Running for Love (The Armstrongs Book 10) Read online

  “Good morning, Vivian. Come on in.”

  She hesitated for a second, and then stepped inside, giving him a wide berth so he could maneuver both the door and his crutches. “Good morning, Rock. Your home is beautiful.”

  “Thanks. Want a tour before we get started?” he offered, having difficulties tearing his glance away from her. She’d let her auburn hair down, the strands a mixture of reddish and golden browns that framed her exquisite face.

  He clasped his hands around the handles of the crutches to prevent them from cupping her face. One deep look into those eyes…and his entire body stood at attention.

  She’d used eyeliner and a delicate shade of light blue eye shadow to highlight the liveliness of her eyes. They shone with a love for life that she couldn’t hide. A carelessness he missed so much in his own life, since…he blocked the thoughts that would bring only pain.

  “This kitchen is amazing,” Vivian commented as they reached the back of the house. Stainless-steel appliances, marble countertops, and dark wooden cabinets inhabited the large space also serving as dining room, and Rock shrugged, but couldn’t conceal his pride.

  “Want to see the rest?” he asked, needing to keep them moving before his brain and his actions overtook logic.

  Vivian nodded and followed him through the remainder of the main floor. He showed her his theater room, and they finally ended up at the enclosed pool house with a roof that automatically slid open to let in fresh air and sunshine. It was an extravagance he’d treated himself to in order to train three hundred and sixty-five days a year.

  “Wow. You have a private indoor Olympic-sized pool?” she said admiringly.

  Rock nodded and flipped a switch on the wall. The roof slid open as if by magic and warm sunrays poured inside.

  “That’s so cool! I’ve never seen a pool like this before…” She gazed at him, blushing and kept babbling. “I mean I have seen pools before. Lots of them. This is California. Lots of people have pools in their backyards. But not like this…” She flushed some more and stared with a marveling glance at the now fully opened roof. How he wished she’d look at him with that marvel in her eyes.

  “I admit it’s a gimmick, but I justified the cost with the convenience to train daily in my own home,” Rock answered.

  “You’ve been a professional athlete a long time?” Vivian reverently touched on of the starting blocks.

  “For most of my adult life and even before that.”

  “Do you even remember how many Iron man competitions you’ve raced and won?”

  Rock pursed his lips. “I’ve made a training schedule for you. Follow me and I’ll show you some stretches.”

  He turned and walked out of the pool house, heading for his workout room located on the other side of the house. A combination of both free weights and weight machines occupied the large space, and he walked over to the open training area and then stopped.

  Vivian’s eyes filled with questions as she followed him, but he couldn’t – and wouldn’t, go down that path. Even years later, the horrible weight of his friend’s death burdened him.

  If she didn’t know about the accident and what followed, he wouldn’t clue her in.

  “Wow. You even have a fully equipped gym. Did you have to do all this weight lifting for your competitive career?”

  “We’re not here to talk about me, but to get you prepared for the race of your lifetime.” The arrogance of his tone was reflected in the hurt look in her eyes, but he wasn’t going to apologize. It was her fault. Why did she have to bring up the past?

  “Can we discuss this outside? I’m locked up inside walls the whole week.” Vivian glanced around the room with the black rubber flooring and the wall of mirrors.

  “Fine. Outside it is.” He led her back through the pool house, sliding open the wall of glass doors and stopping next to a set of chairs on a flagstone patio that overlooked the rest of his property. “Have a seat.”

  Vivian sat down and crossed her legs.

  “So, here’s your training schedule for the triathlon.” Rock reached for his phone.

  “About that…I don’t want to sound dumb, but you’re not expecting me to run an Ironman, right?” She took a breath and then sat up a bit straighter, her eyes glued to his mouth expecting the answer.

  Rock bit back his smile at her question and then answered, “No. This is a charity race for the general public. We offer the Olympic distance and the fun distance, which is half the Olympic distance.

