Page 69 of Ten Rules for Faking It
“Everly, right?”
She almost laughed. As perhaps the most awkward dater ever, evenshecould pick up on Rob’s attraction to her friend. Either Stacey was really not paying attention or she was playing it really freaking cool.
She nodded. “This is my friend Stacey. Rob is a friend of Chris’s.”
Rob held out a hand. “Deejay for the Sun. You’ve got a very recognizable voice,” he said, holding her hand a beat longer than needed.
Stacey didn’t seem to mind. “Thank you. Have you worked here long?”
He nodded. “Since inception. I own it.”
Anything else he planned to say was cut short by a woman asking for guidance on how to follow through.
Everly waited for Stacey to make some of the usual comments she made around cute guys, but her friend was suspiciously silent.
She sidled up to Stacey and leaned toward her. “No running commentary about his butt or what his abs might look like?”
Stacey feigned a punch at her and laughed, also leaning forward. “No, why? Do you want to see his butt and his abs?”
Everly’s face flamed. “No!”
Others looked at them, so she glared at Stacey but bit her tongue. It could have been Everly’s overactive imagination, but it felt like Rob spent considerably more time hovering around them than the rest of the women. He shot several looks their way, but Stacey maintained an unusual focus on her movements.
By the time they went to the punching bags, Everly felt like she’d swallowed a pound of sand.
“I need to refill my water,” she told Stacey, tryingnotto breathe like an obscene caller.
“’Kay,” Stacey said, pulling her phone out.
Waiting in the line at the fountain, Everly kept her gaze on her feet. Easier to avoid eye contact that way.Nice. Friendly as usual.She lifted her chin.You’re out. That matters. Focus on the good.The rules were actually helping her navigate her focus.Uh-huh, that’s why you spent last night tossing and turning, thinkingabout how Chris’s laugh made you enjoyVeronica Marseven more.
“Your turn,” someone said behind her.
Everly jolted and sent an apologetic look, moving forward in the line.Yeah. Really focused.Weaving her way through the gym, pleased that she felt a little more settled than the last two times she’d visited, she found her class already starting on the punching bags. They were in the far back corner of the gym in a matted area, not far from where people lifted weights. There were six bags, and five of the women had taken a position in front while Rob taught them how to steady the bag, how to hit it, and how to move around.
“I’m not so sure about this part,” Everly whispered.
Stacey grinned. “Why? This is the good part. You can take out all your aggressions on it.”
Everly side-eyed her friend, lifting her brows. “Is that what you’ll be doing?”
Rob called Stacey to the bag and used her as an example of how to step into a punch.
“Everly?”
She turned, her insides already cringing at the familiar voice. Simon stood staring at her with his mouth slightly open. Speaking of rules—there was a law in her universe that said she could only run into people she didn’t want to when she looked her worst. He, of course, wasn’t even sweating. Maybe he’d just arrived.
“Simon.” Her voice came out smoother than she expected. She waited for her pulse to kick into high gear, but it remained the same as it was a few seconds ago.
Stacey appeared at her side. “What are you doing here?”
“Working out,” Simon said with a dismissive glance toward Stacey.
“Weird. I thought you liked your workouts more horizontal with women who weren’t your girlfriend,” Stacey said, tilting her head like she was thinking it over.
Everly’s gaze went cartoon-character wide, and she slapped a hand over her mouth, a giggle tickling her throat.
Rob approached her other side. “Everything okay?”
