He gritted his teeth, pushing the bar up, his arms shaking under the weight of it. Dixie had seen the hole in the office wall and had peppered him with questions until he’d finally had enough and snarled, “Fucking Tracey. That’s why I punched the wall.” Dixie had gotten a kick out of that, which had only pissed him off more. He’d patched the damn hole after he’d closed the bar, and that had only amped up his anger.

He pushed out one more rep, set the bar on the rack, and sat up. This was so messed up. He wasn’t some dumbass kid with a crush. He took off his baseball cap and raked a hand through his hair, looking at the hat he’d had forever. Tracey’s face appeared before him. You can trust me with your secrets.

His chest constricted, and he put his hat back on, rising to his feet.

“Diesel Black, get your butt out here!”

He snapped around at the sound of Tracey’s angry voice. What the hell? He headed down the hall to the main meeting room, where he found her pacing, hands fisted by her sides, gorgeous in a sexy little black dress. A dress she’d worn for the goddamn doctor.

“I am so mad at you!” she seethed. “You ruined my date! I was with the perfect guy, and all I could think about was you.”

He should probably feel bad for the pleasure that brought, but there was no hiding the grin tugging at his lips.

“You and your stupid grunts and growls and that kiss!” She groaned, still pacing furiously.

He stepped closer. “Yeah?”

“Don’t yeah me. You’re ruining everything! You’ve got my head all messed up.”

“Mine too.” He took another step closer.

“I had a great time tonight with an amazing guy who actually talked to me like a regular person and asked me to go out on his boat with him. And I felt nothing. Not one little spark when he kissed me or complimented me, or anything.”

Thank fucking God. Diesel moved closer. “Good.”

She stopped pacing and stared at him. “It’s not good! It’s a disaster! I swore I would never get involved with a guy who was bad for me again, and I can’t stop thinking about you. You’re the worst guy on the planet for me.”

“You’re not wrong.”

She laughed incredulously. “Great! I’m a frigging bad-boy magnet, but at least I know I’m right when I say I’m heading down the wrong path. That makes me feel better.”

“I’m not a boy.” He closed the remaining distance between them. “And I’m definitely not what you need.”

“I know!” She was breathing so hard, her chest brushed against his bare chest with every inhalation. “Why are you shirtless?”

“I can’t get you out of my fucking head either.”