Page 46 of Rum Sips and Salty Lips

I look around, still standing in the doorframe, and make sure we’re alone. “You know firsthand I’m not flexible enough to do any of that.” I know yoga is more than flexibility. But I can make her hot and bothered and angry at the same time.

She rolls her eyes. I want to trace the neckline of her cardigan along her collarbones. “I promise you, unless you sign up for advanced arm balances, you’ll be fine in any of our classes.”

“When do you teach?” I ask. She shakes her head and pulls a sheet of paper from her desk drawer. She scribbles something before handing it to me.

Orion Edwards is entitled to one month VIP membership, authorized by Carina Webb.

“I teach an all-levels class Wednesdays at six a.m. Reserve your spot online. It fills up.”

I laugh. I couldn’t handle her teaching me anything. I’d have a competence boner no compression shorts could hide. “I’ll see if it fits my schedule. You want a ride home?” It’s nearing five. We could eat dinner together and watch the sunset.

She looks at her watch. “I have to get numbers to my investors before close of business Chicago time. But thanks for the offer.”

“Next time. I’ll see you around.” I keep disappointment out of my voice, wondering how many times I’ll say “next time” to her before I really get one.

seventeen

CARINA

If I thinkof the call I had as being with my investors, then it feels like less of a gut punch. If Jeffrey Webb and Hamilton Kane are strangers, and I can pretend they shouldn’t know my values and my passions, then I won’t be so angry. But they’re my father and ex-boyfriend. They should, so the thought experiment is short.

I pour myself a glass of wine because I need a moment to myself. I realize I’m so defensive, I’m talking myself into doing something I don’t need permission for—I’m an adult. I can have wine.

The business portion of the call was grueling enough. Normal Webb Group patronizing for sure. But after an hour, my father kicked everyone off to have a “father/daughter” chat. I braced myself because I knew what was coming.

My mother was making a fool out of herself running around with younger men. I should settle down with someone stable. Don’t I realize how good Hamilton is doing at the firm?

The same Hamilton who spent the first thirty minutes of the meeting pointing out everything wrong with what I was doing.

It’s the same lecture over and over. My dad thinks I need a partner. The way he describes his vision for me, it’s more like he thinks I would benefit from someone corralling me. Someone to guide my business career. Otherwise, dating and relationships are a waste of time. My father believes in me. But he believes in the patriarchy more.

“You could have tried a little harder with Hamilton. I think you gave up too soon. You don’t want those years you spent with him to go to waste, do you?”

As if instead of dates with Hamilton, I could have been working on my business.

My phone vibrates and I see a text from Orion.

Orion

Back

It’s accompanied by a selfie of him and his kayak with my house in the background. His version of proof of life.

I clench my jaw and look out the window behind me. From here, I see him hosing off the kayak in his driveway. He’s gone out every day this week. Sometimes early in the morning or late in the afternoon. It varies depending on if he’s in the office or has a charter. As he said he would, he texts me every time. And every time I think I’m fine knowing he’s out on the water. Thinking it doesn’t bother me. Every time, I relax a little when he’s back safe. The tension I hold in my shoulders releases.

I’m used to paddleboarding on my own. The first time I went out after he moved in, I’d considered making a big show of not telling him. Letting him know I’m experienced and not worried. But as I got my board down from its rack, I realized how smart it is to have someone watching out for me.

I could have texted Haley. She would care. She might even have joined me. But Orion is closer, and it makes so much sense. It has nothing to do with wanting him. So I’d texted him I was headed south and shared my location with him.

Temporarily, of course.

He crawled his way into my life, and I don’t think he’s trying or even realizes it. It’s not that we’re watching for each other. It’s that we use the same grocery store, we hang out at the same bar, and that was nothing compared to the shock of seeing him in my office two days ago. Of course he’d be hanging out with Christian. I’d wondered if he’d take me up on the yoga offer, so I checked our class rosters. Sure enough, he took power flow with Vanessa yesterday. I was tempted to ask her what he was like, but it felt like an invasion of his privacy. If he’s not coming to my class, then he doesn’t want me involved in his yoga practice.

Which I didn’t even know he had.

I want to know everything about him.

A few times a day, I see him in passing, or I see him get out of his SUV. Every time, my heart skips a beat.

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