  Vivian’s eyes lit up.

  “You’ll be doing the Olympic distance, though. It’s only one mile swimming, twenty seven miles cycling and six point two miles running.”

  “That sounds an awful lot,” she answered with a horrified face.

  “Not really. Come here and I’ll show you.” He padded the place besides him on the sun lounger.

  Vivian reluctantly walked the three steps and sat by his side to look into his phone. He caught whiffs of her shampoo, a refreshing lemony scent that burnt into his memory as hers. Maybe it hadn’t been such a good idea to have her this close to him. Her hips and shoulders were less than an inch from his body and her alluring warmth seeped into his cells.

  He pulled up the training schedule he’d made for her and passed her the phone. Then he gave her a minute to scan the calendar, while he leaned back and admired her slender back ending in the luscious curve of her hips. His hands itched to explore the softness of her skin and a groan escaped him.

  “That is a training schedule for you. Of course we can adapt it after the first week,” he said while his eyes kept devouring her figure.

  She turned around with wide eyes after having read through the daily regimen. She obviously hadn’t expected her offer to require so much work. But Rock had no intention of going easy on her, on the contrary.

  “Five days a week?” she asked, hoarsely.

  “At a minimum.” Rock nodded and watched her squirm. Visions of her covered in sweat after exercise crossed his mind. He’d gladly help her take a cool shower and massage her tired limbs. His entire body hardened at the thought.

  “You still think this is a good idea?” Vivian asked him.

  Sure sweetheart. Having you in my arms is the best idea I’ve ever had. His obsession with her was annoying and he quirked up one side of his mouth to a sarcastic smile. “If you can’t handle it…”

  Color surged back into her face and annoyance filled her eyes. She snapped, “Of course I can handle it.”

  Rock chuckled at her vehemence. She was cut from the same cloth as himself. She rose so easily to the bait of a challenge, and riling her up took almost no effort. Not that it mattered, because he didn’t even like her. This was only to save the day for his charity.

  “So, what’s this charity race all about?” Vivian asked.

  Rock might not want to talk about his past competitions, but he’d talk all day and all night about his charity. It was what he lived for now.

  “Have you ever wondered what happens when a service member comes home missing an arm or a leg, or someone has to figure out how to live after a tragic accident that requires a complete or partial amputation?”

  Vivian thought for a moment and then shook her head. “I guess I haven’t. Aren’t there government programs to help people like that?”

  “Not nearly enough. The service members find it equally hard because they’re trying to reconnect with how civilians live, plus having to learn how to walk again. Or do things without part of their body they’ve had in the past. The struggles are real and mind-boggling. Many of the patients lapse into depression if they’re not treated properly.”

  Out of the corner of his eyes he saw her watching him intently. Most women either showed out of place pity or were bored. Not Vivian. Her gaze was fixated on his mouth and she seemed to swallow up each of his words.

  “My foundation Rock Solid started out supporting individuals in need. But now we want to make a real difference. I’ve already signed the contract
s to build a state-of-the-art rehab center right here in Los Angeles. But we need a lot more money than the foundation has. This triathlon is supposed to raise the funds still missing. It’s vitally important that it become a huge event.”

  Vivian cast a serious glance at him. “I didn’t know the race was that important. And I’m sorry about your ankle.” She hesitated a moment and bit her lower lip, before she continued with a sudden determination in her eyes, “I won’t disappoint you.”

  “I know.” Rock almost melted, as she studied the training schedule again.

  “I can run and bike by myself, but I don’t have access to a pool, only the ocean,” She murmured wrinkling her nose.

  “The ocean’s not good for training purposes. You can use my pool anytime you want.” The offer left his mouth before he could think about it. Milliseconds later, his over-active mind envisioned Vivian in a bathing suit and his entire body hardened.

  Vivian didn’t respond, other than to nod briefly and then to hand him back his phone. “Can you send me that schedule?”

