Chapter 3

Being at the gym at eight in the morning. On a Sunday. It was ridiculous.

What was even crazier? People were already leaving, dripping with sweat and laughing like maniacs. Which meant they’d probably woken up at six to start working out at seven.

To exercise. On a Sunday.

The sacred day of sleeping in and a lazy brunch.

I had serious concerns about these people’s mental health.

“Hey, Pete!” Derek greeted me cheerfully as I walked in. “Glad you made it!”

I watched two women walk past us, giggling and glowing like they had just a great time.

“Do you do psych evaluations on your members?” I asked him quietly. “Because I think some of them might need help.”

Derek laughed out loud and genuinely. “Man, you crack me up.”

The fact that he’d probably been working out since seven AM himself made me question his sanity.

“So, do you have to be crazy to do exercise for a living?” I asked.

He grinned. “Nope. But it helps.” He clapped his hands together. “Bella and I put together a workout and diet plan for you.”

He handed me a few printed pages and went over the first one. “Cardio, core training, and body strength are our focus for the first four weeks. We’ll start slow and build from there, all right?”

I nodded, not entirely convinced.

“As for the diet, we kept it broad. You said food is your thing, so it’s important to make this manageable. If the food plan doesn’t work for you, you’re more likely to quit. Bella will go through that part with you later.”

I nodded again, feeling like a student at the world’s most exhausting school.

“Come on, I’ll show you what we’ve got planned.” He led me to a row of treadmills.

I eyed the machines with suspicion. “Modern torture devices in their natural habitat. Not especially dangerous, unless you’re a thirty-five-year-old who hasn’t run since high school gym class.”

Derek gave me a long look, equal parts amused and bewildered.

“Sorry,” I said. “I tend to talk a lot. Not much of it makes sense.”

His grin spread slowly. “Makes perfect sense to me.”

He tapped a few buttons. “Okay, this’ll start you off at a slow, steady walk. Then it’ll pick up a little, tilt like you’re walking uphill, and cool back down to your starting pace.”

I stepped on, sighed dramatically, and waited for the machine to start.

“I’ll check back in when you’re done,” he said, then walked off to help other members.

Bella waved at me from across the room. I waved back, still panting from doing nothing. She was talking to a woman using a machine that looked like it was designed by a medieval torturer. Derek was busy helping a guy deadlift what appeared to be half a car.