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  “My mother has no idea about my life. I was great at marketing. I had some brilliant promo ideas.”

  Maud chuckled. “I saw you both dressed as cheese wedges at Foodland last year. Believe me, you even sucked at being sour milk.”

  Meg folded her arms and glared at the old lady. “We were testing the market.”

  “Bullshit. You should listen to the hussy, she’s got balls, unlike that useless male she tried to sell me.”

  Why did everyone think Meg needed help to sort out her life? She had things under control. She planned to surf the net later and apply for some jobs. The only thing holding her back was having to take Maud everywhere with her. She daren’t leave her at home alone. Maud had moved into St. Andrews because she had a habit of setting things alight. The first time she left the toast on so long it burst into flames she claimed it was an accident. But when she managed to set fire to one of her famous wigs while making a cup of tea, the family had decided to save her from herself. Until Meg found a new home for Maud, there would be little chance of her finding employment and her bank account would remain empty. Without Sam paying the rent for both of them, she’d be homeless. She never wanted him to have to keep her, but thanks to Laura and Maud, she had no choice unless she wanted to move back in with her parents. And now Laura planned to embark on another disastrous business venture.

  She knew no one could talk Laura out of the idea, no matter what they said to her. Once she got something into her head, she was immovable. No way did Meg have to get involved. Though she would stand back and watch the inevitable train wreck. Time for a change of topic before Laura tried another angle of persuasion.

  “I never knew you were coming into an inheritance.”

  Laura grinned. “Neither did I. The lawyer called me out of the blue. Apparently, my godmother had no one close to leave her money to.”

  “How much money?”

  “Fifty grand. It seemed perfect. Chad told me about the bar, and then I suddenly had all this money.”

  Meg choked on her coffee and thumped her chest a half a dozen times until she got her breath back. “Chad? Stripper Chad?”

  Maud lifted her head at the word stripper. “Not the one with the huge ding-dong called Roger? I always wanted to pet Roger, but that sleazy strip joint he worked at barred me. How was I to know you weren’t supposed to climb on stage and join in?”

  Groaning, Meg buried her face in her hands. Her best friend planned to go into business with a male stripper whose appendage had been nicknamed Roger by his adoring fans. A male strip joint had barred her elderly great aunt because her behavior was beyond outrageous. And now she discovered the old lady was currently carrying a torch for a man’s dick. This had to be the Twilight Zone. Someone must have put something in the water to turn everyone but her mad.

  “Can I have Roger as a replacement for the broken one?”

  Meg banged her head on the table a few times in an effort to deaden the pain. “We are not in the escort business anymore, and Michael wasn’t broken.”

  Maud snorted. “Looked broken to me. I’ve seen Twinkies firmer than his penis. Do you know something I don’t?”

  Heat swept up Meg’s body and she fought to keep her voice level. In her current sex-starved state she didn’t want to remember events best left to history. So, why did the memory of being pinned beneath a very erect and naked Michael Monaghan when she rescued him from Maud flash in her brain? He was not her type. Sam was. Sam was the only man she wanted or needed, and she needed him right now.

  “We have to get going. You can collect Maud at two tomorrow afternoon.”

  Laura shrugged. “If you like.”

  Maud looked hopeful. “Will Chad be going with us?”

  Meg glared at Laura. “No, he won’t. You are going to go shopping together and nothing else.”

  Laura saw them out and Meg helped Maud do up her seatbelt before reversing onto the road. A glance in her rearview mirror showed they had just left in time. If she wasn’t mistaken, the black four wheel drive pulling up beside Laura’s belonged to the infamous Chad.

  “Where are we going now?”

  “The gym.”

  Maud tugged at her frock. “I need to go home and change. I can’t work out in this. You should have said so before we came out. I’ve got a lovely leotard in hot pink with matching leg warmers and sweatband.”

  Meg fought back a groan of frustration. She only intended to visit the gym to see Sam and tell him the good news, but maybe an hour on the treadmill would wear the old girl out.

