He grinned. “Yeah, but not enough for my liking.” When she stopped the machine and blinked at him, he realized how that may have sounded. “Uh, sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it came out.”

She smiled politely. “That’s okay. I didn’t read anything into it.”

“Good,” he said, nodding. “Don’t sweat it.” Then he paused and held one finger in the air. “Actually, sweat as much as you want. Just not about that. It didn’t mean anything.”

An unreadable expression flitted over her face before quickly disappearing. “Yeah. I know,” she said, her tone much lower than before. “It’s fine.”

With the way she clipped her words and turned away from him, he would most definitely say it wasn’t fine. He hoped he hadn’t offended her. Or was it possible that she’d caught on to his attraction for her, and he’d put her in an uncomfortable position?

Because that was the last thing he wanted to do.

Adam was just about to ask her when he spotted her staring at something across the room. His gaze followed hers and landed on Josh at the check-in counter. Oh. So it wasn’t anything Adam had done. She must’ve seen Josh walk through the front door and gotten flustered. That would explain the sudden change in her demeanor. “So, uh…Josh, huh?”

Preslee turned wide eyes onto Adam. “Um, what?”

He smiled at the surprise evident in her tone. “Have you asked him out?”

“Who?” She seemed genuinely confused, as if she hadn’t heard a word he said.

“Josh. You like him, right?”

Her cheeks flushed as she stared back at him. In shock? Or was that horror? “Of course. He’s nice and…well, he works for my dad. He’s a great employee.”

Adam stared at her. “That’s not what I meant. I’m asking if you like him.”

“Oh.” She hesitated so long that he began to wonder whether she would answer at all. “I suppose,” she said, lowering her chin. “But the whole thing is pointless, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Why do you say that?”

She sat there in silence, as if she wasn’t willing to elaborate. But her bright pink cheeks spoke volumes. He folded his arms. “Wait a minute. Is that why you want to work out? For him?”

She shook her head. “No, of course not. I’m trying to get fit for health reasons.”

Thank God. That’s a much better reason.

She cleared her throat and then added, “But it wouldn’t hurt if getting into shape came with an added bonus. Like catching Josh’s attention.”

Adam’s jaw tightened.