have saved her from a rude client on the beach, but part of him thought she would’ve handled it just fine on her own. He’d never met someone so completely independent, someone who had herself together the way she did. He used to be like her, before the tsunami. He remembered feeling as if he could tackle any challenge, surf any wave, no matter how big. But now he wasn’t sure he could even get out of the bed in the morning. He wanted a little bit of Jun’s certainty, a little of her glue to hold himself together.
That was why she had to work for him.
It had nothing to do with the fact that she was 100 percent alluring: athletic and gorgeous yet delicate all at the same time. She was like a hormone cocktail that made his head buzz.
Even now he shifted in the front seat of his car, his groin growing taut as he watched her march across the gym in black spandex capris that hugged her fit curves, her gleaming black ponytail bouncing as she went. His body’s response surprised him. It wasn’t as if he lacked for sex, but to be so struck by a single mom? He believed in the power of family, of ’ohana, as his aunt called it. But when it came to having one of his own, he always thought he would someday, but that always seemed far away, years down the road, when his surfing career was long done. He’d never been one to seriously consider dating a single mom, and he’d never once found one as sexy as he found Jun.
But this is professional, not personal, he reminded himself. He needed a trainer. She needed to earn more than what this place could no doubt provide. Island Fit might be a nice gym, but it was small and probably relied heavily on tourists streaming in from the big hotel resort next door.
He swung open his Jeep door and stepped out into the temperate tropical breeze rolling in off the ocean, ready to go see why Jun hadn’t already accepted his offer, and he wasn’t going to leave until he got the answer he wanted. He flipped his expensive shades to the top of his head as he pulled open the glass door.
He saw Jun first, standing near the front desk, and then noticed she was being crowded by a stout, muscled man who seemed to be trying to find a reason to keep his hand on her lower back. Instantly, jealousy blazed up in his chest. Surprised by the possessiveness he felt, he pushed the territorial feelings down. He had no hold on her. Yet.
“Kai,” Jun blurted, surprise flickering across her face. The man next to her, he noticed, didn’t pull away but moved closer to her side, eyes narrowing as he looked warily in Kai’s direction. Jun tried to delicately untangle herself from the man’s iron grip on her as she made introductions. “Um, Tim, this is Kai Brady. Kai, this is my boss, Tim Reese.”
Tim released her, but not fast enough for Kai’s taste. This guy was her boss? He had sexual-harassment lawsuit written all over him.
“Kai, I’ve heard of you, man. You’ve got that baggy line of board shorts everyone’s wearing.” Tim sent him a guarded smile, showing that the compliment was intended to be anything but. He held out a hand and Kai shook it. He noticed Tim’s grip was harder than it should be, and Kai realized the man saw him as competition. If it was a pissing contest he wanted, Kai already knew he’d win.
“Yeah, we just hit the three-million mark for numbers sold but projections are to double that by next year. Even mainland kids are wearing them.” That figure shut up Tim in a hurry, and Kai had known it would. He hated talking money, but some guys wouldn’t back down until it was in their face.
“Kai, what are you doing here?” Jun looked stricken, almost panicky.
“You forgot already? You promised me a workout session.” The lie came easily.
“I did?” Jun’s face went blank.
“You did.” Kai nodded back to the half-empty gym.
Tim still stood a little too close to Jun, but Kai could see the wheels moving in his head. A three-time surf champion at Island Fit would bring in more customers. He could see Tim struggling with what he wanted more: Jun or the business. If Kai had had to make the same call, he wouldn’t have hesitated.
“I double booked, then. I’ve got another client in ten minutes.” Jun glanced down at the computer monitor in front of her.
“I’ll take it, Jun,” Tim said, and rubbed her arm for good measure. Kai wanted to slap the meathead’s hand away, especially when he saw Jun smile at him in relief.
“Thanks, Tim.”
“No problem. You go help Kai.” He rubbed her back again and it took all of Kai’s energy not to leap over the small counter and grab the dude by his muscle shirt. Jun moved away from him and Kai followed her to the far corner of the gym.
“You didn’t ask for a session,” Jun said when they were far enough away from Tim not to be overheard.
“I asked for all your sessions,” Kai corrected, and Jun nearly lost her footing on the rubber-matted floor near the weights. Kai’s arm shot out to steady her. “You okay?”
“Fine.” Jun held his arm for a second and then let it go as though it were a white-hot poker. Kai could feel Tim glaring at them from the desk.
“It’s been two days. I was expecting your call.”
“I...” Jun looked fully flustered now. “I was just taking the time to think about it.”
“What’s to think about?” Kai really wanted to know. He was offering her free child care and six figures. Did she want stock options in his clothing company?
“Let’s start out with some free weights and some squats,” Jun said, trying to direct his attention to the weight stand. “Good for building those surfing muscles.”
“I’m serious, Jun. What will it take to convince you to say yes? I want to make this happen.” He needed her confidence, her no-nonsense “you can fix that” attitude. Plus, he’d like to have Po around. The kid made him smile. Made him think about something other than his knee. That was a good thing. “Where’s Po?”
“My sister is watching him today.”
“Can your sister watch him every day?”
“No,” Jun admitted. Kai grabbed thirty-pound weights for each hand. “You can do more than that!” She made him switch for fifty-pound weights. “Now, we’re going to do lunges first. Like this.” She took one huge step forward, showing him the form. He’d done free-weight lunges often and knew what she wanted. He started in on the first rep, using his good knee to take the weight first.
“Come work for me.”
“But...Tim has been good to me,” Jun said. Kai flinched as he heard the affection in her voice. Did she have a thing for that guy? He certainly had one for her, based on the way he stared at them, as if he was prepared to run on over if Kai so much as breathed on her.
Sweat popped up on his forehead. It had been a while since he’d worked so hard.
“Tim has a thing for you, you know.” Kai watched Jun carefully to gauge her reaction. She winced a little, an uncomfortable squirm, much to his relief.
“Is it that obvious?” Jun glanced back at Tim.
“You see how he’s staring daggers at me right now? He’s pissed off I interrupted his back-rubbing session.”
“His