  “Sure. You’ll have to download the training app and I’ll send you the details.”

  Once that was done, she stored her phone in her handbag and got up.

  “Where are you going?” Rock asked somewhat disappointed.

  “Home. I have some training to do. Don’t get up, I’ll find my way out,” she informed him.

  “Are you sure?”

  “The doctor prescribed rest for your ankle,” she answered with a smug grin. “I’ll call you if I run into any problems.”

  “We’ll talk in a few days to see how you’re doing.” He racked his brain to find an excuse to make her stay longer, but she tightened her mouth, turned around and was gone before he could grab his crutches and stand up.

  Chapter 7

  Vivian drove away from Rock’s house, her mind in turmoil. On one hand, her attraction to him was keeping her hot and bothered. On the other, his arrogance irritated the heck out of her.

  The presumptuous smirk on his face when he’d insinuated she couldn’t handle a bit of exercise. Gosh, how she’d wanted to wipe it off his face – with a kiss. No, kissing him was the last thing on her mind. Yes, his full lips with the sexy pit in the middle looked inviting. But no, she had not wanted to find out if he tasted as virile as he smelled.

  She knew rich and famous people like Rock Martens. And she didn’t like them. Entitled. Yes, that described him very well. He thought he owned the world, just because he’d won some stupid triathlon races many years back.

  Yet another self-centered celebrity too caught up in his own importance to be concerned with anyone else. That’s not true, she corrected herself. He founded a charity to help those less fortunate. And by the enthusiasm in his voice, it wasn’t just some publicity stunt. He really lived for his foundation.

  Rock Solid. See, he even used his own name to celebrate his importance. No, apart from his unarguably hot body, he didn’t have anything else going for him. I’m doing this only because I feel bad about the accident. Not because I like him.

  Vivian arrived at her apartment completely worked up over the sexy man she’d crashed into the day before and was actually grateful for the exercise she was supposed to do. It would help keep her mind off wandering over his body parts. She hadn’t missed his lustful stare, nor the bulge beneath his zipper. If she hadn’t fled his place, she’d be lying naked beneath him by now. Zings of lust coiled through her body and pooled deep down between her thighs.

  She unlocked the door to her apartment and sighed. The biking and swimming portions she looked forward to, but running? It came next to a root canal on her list of favorite occupations. What on earth had possessed her to offer to run that stupid race?

  Vivian flopped onto her bed and eyed the training app in her phone with suspicion. Three miles running leisurely. Three miles? And whoever thought the words running and leisurely worked well in one sentence?

  She groaned, tempted to forego the training. But the memory of his smug grin as he said the words, “If you can’t handle it…” attacked her. She rampaged her closet for workout clothes and tennis shoes when she heard steps in the living room.

  “Who’s there?” she called out and darted into the other room, where a handsome man with dark, cropped short hair and the same blue eyes as hers stood legs hip wide apart in the middle of the room.

  “Tyler! How many times have I told you to ring the bell?” she screamed at her older brother.

  “Hey, sis! And how many times have I told you to bolt the door? I could be a burglar or worse.” He stared at her with the bossy look only older brothers quite managed to do. The same one Rock had used on her.

  Oh no, I’m not thinking about him again.

  “Well, usually burglars don’t have a key to my apartment,” she said with a poignant look to the key in his hand.

  “Yeah right, sis. But this is L.A. You really have to lock the door behind you.” Tyler grinned and wrapped his thick arms around her. When he let her go, he noticed she was holding a pair of tennis shoes in her hand. “What’s that?”

  “What does it look like?” Vivian looked down her body clad in exercise gear and then raised a brow in his direction.

  He gave her a cheesy grin and then pointed at her attire and shoes. “Well, if I were a smart man, I’d deduce you were getting ready to go running. But then, my smart brain tells me that this is my sister wearing those clothes and shoes, and I’m reminded that there’s nothing my sister hates more than running.”

