Winning It All by Wendy Etherington

simpler to schedule.”
    Darcy nodded. He always thought of everything. “I’m sure it will. I bet race weekends are hectic.”
    “They are,” Bryan said, looking more annoyed than ever. “Wouldn’t it be easier to do the training at the beginning of the week? At home?”
    “Sure it would,” Rachel said, glaring at her brother. “But you claim to be too busy then, too.”
    “She’s right, Bryan.” Parker smiled. “Don’t look so concerned. Darcy wouldn’t hurt you.”
    “Can she hurt him a little?” Rachel asked, hopeful. “He’s been a complete bear the last few weeks.”
    “Then a spot of yoga will be just the thing,” Darcy said, trying to sound optimistic.
    Rachel nudged her husband. “Isn’t the Irish adorable?”
    “Absolutely,” Parker said.
    Darcy cast a furtive look at Bryan. She needed to be tough with her client, not adorable. “I doubt you’dthink so after one of my training sessions on the treadmill.”
    Bryan crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not getting on the treadmill or doing any yoga. I’m starving. Maybe after dinner.”
    Darcy chose to ignore his protest. “I’m not opposed to a before-yoga snack. I have some apples and organic, no-sugar-added peanut butter in my bag. It’ll be just the thing to get your blood sugar level again.”
    The elevator door dinged, and she stepped through the opening. Bryan remained in the car, his expression set in stubborn lines. Behind him, Parker and Rachel looked positively gleeful. They were no doubt going to indulge in champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries like Cade and Isabel. She’d allow her client a similar indulgence…eventually.
    “Come on, mate,” she said to Bryan when he still hadn’t moved. “I can’t wait to get you into Cobra.”
    The expression on his face was certainly mood-boosting for her. Somewhere between confusion, disbelief and a hint of sensual interest. “Into—what?”
    She angled her head. “You’ll see.”
    He stepped out.
    “I’ll change into my workout gear then meet you at your room in ten minutes.” She looked him over from head to toe. “You need to put on something a little less restrictive. Sweats, shorts, pajama pants—any of those will work.” Walking down the hall towardher room, she thought of one last thing and turned back. “And no shoes.”
    The aggravated expression was gone, and she couldn’t say she wasn’t loving the confusion. “Pajama pants? No shoes? What kind of workout is this?”
    “The relaxed kind.” She was several steps away when he spoke to her back.
    “I don’t have pajamas.”
    Though her steps stuttered, she managed to continue to her room, eyes closed and not imagining what he slept in.
    None of my business. He’s just a client.
    Workouts were professional—at least to her. But him being…intrigued by her methods wasn’t a bad thing. Anything that could jolt him out of his negative head space was warranted. And, if all else failed, she was pretty sure she’d figured out a way to throw a trump card.
    But she wasn’t going to fight dirty.
    Smiling to herself, she opened her door. At least not yet.
     
    “Y OU HIRED ME to do a job. Are you going to let me do it or not?”
    Bryan had reluctantly hired a trainer who acted more like a drill sergeant. In fact, the guy he’d wanted to hire had, in fact, been a drill sergeant, and he didn’t think that guy would be as demanding. “Yeah, sure. Whatever.”
    Though he was still knocked way off balance by the barefoot woman wearing a fitted black tank top and matching pants who was currently standing in his hotel room.
    She set a plate of cut apples, smeared with peanut butter, then her cell phone on the coffee table. “Here’s your snack. I’ve already called room service and ordered your dinner. It’ll be here in less than an hour. So we have twenty minutes to—”
    “You ordered dinner?”
    “Of course. A low-fat, high-protein regimen is essential to—”
    “What did you