  Chapter Seven

  Appropriately attired in purple sweatpants and matching top, Meg climbed from her compact car and rushed to help the old lady to her feet. She was sprightly for her age, but no one ran marathons in their mid-eighties. If Maud died working out, her mother would blame her. She had better keep an eye on Maud to make sure she didn’t overdo it.

  Once she got out of the car, Maud shook Meg off. “We won’t pick up hot men if you hold on to me. They’ll think we’re lesbians. Not that I have anything against lesbians. When you get to my age men are hard to come by, but I would definitely be dating someone hotter than you.”

  Meg wasn’t sure whether to be shocked Maud was an equal opportunity sex addict or offended she didn’t find Meg attractive. Although, seeing as they shared a bed the alternative was too horrible to contemplate and she should thank the Lord for small mercies.

  Together, they climbed the shallow steps, and then Meg pushed the door open and stepped inside. She’d been a couple of times before, but exercise was not her best friend. She got her workouts with Sam, and they didn’t involve barbells, just lots of sweating.

  Maud flashed a wide smile at the young blonde working the front counter. Meg would feel like a cradle snatcher if she dated him. He couldn’t be more than eighteen.

  “Ladies. Are you members?”

  Meg shook her head. “No. I’m a friend of Sam’s and we hoped to get a free trial to see if we wanted to join.”

  The young man grinned at her. “You must be Meg, and I’m guessing this vision of pink loveliness is Maud.”

  Maud positively glowed. “You’ve heard of me, hot stuff?”

  He leaned on the counter. “Absolutely, sweet thing, and we’ve all been dying to meet you. How about I escort you and give you a personal workout?”

  Meg chuckled. No doubt he wanted to find out if the pair of them were as eccentric as Sam led him to believe. Added to that, he was obviously gay so he would be safe left alone with Maud, and if he watched Maud, she would be free to chase Sam down.

  The young man vaulted the front counter and offered Maud his arm. “I’m Lance. Shall we?”

  Maud linked arms with him and batted her enormous lashes.

  Meg hung back. “If you two are okay without me, I might go find Sam.”

  Lance patted Maud’s hand. “Leave her with me. She’ll have a blast. Sam’s in studio one. He should be finishing his class in about twenty minutes. When you’re done, we’ll be in the main gym putting this sweet thing through her paces.”

  As they wandered off, she heard Maud asking Lance if his pecs were real. No doubt she would feel him up to find out. Gay or not, he’d have his hands full and would need to be rescued sooner rather than later.

  Alone at last, Meg sauntered to studio one. People for the next class hung around outside. Some sat on couches and others leaned against walls. Meg excused herself and found a spot where she could watch the class in action through the full-length glass windows.

  Sam lay on his back on the small stage and the members of the class were flat out all over the room. The music vibrated and she watched in erotic fascination as he scooted his feet under his knees and demonstrated pelvic thrusts in time to the beat. No wonder he had such amazing stamina and rhythm. She chewed her thumbnail in an effort to hold back a moan of pure lust. Her whole body thrummed with sexual tension and a pulse beat between her thighs in response to each of Sam’s thrusts.

  A deep
female voice whispered, “Wouldn’t you just love to have him do that to you naked and in bed?”

  Meg glanced at the woman who had apparently been unable to stop herself from sharing her fantasy with a total stranger. The woman moaned softly when Sam pumped his hips upward again. The bike shorts he wore did nothing to reduce the eroticism in the move. His new fan could be anything from thirty upward. Plastic surgery might be involved, but either way her body put Meg’s to shame. If women like that made passes at Sam, how long would he resist? The man had a sex drive that could power a whole suburb. One way or another, she needed to make sure he was satisfied or risk losing him to someone else.

  “He’s got a girlfriend.”

  The woman chuckled. “Don’t I know it. He kissed her like his life depended on it a few weeks ago, but just because he has someone now doesn’t mean he isn’t interested in a fling. He is male, after all.”

  The dark haired woman looked Meg up and down. “Although you might need to work out a little harder if you want to try your luck.”