  Vivian tossed one of the throw pillows off the couch at him, but he caught it with one hand. “Well?”

  “As a matter of fact, I am going running. I’m in training.” She rose to her full height of five feet five, which didn’t make much of a difference against her brother’s six feet three.

  “Training? You? For what?” Tyler asked, apparently intrigued.

  “You’re not the only one who can train for a race,” she quipped and bent down to put on her shoes, which had the welcome side effect that he couldn’t see her eyes.

  “A race?”

  Vivian nodded and busied herself tying her shoes while she answered him. “Yeah, I’m participating in the Rock Solid Triathlon.”

  “You? No way!” Tyler burst out laughing.

  “Yes. Me. What? Did you think you’re the only one who can train and workout?” Her eyes were glaring daggers at him, although his reaction had to be expected. Everyone in the family knew Viv’s dislike for running.

  “I’m in the fire department. It’s part of my job description to stay in shape,” Tyler said on a deep chuckle.

  Vivian shrugged her shoulders. While all her brothers kept in shape, Tyler and her youngest brother River, who owned a scuba diving company, thrived on any kind of exercise – and the attention their well-sculpted muscles attracted from women.

  “So what started your newly found love for exercise?” Tyler teased.

  “It’s for a good cause.” Vivian chose not to mention the accident she had caused.

  “Yeah. Rock Marten’s foundation for veterans and victims of amputation. That man’s a hero.”

  “You know him?” Vivian looked at him quizzically.

  “Not personally, but last year one of my colleagues lost both legs in that awful fire when a burning beam crashed on him. The Rock Solid foundation paid for all the extra medical bills that weren’t covered by the insurance and even equipped him with two high-tech sports leg prostheses. So yeah, he’s pretty fantastic.”

  “His public image might be fantastic, but the Rock Martens I met is a total asshole.” Vivian shook her head. Why was everyone gushing about that guy? He was so not worth it.

  “If you think the guy is so bad, why are you running in a race he’s sponsoring? Especially, since you don’t even run.” Tyler narrowed his eyes at her.

  Vivian squirmed beneath her brother’s gaze, finally looking away and muttering, “Because I kind of ran over his ankle with my bike and broke it.”
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  Tyler stared at her with a look of horror on his face.

  “What? It was an accident,” she quipped.

  “How many times have I told you to stop speeding and watch where you’re going?”

  “I wasn’t speeding.” Well, maybe a little. But she’d rather die than admit this to her overprotective brother. In any case, she steeled her resolve for the lecture.

  “Were you even wearing a helmet, Viv?” Tyler widened his stance, as if he wanted to keep her from rushing out the door.

  Vivian rolled her eyes. “Of course I was wearing a helmet. Never leave home without it, Officer.”

  “Don’t be cute. I can’t believe you ran over Rock Martens.” Her brother ran a hand through his super short hair. A sign he was becoming exasperated.

  “I told you it was an accident,” Vivian said, softening her voice.

  “An accident caused by your irresponsible behavior. Don’t even try to deny it. This has your proprietary stamp of causing trouble written all over it.” He sighed and walked around her, his eyes steely as they inspected her for trauma. “Are you okay? Nothing happened to you? Should I take you to the hospital?”

  If it weren’t so annoying, Vivian would have laughed at the speed he’d gone from scolding her to worrying about her wellbeing. She was twenty-six and her brothers still treated her like a child.

  “I’m fine, Ty. Really. And I have to go running now…”

  “Oh, yes.” He grinned at her. “That’s my sis. Causing all kinds of trouble and then getting in deeper with every attempt to sort it out. Let me guess…you ran over the guy, and now he can’t run in his own race so you volunteered to take his place?”

  “Yes. It was the right thing to do.” She nodded, a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Now that her idea had been articulated aloud to Gwen and Tyler, it didn’t sound so logical. Or sane.

  “Maybe it was. But do you have any idea of what you’re signing up for?” Tyler said, frowning.