Page 44 of Meet Cute or Your Money Back

I nod. “Oh…I’m ready.”

Chapter 13

Thatcher

Allie stands in the doorway of my gym, her big hazel eyes full of cautious optimism, like a golden retriever expecting a treat but suspecting it might be a trip to the vet instead.

“Please, God, don’t tell me you’ve set me up with some Planet Fitness lunkhead,” she says, stepping inside and shutting the door behind her.

I blink, pausing where I was boxing the heavy punching bag. “What?”

She plants her hands on her hips, tilting her head in confusion. “You texted me this address and told me to dress comfortably. I assumed this was some elaborate plan to have a potential meet cute, no?”

Right. Normally, she’d be correct. But today’s agenda is a little different.

After watching her obliviously walking her dog the other night and nearly getting robbed, I want to leave her with more than a boyfriend after all this is done. I want her to be able to defend herself and not have to rely on me oranyone else…or God help her, that little ankle-biting dog of hers.

“There’s no date today,” I tell her, stepping back from the punching bag and removing my gloves.

It’s been a few days since we’ve seen each other and I hold out my hand. “How’s your palm?”

She holds up her palm for me to see a Band-Aid across it. “So much better! You were right. No stitches needed.”

“Good,” I say with a nod.

“So…you didn’t answer my question. What are we doing here?”

“I’m going to teach you self-defense.”

Allie stares at me like I just suggested she take up alligator wrestling. “Excuse me?”

I cross my arms. “You almost got mugged, Allie. You need to know how to defend yourself.”

She waves a dismissive hand. “That was a fluke. A once-in-a-lifetime, wrong-place-wrong-time situation. It’s not like I wander around dark alleys looking for trouble. Plus, you met Logan…he’s a total sweetheart! He’s going to be the new bike messenger for the paper?—”

“Doesn’t matter. You should still know how to protect yourself.” I exhale, running a hand down my face. This woman is impossible. “Next time you may not get so lucky with a…” I pause and force myself not to roll my eyes. “…totalsweetheartof a criminal.”

She narrows her eyes at me. “Tell me the truth. You’ve deemed me undateable, haven’t you? You’ve exhausted the supply of single, available men in the greater Charleston area only to discover you’re out of options?” A smile pulls at the corner of her lips, telling me she’s teasing me.

“Haha,” I deadpan. “You and I both know I’m not out of options,” I tell her, straightening. “And if you weren’t soagainst dating a gym rat, there might even be a couple men here for you to meet.”

Her nose scrunches, demonstrating how little she likes that idea.

“You could do worse than my trainer Mike. He’s strong, dependable, hard-working…and wants to make sure you don’t get knocked over by the next criminal with bad intentions.”

She groans and flops dramatically onto the small bench against the wall. “Can’t you just give me some pepper spray or something?”

I shake my head, walking across the room to where the padded mats are set up. “Come on. Get up.”

“A deadbolt for my door?”

“Now.”

She peeks at me from under her arm, sighs dramatically, then gets to her feet. “Fine. But just so you know, I bruise like a peach.”

I fight back a grin. “I’ll be gentle.”

Her eyes flicker with something I don’t want to name. Something dangerous. But then she shakes her head and squares her shoulders. “Okay, Sensei, what’s first?”

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