“Make them navy,” he said, offering her an opinion she obviously needed. “Yellow towels look weird.”
Olivia grinned and he leaned against the cart as she opened every towel to check it was perfect before adding it to the basket.
They had similar conversations in many aisles. She decided he needed a wall clock to keep an eye on the time while he was working out, and he didn’t have the heart to tell her he set timers on his phone. He actually liked the wicker baskets she selected for the clean and dirty towels.
“I think we’re done,” Olivia said, looking at the cart as they joined the check out line. “I hope we didn’t spend too much money.”
At a guess, it was about three hundred bucks, less than he earned in an hour. “It’s fine, Liv. But I want to carefully suggest something to you without upsetting you.”
Her smile dropped a little. “You don’t like it, right? As I was shopping, I wondered if I’d pushed you into the Sweden theme. It’s just—”
“Liv. Stop. I said I didn’t care, but I actually like the way you’ve pulled it all together. It’s something else.
“You’ve told me twice that you want to lose weight.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer until his hands rested on the curve of her ass. He dropped his lips to her ear. “I don’t think you need to, because I happen to love looking at your ass. But, being an athlete, I also know what it feels like to know you aren’t at your best. I know what it’s like to hit preseason training and feel like I didn’t work hard enough in the off-season. I have this new gym. And I fucking love the idea of you in workout clothes. Will you come over and work out with me when I get back from this road trip? I don’t want to push you. Your call, kämpe.”
Olivia sighed. “I just get stuck. I know what I need to do. I even make some progress, but then I blow it and then I get mad at myself.”
Comments she’d made at Christmas came back to him.
It’s been a long year, Anders. The hardest one I’ve ever had.
There was obviously a lot more to Olivia’s story than he understood. More than how she felt about her weight. And his A-type personality wanted so badly to make it right. He hoped in time she’d trust him with whatever it was.
“So, we take it in steps. Slow and steady. I think you’re perfect exactly the way you are. And you’ll be equally perfect if you lose weight. I’m easy either way. But I’m here to support you in whatever goals you want to set for yourself, alright?”
“Okay,” she said, a smile touching the corner of her eyes. “I’m game to try it.”
“Want me to write some exercises for you to do at home while I’m away?”
The tip of Olivia’s nose scrunched up as she considered it, an obvious sign she wasn’t that keen. He glanced at his watch, he had time before he had to head to the training facility. “What if I recorded them for you before I leave? That way we’d be kind of working out together?”
“Maybe I should wait until you get back.”
“I’ll record them in just my shorts as long as you promise not to share them. Extra motivation.”
Olivia laughed. “There’s no way to say yes without it looking like I was just after pictures of you shirtless.”
“Would you be more likely to do them, though?”
“Fine. Yes. Probably,” Olivia admitted, her cheeks turning pink.
“It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make. Send me a picture after you’ve done it. In your sports bra, so I get to check out your tuttar.” He ran his finger down the skin exposed by the V of her shirt.
Olivia laughed. “I don’t think I need to translate that.”
Anders bit his bottom lip and glanced down at her breasts, catching that teasing flash of ivory lace. “I’m a pretty simple guy.”
Olivia caught hold of his hand. “I’m going to miss you while you’re away.”
He tugged her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. “Yeah. I’m going to miss you too.”
7
“My muscles are so tight and it’s all your fault,” Olivia said, squirming in the seat of Anders’s rental car three days later.
“You followed the video?” Anders indicated to turn into the parking lot of her favorite Red Rocks hiking trail.
“I did. Twice. Your squats look a whole lot better than mine. I can only get low if I lift my heels up.”
Anders grinned. “Practice. And lots of stretching. But you started. That’s awesome.”
“My thighs don’t agree with your assessment, but it was good to work out. How was the road trip?” Liv asked.
“Losing to Chicago sucked. It was a scrappy game. Too much icing, not enough tactical play near the net. Practiced plays didn’t come off. Nashville was better. It was a win, at least.”
The tone in Anders’s voice suggested a bone-deep frustration, and she was glad they’d decided to do something physical, a hike, for their second date.
“You were born out here?” Anders asked, changing the subject.
“Yeah. I was born here in Morrison. Emerson and Jake both have houses out here. I only moved in with Natalie in Denver just after Christmas.”
“It’s beautiful. How could you leave?”
It was difficult to explain. “I left before for school and lived in the city for a while. I only came back last year when . . .” Shit. She didn’t want to tell him. Didn’t want him to look at her differently. “Well, things got a bit bumpy. What’s it like where your parents live?”
Anders parked the car and glanced in her direction, and she knew he hadn’t missed that she’d pulled back from what she’d been about to say. “I was born in Luleå and lived there until I was five. It’s on the coast of northeast Sweden, a couple of hours south of the Arctic Circle. Huge national parks, northern lights, and a whole heap of Christmas tourism.”
“Sounds amazing.”
“Yeah, well. My parents ended up back there after all the moving around we did. My father was a hockey coach. It’s this funny mix of old and new. It’s a big shipping harbor on the Gulf of Bothnia with a big steel industry, but also has this UNESCO World Heritage site, Gammelstad Church Town, that is something like six hundred years old. It rarely gets above minus five Celsius in winter.”
Olivia shivered. “I don’t even know what that is in Fahrenheit.”
“Like twenty or something.”
“Jesus. That sounds awful.”
Anders reached for her knee and squeezed it gently. “Don’t worry. If we ever get to go, I’ll keep you warm.”
Olivia laughed and reached for his hand. He looked so good in his thick jacket and black beanie. Used to the outdoors, he was fully dressed for the weather.
“I’d like that. You could keep me warm tonight.”
“Liv,” Anders growled. “There’s no point in setting goals if you aren’t going to keep them.”
She reached over the gearshift and pressed her lips to the corner of his mouth. “And there’s no point sticking to them if they make you miserable.”