  Meg glanced down at her scruffy, baggy sweatshirt, which she knew hid a multitude of sins, including a midriff that could use some toning. Sam had been kissing another woman? Why not. She was hardly the catch of the century and he had been going without at home.

  “Did you see the woman he kissed?”

  “Sure. Tall, slim, and very blond.” Without another word, the woman who had been ogling Sam sauntered down the corridor. Meg glanced back through the window. Pain filled her chest. Sam wouldn’t cheat on her, would he? Maybe it was before they got together. Their relationship was still very new. Everyone in the class looked so toned and fit. Perhaps she should exercise and try to be more like the women he spent all day with. Sam seemed to enjoy working out and it wouldn’t kill her to make an effort, she hoped.

  Meg wandered back toward reception and followed the sign to the ladies’ gym. She might be about to make a fool of herself, and she preferred Maud not witness her performance. A gym without men would be of no interest to the old lady.

  Her heart hit the floor when she walked in to discover Sam’s dark haired fan running up a sweat on a treadmill. The gym was packed, but when the woman on the treadmill gave her a smile of recognition, Meg had no choice but to exercise. She couldn’t let her think she was intimidated. Her new friend slowed her machine and patted the one next to her.

  “Jump on, don’t be shy.”

  Meg climbed on board. An array of buttons on the console bemused her.

  “I’m Claudia. I guess you’re new to exercise.”

  Hmm, Meg wasn’t sure what that meant exactly. Was she saying Meg looked fat? It was the damn sweatshirt. She might be a little voluptuous but then who wouldn’t appear that way next to Miss Body Beautiful?

  “Meg.” She prodded wildly at the buttons in the hope something would happen. “I’m just not used to a treadmill. I prefer to run around the streets. Feel the rush of the wind in my hair, asphalt beneath my feet.” The machine lurched into action, and Meg grabbed the sides and started to walk briskly.

  Claudia reached over and pressed a button. “I guess this will be more your speed then if you usually run.”

  Meg scrambled to move her feet faster as the machine powered up. Claudia was barely even sweating and she was running just as fast. Panting for air, Meg fought to keep her legs moving in time. Maybe if she imagined something at the front of the machine worth chasing she wouldn’t feel the burn quite so much. Ice cream, chocolate with warm fudge topping. Momentarily distracted, she started to slide back on the running pad and fought to catch up before she fell off the end. Ice cream was a bad idea. She pounded faster and reached for the control panel and the big button that said “stop,” but no matter how fast she ran it was out of her reach.

  With a smarmy grin, Claudia reached over and hit the speed button twice sending Meg into a frenzy of action. She needed to stop. Her legs were turning to jelly. Her lungs ached as she dragged in one torturous breath after another. Claudia’s machine ground to a stop and she stepped off.

  “Nice meeting you.”

  “Wai—wai—” before Meg could pant out a whole word her toned torturer disappeared out the door and Meg was positive she heard her laugh. Now what the fuck was she going to do?

  Chapter Eight

  Sam climbed to his feet and thanked the class before bending to collect his towel and water bottle. He glanced at the space beyond the window where he had spotted Meg, or at least it looked like Meg. The room emptied and he made his way toward the door, eager to see if she was waiting for him.

  The last woman he wanted to see halted his progress. Crazy Claudia had already driven one trainer away with her inability to take no for an answer. He sucked in his stomach and slid between her and the doorframe, but didn’t escape her running a finger down his arm.

  “Hi, Sam. How’s your girlfriend?”

  He frowned. As far as he knew, she’d never met Meg. He sure as hell had never introduced them, and Meg rarely came to the gym. She had other ways of burning off calories—his favorite being in his bed, or in his reclining chair, or the kitchen table, the top of the washing machine, the shower. Hell, if they ever got some time alone, she would be positively anorexic.

  “What girlfriend?”

  Claudia practically purred as she wrapped herself around him. “Oh sugar, if you don’t remember, she can’t mean much to you. Have you forgotten the cheap blond thing already? A real woman would have you thinking about sex twenty-four seven.”

