Bodywork by Marie Harte

much as he l iked having fun. Unfortunately for her, Rick’s love affair with fun had manifested in an actual affair with a woman named Candy .
    Such a cliché, except Candy didn’t strip and wasn’t a hooker, but his ditzy secretary. Apparently the office romance had been going on for almost as long as they’d been dating. Not wanting to play to type, she hadn’t reacted in a dramatic fashion. She’d called him a prick and left him. Period. And with nothing at his house to take that was hers, their relationship had ended in a flash. Over. Done. And so damn hurtful.
    Shelby had always taken pleasure in her lean body and pretty, if not stunning features. Catching Rick having sex with another woman sunk her self-esteem, big time. While the rational part of her knew he was a complete jerk , she couldn’t help wondering if she’d pushed him into it . What had been so lacking in Shelby that Rick had been forced to look elsewhere?
    Her thoughts grew steadily darker as she thought back to that period of her life. After several years struggling to make ends meet in her clinic, she’d found herself in the black. A profit, finally. Until that point, sh e hadn’t had much time for a social life, let alone the energy to pursue one. A chance encounter with Rick at a downtown festival had blossomed into romance. Now, when she looked back on it, she thought she’d lov ed him. But his bullying tendencies hadn’t allowed her to fall all the way.
    Thank God.
    Still, she missed him in bed, where she’d had no complaints .
    Rick was tall and lean, with dark hair and dark eyes. He ’d been p olite and charming to her mother and friends , t hough Ron hadn’t liked him from the start . She had spent less and less time with her family and friends and more with him and his. The jokes at her expense she’d tolerated. The subtle jibes about her mother she’d handled, because she’ d often thought the same and they’d never seemed overly cruel, just funny . She tempered her feelings for her mother and Ron with love, but she could understand how they might rub Rick the wrong way.
    A few comments he’d made about Maggie had almost ended their relationship early on. No way did she want her boyfriend lusting after her best friend. Maggie hadn’t liked him for it either. But Rick had wised up, shut up, and managed to string her along for ten more months of what she’d assumed was a monogamous relationship.
    Shelby sighed and put her empty cup aside. Now she had no more intimacy , no more pleasant night s spent cuddling and relieving her of lonel iness . No more feeling as if a man could desire her for herself. An entire year wasted on Rick Matinson.
    God. Had she ever been with someone she clicked with? Her entire bevy of lovers —all six of them— had been pleasant. Bleh. What a mediocre word. Nothing like the romance books, her sex life had been fun but nothing stellar , earth-shattering or heart-stopping .
    Honestly, she didn’t think she had it in her.
    The kiss with Shane had been a fluke. The more she thought about it, the more she believed it. A woman desperate for sex would feel tingly from attention from anyone. And like it or not, Shane Collins could only be described as handsome.
    Her cell phone rang, and she dug around in her p urse to find it , glad to be taken from dark thoughts . “Hello?”
    “Where are you, Shelby?” her mother asked. “I tried you at your work number but you’d already closed. Have you eaten lunch yet?”
    “Not yet. Why? Where are you?” Mimi was nothing if not a bright vision to dispel a bad mood.
    “I’m working with Ron on a project. Give us half an hour and meet us at the Pub .”
    Shelby could count on her mother to turn her world upside-down. Even an astrol ogical reading would be welcome at this point.
    “ Okay, Mom. See you guys there soon. No rush.” She disconnected the call and walked back toward her car. But as she walked past the building where Shane worked, she saw him