“Rory was just telling me that—” Casey started.

“—that I wished I had asked Kane for white bread instead of rye,” Rory interrupted, lying.

Casey started snickering while Clare shot them both a puzzled expression, then waltzed up to the counter and dropped her purse in front of Casey. She rummaged around inside for a minute before finding her phone and checking her messages.

“Clare, I got you a sandwich, too. Kane should be back any minute,” Casey told her, and Clare smiled gratefully.

“Oh, thank goodness. I’m starving. I could literally eat anything right now.”

“Anything?” Rory slid into the conversation.

Both women shot him a look.

“Just a joke, ladies. Loosen up,” he griped, as Casey finished sorting through a stack of papers and carried them to the back office.

Clare stood there next to Rory, both of them not saying anything. She was trying to busy herself, staring into her phone, so Rory reached over and grabbed it out of her hands.

“Hey! Give that back!”

“Legends has a no-phone policy—didn’t you read the membership brochure?” Rory pointed at the sign on the wall that stated the rule.

“Well, I’m at the front desk, not inside the gym. So it doesn’t count.” She propped her hands on her hips, defiantly.

“Too bad. A rule is a rule.”

“Rory,” she scoffed.

“I might be willing to give it back…” he started.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “But?”

“If I give you something, then what do I get?” He took a step closer to her, licking his bottom lip as he saw her breathing speed up.

Her chest rose and fell more rapidly, and her cheeks flushed slightly. Knowing he had that effect on her was absolutely addicting to him.

“What do you want?”

“A date. A real one. Not just walking you home after work, or the training that I’m starting you in on Monday.” He hadn’t really thought it through, but now that he said it, he realized that was exactly what he wanted. They had unofficially gone out a few times, but they hadn’t actually gone on a date.

She stifled a smile. “What do you call the other night? You got your date, many times if I recall.”

“That wasn’t a date, mhuirnín.”

“Then what was it?” she questioned, and he stepped forward, invading her space as he looked down at her pert lips.

“That was me unable to stop myself from fucking you, and enjoying every second of it.” His eyes blazed, and he was pretty sure she might faint at his words since she suddenly looked wobbly on her feet.

He lightened. “A date, Clare. Otherwise, no phone.” He held the phone out in front of him, but pulled it back just enough when she tried to reach for it. She was steady now, and the lust in her eyes had turned to anger.

“Seriously? Isn’t this a little childish, Rory?”

“Children have the most fun.”

“Fine, give me back my phone and I will.”

“You will what?”

She narrowed her eyes at him, and he knew that she was trying to figure out if there was any way to win the battle of wills they were dueling in. He smiled victoriously when he saw a flash of defeat cross her face and her posture slumped slightly. She leaned down to distractedly pet Ace, who had inched his way over to where she was standing. He was still surprised that Ace not only liked her, but seemed to prefer her over almost anyone else.

“I’ll go on a date with you.”

“Sounds like a fair trade to me.” He winked at her, then opened her phone and typed in his number, saving it for her. He also made sure to quickly call his phone from hers, so he would have her number on his caller ID. He was kicking himself for not getting her phone number days ago.

“Enjoy your lunch with Casey, mhuirnín.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek, swiftly yet softly.

She didn’t answer, only blinked in surprise as he turned and headed toward the locker rooms, leaving her petting Ace and waiting for Casey.

Chapter 10

There was absolutely no way Clare was going to be able to eat now. Not after what had just transpired with Rory. Every time he got close to her, she lost her ability to even think rationally. Her heart was still pounding against her ribs, threatening to tear through and make a run for it.

Clare bit her lip, thinking about the sweat that had been glistening on his perfectly sculpted and wide biceps jutting out from underneath a loose tank top over long gym shorts. He had towered over her, making her feel so small, which she liked for some reason.

Casey, having just returned to the front counter, raised one brow as she watched her friend. “You look like you’re deep in thought there.”

“Huh? No, I’m not.” Clare tried to push the image of Rory’s flat, solid torso and his thick, muscular legs out of her mind, but she felt her cheeks flush, giving her away.

“I see our food coming and I’m starving, so I’m just going to pretend you’re not totally full of shit right now.”

“Your deliveryman is here, ladies!” Kane announced, waltzing in the door carrying a big brown paper bag.

“Finally!” Casey grabbed the bag out of his hands and tore into it, finding her sandwich.

“You’re welcome, Casey.”

Casey already had one end of her sandwich stuffed into her mouth, so she just nodded and waved her hand.

“Here, you’ve got the mutt, so I’m assuming you’re the one in charge of feeding it.” Kane handed Clare a wrapped sandwich that actually said Ace across the top in black marker.

“You’re delivering dog food now?” Clare grinned, taking the sandwich and unwrapping it, still unsure how she had wound up with the job.

“Hey, doesn’t this come with a pickle…” Casey piped up, trailing off as Kane shot her an irritated look. He grabbed his and Rory’s sandwiches and stalked off, muttering under his breath dramatically.

“You could have at least thanked him, girl,” Clare scolded lightly.

“Eh, yeah, but Kane is too full of himself. I like to knock him down a few pegs every once in a while.”

Clare placed the unwrapped sandwich on the ground and watched for a moment as the dog devoured it quickly. The women followed suit and ate their sandwiches, chatting for an hour before the gym started to get busy, forcing Casey to focus on manning the front desk. Clare had to be at work soon, so she headed out to take the short walk over to O’Leary’s. It was cold as usual, so she was glad that she was wrapped in a jacket, but she wasn’t eager to walk home tonight when it would be even colder.

She smiled as she shuffled into the bar, wondering if Rory would be there to walk her home tonight. She knew he would be, but every time he was, she couldn’t help but wonder if it was the last. She didn’t exactly have faith in him to be reliable, not with all the drinking he still took part in. And if her past had taught her anything, it was that men took what they wanted and left once they had it.

Despite those doubts and what she had learned to expect in the past, Rory had just stolen her phone number. She didn’t know what else to call it, but it definitely wasn’t the action of a disinterested man. The thought excited and terrified her all at once. She had agreed to a date. An actual date.

Do people even go on those anymore?

She was pretty sure her last date has been in middle school, way before Travis, and had involved going to the mall together to walk around awkwardly and grab a soft pretzel. The kind of date where you barely acknowledged the other one existed, and then bragged about it to all your friends in the cafeteria the next day.

“Clare, can you not give out our phone number to your friends? This is a place of business, not your home. Don’t you have a cellphone or something?” A barrage of accusations and questions were flung at her the moment she treaded through the back door into O’Leary’s back office.