  With difficulty, he wriggled free of her grasp. She was talking about Laura. In all the excitement over Meg and Maud’s arrest, and having the harridan from hell move in, he’d forgotten he kissed Laura to get Claudia to back off. With Claudia set to pounce on him, and Meg somewhere in the near vicinity, now wasn’t the right time to correct her assumptions about who he was dating. “My girlfriend is real. In fact, I think I saw her just now. So, if you’ll excuse me.”

  A quick check of the main gym came up empty, although he couldn’t hold in a chuckle when he saw Lance valiantly trying to wrestle Maud away from a guy lifting weights above his head. If she pinched that butt, she would be in danger of having more than a few kilos landing on her head. Mind you, it would teach her a lesson. He had bruises on his arse from her constant grabbing at him. If he didn’t love Meg so much, he would have moved out to get away from Maud, but the chance of a stolen moment here and there was better than nothing. Even if seeing Meg and not being able to touch her most of the time was his own personal hell.

  Stepping back into the hallway, he pondered where else Meg could be. No way would she have gone home and left Maud behind. Regardless of what she said about her, he knew Meg had a soft spot for the old lady. She could drive a person to drink most of the time but she was still Meg’s great aunt. Things could be worse; they could be living with Meg’s mother. The thought made him shudder. She would either put him in a chastity belt or lock Meg in her room to protect her daughter’s virtue. Too bad Sam had stolen her virtue, and some. A stirring in his groin made him take a deep breath. No way in hell was he about to saunter around the gym in bike shorts with a boner big enough to poke an eye out. A few moments of quiet contemplation and he was good to go.

  The ladies’ gym, was off limits to all male employees unless they were with a personal training client, but it was the only place he hadn’t checked.

  Not willing to risk a disciplinary warning, he snuck a look through the glass in the door. A purple and red blob pounded away on the treadmill like she was running after an ice cream truck. What in heaven’s name was she doing? No one as sedentary as Meg should be going that hard. He shoved the door open and sprinted across to the treadmill. He pounded the stop switch with his fist just as she finally lost balance. With a quick move, he caught her in his arms and lifted her to safety just before she did a huge face-plant on the rubberized running track.

  *

  Eyes squeezed shut, Meg gasped for breath. Her legs were still making runnin
g motions, but she seemed to be floating through the air. She must have had the aneurism that kept threatening and now she was hovering above her prostrate dead body.

  “Meg?”

  Oh, one of the angels had lifted her in his wings and was calling her name. He sounded just like Sam. God really did think of everything.

  “Meg? Are you okay? What the fuck were you doing?”

  What kind of language was that for an angel to be using? And how dare it yell at her? Talk about no respect for the dead. She opened her eyes and her anger melted.

  “Sam. My angel.”

  He smiled. “Meg. Thank God you’re allright.”

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and he hugged her tight to him as he carried her out of the room.

  Still trying to catch her breath, she happily let him take her where he would. Right now, she could use a cool drink and a rest, but having the man of her dreams carry her around in his arms was a suitable substitute. He walked back toward the reception area, and when they passed Claudia, Meg couldn’t resist sticking her tongue out. The woman looked fit to bust a gut. Wanting to grind home the humiliation, Meg pressed her lips to Sam’s. He stopped walking and gladly accepted the fervent kiss.

  When Meg finally pulled back, he grinned at her before shoving his butt against a door and carrying her into a side room. “Was she watching?”

  Embarrassed at being caught acting like a child, Meg feigned ignorance. “Who?”

  “Claudia. I assume that was for her benefit?”

  He let Meg slide down to her feet. Not willing to make eye contact, she toyed with the front of his T-shirt. “Does it matter?”

  Sam slid his fingers under her chin and tilted her face up to look at him. “I don’t care either way. The woman is a pain in the arse, but what do you have against her?”

  Meg swallowed, remembering what Claudia had said about Sam kissing another woman and her antics with the treadmill. “She told me you had a girlfriend already. Some blond woman you were kissing the other day. I wanted her to know the only girlfriend you have is me.”