Page 65 of The Proximity Factor

On our way home, Parker held my hand while he carefully drove.

“I almost forgot,” I said out of the blue. “I’ve yet to ask the question of the day.”

Parker chuckled. “Lay it on me.”

I did the whole drumroll thing with my tongue before enthusiastically saying, “What is the strangest thing you’ve ever done?”

Parker thought for a moment. “You’re not going to judge me, right?”

“This is totally a no-judgment zone. But I reserve the right to snicker a little.”

He flashed me a wry grin before turning left. “All right.” He winced. “Once Maren convinced me to go to a weeklong yoga retreat with her.”

I was so stunned by this, it took me a few beats to respond. “Are we talking like a meditating-in-the-forest-by-yourself kind of retreat?”

He nodded. “There was even a day they didn’t allow us to speak to anyone. And no sex for the entire week,” he grumbled. “Something about focusing on personal introspection.”

That was a bizarre rule. I thought most yogis were all about tapping into your higher power. For many people, I think that is sex. “Wow. I wasn’t expecting that. So, what did you think, besides your obvious dislike for not being able to have sex?” I smirked.

“Honestly—” He hesitated. “I actually ended up enjoying it. I was way more productive at work for several weeks after.”

“So, I’ve done a lot of yoga over the years to help with strengthening and lengthening my muscles. I’d be happy to do some with you.” My tone hinted at so much more.

Parker could hardly contain his smile. “Are you thinking hot yoga?”

“That’s exactly what I’m thinking,” I said breathily.

He shook like a shiver went through him. “I like these questions of the day.”

“See, I told you they would help us get to know each other better.”

“I’ll never doubt you again.”

I laughed.

Parker glanced my way. “Now it’s your turn.”

“That’s easy. The expo. I never knew that grown men dressed up like the Mario brothers or traded Pokémon cards.”

“I imagine that does seem strange.”

“Very,” I laughed. “It was nothing like I’d ever imagined. You’ll have to tell me if anyone dresses up like the characters from Ruptured Worlds at next year’s expo.”

Parker whipped his head my way. “You’re not going to be there?”

His reaction surprised me. “Well, no. I mean, you’ll have a real VP of marketing and a PR team there. I wouldn’t want to get in the way. Besides, Jacie and I will probably do something, since she’ll be in town with Richy and the expo really isn’t her thing. It will likely involve Lululemon or Taylor Swift,” I teased, trying to play it off. I wanted to be adult about it all, even if I wished things could be different.

“Lanie.” He squeezed my hand. “You would never be in the way. How could you even think that after what you did for me?”

“I just meant I want you to know I respect how you feel about us working together. It is risky.”

“It is,” he said, more to himself than me.

“So, it’s settled.” I smiled, feeling anything but settled about it, no matter how much I told myself it wasn’t a big deal. If only I hadn’t gotten a taste of what I could do. More like what we could do together. Giving that up was much easier said than done. To me, it was like telling Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers they could only dance together once. I wanted to keep dancing with Parker.

“Yeah, I guess it is,” Parker agreed. He let go of my hand and gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.

So why did it feel so unresolved?

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