Meredith really didn’t want to delve into the whys and wherefores of her feelings for Major, but if anyone could understand falling in love with someone who didn’t return the feelings, it would be Anne. At least, Meredith hadn’t been in Anne’s position—having to cancel a wedding two days before it took place because the groom chose his career over her. But look how that had turned out for Anne in the long run.

“Yes.” Meredith’s voice came out wispy. She took a swig of coffee to try to clear away the nervous dryness. “Yes, I have been in love with him for a long time. At least, I thought I was.”

“Is that what I interrupted tonight?”

Meredith shook her head. “No. I almost made the mistake of telling him but chickened out at the last minute. Which was a good thing, because he told me that he’s happy that I’ve started to have a personal life, that I’ve met someone.”

“Hmm.” Anne’s mouth twisted to the side. “Looked to me like he was about to kiss you when I walked up. Do you think maybe he was just trying to hide his own feelings for you because you have started seeing someone else? That maybe he’s realized he could possibly lose you to someone else?”

“I doubt it. We’ve known each other for eight years. If he were interested in me, he’d have told me long before now.” Meredith stopped toying with the scissors and put them on the coffee table.

“Mere, I’ve known him a lot longer than you, and one thing I do know about Major is that he has a really hard time opening up and letting people in. There are things I still don’t know about his family and his upbringing.”

Meredith’s interest piqued. “What do you know?”

“Just that he was raised by a single mom, but that on a couple of occasions he was in a foster home. I think the only reason he told me that much is because he knew I’d lost my parents and had been raised by a foster family—even if they are blood relatives. I don’t even know if his mom is still alive.”

“She is. I heard Forbes ask about her several months ago.” Mentally, she made a note to ask her brother about Major’s family.

“So can you see why he might not feel like he can express his feelings to you? He got comfortable with the way things were—he knew you’d always be there, that because you gave your full attention to the job, it was like you were giving your full attention to him.”

“I think you’re reading too much into it.” Meredith put her head down on the arm of the sofa. “As far as I’m concerned, Major and I are friends and work colleagues and nothing more. I made a New Year’s resolution to get over this crush on him and move on.”

Anne sat in thoughtful silence for a moment. “If you think that’s the best course of action, I’ll support you wholeheartedly.”

Meredith pushed herself upright again. “Anne, I’m thirty-four years old—I’ll be thirty-five in four months. I want to get married. I’m tired of being alone. I’m afraid that if I don’t do something now, I’m going to be alone for the rest of my life.”

Anne smiled. “I know exactly how you feel. Of course, I was pushing thirty-six by the time I met George.”

“And you had already started trying to meet someone—you were letting Jenn and Forbes set you up on blind dates and introduce you to people.”

“Is that what you want—do you want them to start setting you up? Because I’m sure they’d be only too happy.” Anne’s expression of apprehension was so comical, Meredith had to laugh.

“I don’t know about the blind date thing. Especially when it comes to who Jenn might pick out for me. And Forbes is the last person I want involved in my dating life.” Meredith gave Anne a pointed look.

“I’m right there with you on that one.” Anne picked up her mug, looked into it, and set it down again. “I’ll keep on the lookout for you. Oh, George’s brother, Henry, will be coming to town in a few weeks for a short visit—to get fitted for his tux and meet the family—and it’s usually customary for the maid of honor and best man to spend some time getting to know each other. Plus, when we go out while he’s here, it’ll be nice to have a foursome so Henry doesn’t feel like a third wheel.”

“As long as it’s not the week of the HEARTS banquet, I’ll be more than happy to accommodate you.”

“No—not that week. I have a huge wedding Valentine’s Day. I think it’s the week after that.” Anne stood and stretched, then carried her coffee cup into the kitchen.

Meredith followed her. “When does George get back from Paris?”

“Not soon enough. He flies into New Orleans next Wednesday, and I’m driving down to meet him—I have a couple of vendors down there I’d like to talk to face-to-face for this Valentine’s wedding. We’ll spend a few hours down there and then drive back—should be back in time for church that evening.”

“That’ll make for a long day for you.”

“I know, but it’ll be worth it once George is with me.”

