After the gym, I need to finish up some last-minute shopping for tonight, give out candy while watching a scary movie, and then work.”

“Work, huh?” I asked, purposely not asking what she did. “You work from home, too, right?” She nodded, and we started to walk together side by side to the elevator. “Mind a workout buddy today?” I found myself asking. It was fucking stupid, but it seemed I was a glutton for punishment. Watching her sweat, hearing her breathing change as her heartrate accelerated? I would end up having to excuse myself to the bathroom to jerk my cock raw to stop from embarrassing myself walking around the gym with a tent fully pitched in my joggers.

“If you think you can keep up?” she sassed, and I fell harder for my beautiful ray of sunshine.

There was no denying I was in deep when it came to Lucy.

Without ever having met face to face, she’d stolen my heart. Now all I had to do was figure out how to get her to fall for me. Don’t ask, just take, the dark voice in the back of my head taunted. Take. Claim. Mark. Mine.

“You think you’re up for the challenge, old man?” she challenged, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“I might be older than you, Sunshine, but trust me, I can keep up.” I winked back and didn’t miss the way her eyes dilated before she looked away.

Conversation flowed easily as we walked to the gym. It wasn’t the conversation of two people who had just met, but to me, it made sense. How couldn’t it when we were made for one another?

I had pictured us at the gym on a date on many occasions.

But fantasies were not reality.

In daydreams, you don’t account for shit like your annoying brothers being around, casting judgmental looks in your direction as you stretch with the love of your life next to you. Nor do you consider one of your future sisters-in-law coming over to say hi and then chatting up your girl to the point where she actually takes her away to one of the Pilates rooms because it turns out Lucy knows how to do something Maryanne doesn’t.

And the most frustrating part of it? I couldn’t even get annoyed about it!

Maryanne was so sweet and shy I had actually been proud of her for coming over and taking the initiative not just to say hi to me but chat up Lucy and ask another woman for help. And by the looks of Hollis as he lifted weights next to me, he was feeling the same damn way.

“I’m guessing that’s the new neighbor?” he asked quietly enough for only me to hear. I grunted my conformation before setting down the dumbbell and glancing at his reflection in the mirror. “You got it bad.” Hollis’ lips quirked up, but I didn’t bat an eye.

“I love her.” That made the weights he was mid-lift stall.

“It’s like that?” I liked that Hollis took my words at face value.