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Muted bass beats thrummed in the background while I took in the clean lines and long windows around the reception area. A guy I recognized from the website as Andy came forward to greet us. The yellow-blond tips to his cropped, dark hair made me think of buttercream icing on chocolate cake, and I hid my smile.
“Hey.” He stuck out his hand to me. “You must be Caitlin. I’m Andy. Welcome to Koru.” He glanced at where my fingers were entwined with Jasper’s, and widened his eyes.
There was a single moment of confusion, but then Jasper released me, and I shook hands with Andy. “Thank you for letting me use your kitchen.”
“No worries.”
“Come on,” said Jasper. “It’s through here.” He led me across an open-plan area, past doors that led to changing rooms and a glass-walled studio, through another swing door, and into a kitchen.
It was smaller than my old place, but the white surfaces gleamed, and upon examination, it was spotlessly clean everywhere. The fridge was half-filled with bottled drinks, but even as it stood, there was enough room to store my perishables. Lots of power sockets, a built-in pantry, and plenty of natural light too. It couldn’t be better, and I had to swallow the lump that appeared in my throat.
Jasper to the rescue. Again.
“I dug out the paperwork for you.” Andy held up a plastic folder. “You can check it’s all in order, but it was only signed off a few months ago. It’s all up to date.”
I nodded. “I can’t thank you enough—both of you. This is amazing. Perfect. If I move my stuff over today, I can start work again right away. Don’t you think it’s funny, though, to have a cake maker in the kitchen of a gym? They don’t go together.”
Andy grinned. “Unless you also make a healthy cake we can sell?”
What a brilliant concept. Ideas flooded my brain, quicker than I could process them. “I can. Definitely. Bran muffins, sweetened with apple puree. And I have a low-fat, gluten-free brownie recipe that’s very popular.”
“Mm hmm. I’d volunteer to sample your sweet goods.” Andy winked.
Jasper groaned, and then punched Andy in the arm. “Dude. Don’t scare her off.”
Andy laughed, his eyes crinkling in the corners. Standing there with his arms folded and legs slightly apart, he looked buff and handsome, in a cocky way. He was ripped, for sure, but he knew it. I much preferred Jasper, even with his almost permanent scowl.
It didn’t matter how much I liked him. He regretted sleeping with me, and that stung like a million bees at once.
I gave Jasper an apologetic smile. “We spent a lot of yesterday moving my gear into your place, and now we need to move it out again.”
“I can help,” said Andy before Jasper could reply. “Do it now, if you’d like? I’ve got an SUV outside. It’s nicer than Jasper’s truck.”
“My truck’s fine. She’s a classic.”
“And my mum’s the Queen of Sheba.”
They looked completely at home, ribbing each other, and I watched, amused. This was another side of Jasper I could grow to love. To like. There was no room for love in our non-relationship. One night of earth-shattering sex was not enough for me to give my heart away. Yeah, right.
“Caitlin?” Jasper broke into my thoughts. “Get you set up tonight, or leave it until tomorrow?”
I wasn’t sure I had enough energy left to do anything more than faceplant onto my bed and sleep, but Jasper and Andy were waiting for my answer. “Tonight, I guess. If you’re sure?”
“On second thought, you stay here,” said Jasper. “I’ll go with Andy, and you can figure out where to put everything.” When I opened my mouth to argue, he raised a hand. “I insist. You can buy the beers later. Sound fair?”
It was wholly unfair, and it made me uncomfortable to think about Jasper struggling up and down the stairs, but it wasn’t my place to tell him what to do.
****
Two hours later, with every muscle aching and then some, the move was done, my equipment and supplies settled into my new kitchen. I needed to rearrange the shelves and cupboards, and bring the most-used items to the front, but it was workable.
I had a mile-long list of things to do, from calling Deanna to updating my website and recalculating delivery charges, but they could wait until morning. In theory, I was on holiday for another week. Maybe I’d spend the entire time asleep? That sounded attractive.
People buzzed around me. Andy. A gym instructor they introduced as Tane. Jasper. And Holly, who showed up bearing three giant pizza boxes.
“Dinner,” she announced. “Dig in, everyone.”
Andy turned up the music, and we had an impromptu picnic on the floor, now that the clients had left. Slugging back energy drinks and gorging on pepperoni pizza, I felt almost happy. Tane, a tall, dark-skinned guy, flirted with me non-stop, and I fluttered my eyelashes and pretended to be interested. Holly had a good-natured argument with Andy and Jasper, about sci-fi movies.
I watched Jasper covertly and wondered again what Cindy had wanted with him. What was so urgent? He scratched at the stubble on his chin, and my thighs tingled at the memory of him going down on me. I’d never forget our night together, but how long would it take for the ache of rejection to ease?
Since Jasper was in the process of selling his share of the gym, that meant I wouldn’t be bumping into him every day. I was glad and sad at the same time.
He made this move possible, and I’d always be grateful to him. And in three weeks’ time, I’d wave him goodbye.