"That sounds like a smart plan. Is that why you're not going to franchise?"
He shook his head. "My idea was to grow my business. And once I had three, I thought, why not franchise? Dozens, maybe even hundreds of Herrington Gyms."
"I'm not seeing a problem."
He lifted a shoulder. "I love what I do, but I want time that isn't just about my work. I want the family, too. The whole deal. And I'm not sure I can have that if I'm watching over a hundred gyms across the country."
"A lot of people make it work. Family. High powered careers."
"Maybe they do. But that's--well, honestly, I'm not most people."
"No," she said softly. She thought about all the attorneys and businessmen who traveled weekly and who wouldn't file a brief or a report without analyzing it or revising it to perfection. Had they put as much thought into their families as this man? "You're really not."
"What about you?" he asked. "Relationship? Career?"
"I haven't thought a lot about it, honestly. Except the career. I worked so long in a job I didn't love that I'm willing to spend the time to build up the practice Easton and I are putting together."
She took a sip of wine, then turned to him. "I guess I'm not as well-balanced as you are."
She thought he would laugh, but instead he just held her gaze. "I think you're pretty much perfect," he said softly.
"Oh." Their eyes locked, and she swallowed. Slowly, she put her glass down, then rested her palm on his thigh. He stiffened, and she was certain that he'd felt the shock of connection cut through him just as it had her. "Matthew," she said, but before the name even left her lips, he'd pulled her to him, closing his mouth over hers.
She swallowed a moan, opening her mouth to the kiss and her whole body to him. Flames kindled inside her, and she surrendered to him, wanting so much more. Hell, wanting everything he could give her.
He deepened the kiss, his palm on the back of her neck, his tongue tasting her, claiming her, until she thought she would melt in his embrace. Her body sizzled, craved, and when he gently pulled away, breaking the kiss, she almost cried out with frustration.
"We can't," he said. "Not here. Not while I'm babysitting." His eyes were dark with desire, and she could almost feel the desire rolling off him. Still, he shook his head, his breath coming hard. "We just can't. It's too damn cliche."
She wanted to argue--to tell him Faith wouldn't wake up--but she found herself nodding agreement. "If not now, when?"
She bit her lip, almost afraid he'd tell her the answer was never. But to her immense relief, he said, "Go out with me tomorrow?"
"I--yes. Of course."
His mouth curved into a smile. "Good. I'll pick you up at seven."
Chapter Eleven
Matthew couldn't remember ever being so nervous for a date. Which was absurd, all things considered. After all, he knew even before he drove to her condo to pick her up that this was the kind of date that was for fun only. There were no expectations of a future. No hoping that something would develop.
This was about sex and attraction and nothing more.
After all, she'd made it quite clear that she wasn't looking for a relationship; she was putting all her energy into re-building a career that had gotten off track over the years.
He could respect that. Hell, he did respect that.
And yet despite his own rules about not dating if there was no chance for a future, he was as a nervous as a teenage boy taking a girl to the movies for the very first time.
Why?
Because despite her clarity, he still wanted her. Wanted to sizzle from that electricity that always seemed to arc between them. Wanted to talk and joke with her. Wanted to share the world with her, and then kiss her senseless and not think about anything at all.
Maybe he wasn't self-aware enough, but he honestly didn't know if he was giving in to his own desire and surrendering to the allure of a sexual relationship despite her assurance that there was no hope for a real future. Or if he was deluding himself into thinking that she'd change her mind. That she'd felt something real between them, too, and wanted to explore it.
He didn't know. And, damn him, tonight he didn't care. Tonight, he just wanted her. And there were real butterflies in his stomach when he rang the buzzer for access to her condo.
She opened the door with a smile so wide it sparked his soul. "You look great," she said, her words echoing his thoughts. As far as he was concerned, he looked like he always did. Jeans. A tee. Nothing special. She, however, was a vision. She'd tied her hair back with a scarf, but loose tendrils had escaped to frame her face, giving her a carefree vibe that was accentuated by the knit sundress she wore that clung to her breasts and waist before flaring out in a swirl of material that flowed around her ankles.