A pang of envy ripped through Meredith’s soul at the contentment in her cousin’s voice. Yes, coming clean with Anne had been the right thing to do—because now she had the person who specialized in Happy Endings on her side.

Chapter 15

“Come on, push it. Push it. Push it!”

The only thing Major wanted to push was the stupid trainer out the nearest window. With each impact of his foot on the treadmill, sharp pains shot up through his calves, quads, and hamstrings; and his lungs felt like he was trying to breathe through soggy bread.

When had he gotten this out of shape?

Unfortunately, the personal trainer assigned to take him around and put him through his paces on his first visit to the gym had recognized his name as a former football player at ULB. Though how this whippersnapper could remember someone who played almost twenty years ago was a miracle.

The only thing that kept him from hitting the emergency stop button was the memory of how puffy his face had looked on TV. Sure, no one should trust a skinny chef—but who wanted to look at a pudgy one week in and week out?

He ran as hard as he could to keep from being flung backward off the machine while Mr. Universe called encouragement at him. Finally, the kid reached over and knocked the speed down to three and a half miles per hour.

“Walk it off. Walk it off.” He made a notation on the clipboard he carried. “Yeah, I think you can start with running fifteen minutes at ... seven miles per hour, then walk half an hour at three and a half. Gradually, you’ll work it up so that you’re running the entire forty-five minutes.”

Major followed him over to the weight machines and spent the next forty-five minutes pretending that he already had more muscle than flab, and planning to decrease the amount of weight on each one next time he came in. If he survived tonight.

After the last apparatus, Major was ready to dissolve into a puddle of melted lard on the floor. Sheer strength of will was the only thing that kept him upright when the trainer smacked his shoulder.

“Good workout, man. Come in four or five times a week and do that, and you’ll be back in your playing condition in no time. See ya later!” The trainer jogged away.

Major grabbed the top of the bicep curl machine as the floor wavered beneath him. Sweat dribbled down his spine ... and his face and his chest and his arms. Why should sweating in the gym feel entirely different from sweating in the heat and humidity of a busy kitchen?

And why had this stupid gym put the locker rooms on the second floor? He stared up the long flight of stairs, trying to talk his legs into carrying him up them.

“Hey—Major O’Hara, right?”

He turned at the man’s voice—and groaned inwardly when he recognized Ward Breaux. He knew he should have come in the morning instead of waiting until after work. He wiped his hand on his towel and shook the man’s proffered hand. “Yeah, good to see you.”

“Didn’t know you worked out here.”

“Just joined today.”

“What’d you think?” Ward started up the stairs two at a time.

Pride—that ghastly beast—refused to allow him to let Breaux leave him behind. Clenching his teeth against the pain, Major ran up the steps to keep up with the contractor. “To be perfectly honest, it kicked my butt. It’s been since college that I’ve made an effort to exercise regularly.”

“Yeah? What did you do back then?”

“Played football.”

“Really? Me, too. Where’d you play?” Ward nodded at several beautiful young women who smiled and eyed him hungrily when they passed them on the stairs.

None of them noticed Major. “Here, at ULB. Where’d you play?”

“Miami. I guess in your line of work, it’s hard to find time to stay fit.”

If Major could move his arms, he’d deck the guy. He didn’t need someone else to point out to him how out of shape he was. His legs were already screaming that they’d be sore for days to come. “It is. But I figured if I’m about to be on TV every week, I’d better shape up.”

“You’re going to be on TV?”

Finally, something he had that Breaux didn’t. “I’m going to be doing a weekly cooking segment on Alaine Delacroix’s show.”

Ward’s dark brows shot up. He opened the locker room door. “That hot chick who does the midday show on Channel Six?”

“Yeah.” Major wasn’t sure if he liked the fact that someone who was seeing Meredith had just called another woman a “hot chick.”

The contractor let out a low whistle. “No wonder you’re here. If I were still unattached and about to be spending that much time with Alaine Delacroix, I’d want to get in shape, too.”

If I were still unattached. A little piece of Major’s heart died. Things between Meredith and this guy must be more serious than Major originally thought if Breaux considered himself attached to her. Major didn’t see any reason to correct Ward’s notion that he would be spending time with Alaine, when it had been made pretty clear that it was only the production and camera people he’d see each week on Tuesdays when they came to film.