Free Just Married...Again by Charlotte Hughes Page A

I’m overweight?” he asked, hoping to get Maddy’s mind off his smoking. At the same time he wanted to see if she still found him attractive.
    “It’s really hard to tell with you sitting.”
    He slid from his chair. “How’s this?”
    “Turn around,” she said.
    He sucked his stomach in and tried to make himself taller.
    Danny, in the process of drinking his milk, suddenly laughed so hard, he spewed it all over himself. “He’s holding in his stomach, Aunt Maddy,” the boy said, milk dripping from his nose. He grabbed his napkin and held it in place as he tried to get control of himself.
    Maddy, who was doing her level best to keep a straight face, took one look at Danny and burst into hearty laughter. Tears streamed from their eyes.
    Michael frowned and sat down. “I’m so glad the two of you find me entertaining,” he muttered, and bit into his dry toast.
    “I’m so sorry,” Maddy said, trying hard to contain herself. She finally looked as though she might succeed, when Danny suddenly hiccupped, and they both collapsed into fresh peals of laughter.
    “How about I slam that poker over my head again,” Michael suggested. “That ought to be good for a few chuckles. Or I could try to get Rambo to bite my other thumb.”
    Maddy had to leave the room because she couldn’t catch her breath. She moved to the living room and sat on the floor in front of the fireplace so she couldn’t see Danny, who in turn hurried down the hall to the bedroom and closed the door. A grumbling Michael ate his breakfast and Maddy’s, then sneaked a strip of bacon from a small plate on the stove. Every once in a while he’d hear Maddy chuckle from in front of the fireplace.
    “Damn, Maddy, why don’t you just go ahead and call me a big fat slob and be done with it?”
    She collapsed on the floor and covered her face with a throw pillow to muffle her laughter.
    It was a good fifteen minutes before Maddy and Danny managed to quiet their giggles once and for all. Michael had cleared the table and filled a sink with hot sudsy water by the time she returned, looking for her plate.
    “I hope you don’t mind that I fed your breakfast to the kiddies,” he lied, pointing to her pets, who watched from the hallway. “I figured it was the least I could do.”
    Maddy could see that he wasn’t happy with her. His feelings were obviously hurt. “Michael, I wasn’t laughing at you. I got tickled over Danny’s antics.”
    “Just forget it.”
    “And no, I don’t think you’re overweight, but it’s not important what I think. I’m not your doctor. I’m sure if he’s seen some weight gain on you, he’s concerned, since your father’s been battling weight and high blood pressure for years now.”
    “Aunt Maddy knows what she’s talking about,” Danny piped in. “She teaches exercise classes, in case you don’t remember.”
    “I’m a fitness trainer,” Maddy corrected him, as she did anyone who referred to her as an exercise teacher. She’d spent a number of years studying to obtain her knowledge and skills, and she wanted people to know she was serious about her vocation. “I work in a gym, and I also have a private practice.”
    Michael suddenly had a great idea, one that might even win him time with Maddy after they returned home. “I’d like to hire you,” he said after a moment. “I’m going to need all the help I can get.”
    She was more than a little surprised by the suggestion, and it showed. “I’m not taking new clients at the moment,” she said. “I was only trying to help as a courtesy.”
    Not taking on new clients, he thought. That was rich. If she came to him with legal problems, he’d be only too happy to oblige, and he wouldn’t think of charging her. “How am I supposed to know what to eat, if you don’t tell me?” he insisted. “What’s to keep my blood pressure from shooting up again when I get home?”
    “I probably have a copy of something in my car that’ll help you. My