Page 173 of The Yoga Teacher

His body was sore in the best way. His chest full. His mind loud. She was curled against him like she belonged there, like nothing had ever shattered between them.

God, he loved her.

It wasn’t even a thought anymore—it was a condition. A heartbeat. A truth woven into his skin.

He pressed the softest kiss to her shoulder and lay back, blinking up at the ceiling like it might explain what he’d done right.

He wanted to weep. Instead, he forced himself to breathe.

She shifted beside him, murmuring into the pillow. Awake, but not ready for the day yet.

He smiled, brushing her hair back from her temple. “I want to come to Denver with you,” he said quietly.

That got her attention.

She turned toward him, eyes open now. “What?”

He swallowed. “The job. I’ll come with you. Wherever you’re going, I want to go too.”

She blinked.

“We don’t have to live together. Not unless you want that. I just—I'll find work, or freelance, or start over completely. Whatever it takes. I just want to be wherever you are.”

She was still staring at him, confused.

Fuck. He’d gone too far.

She didn’t want that. She didn’t want him following her across the country like some pathetic shadow of their past. She wanted space. He could give her that.

He closed his eyes. Tried to swallow the ache already blooming behind his ribs.

“I get it,” he said quickly, pulling his hand back. “If that’s not what you want—we could be long distance. I could fly in every week. Or every other week, if that’s too much. I—”

“Daniel.”

Her voice cut through him. Calm. Even. Soft.

He opened his eyes.

She reached out, took his hand again, gently. “I’m not going to Denver.”

It took a second to land.

He stared at her, confused. “But… the job…”

“I said yes,” she said. “But to something else. Something better.”

She sat up then, hair a mess, face bare and honest in the morning light. “I negotiated. Every part of it. I didn’t compromise. I said no to what didn’t serve me, and built the job I actually wanted.”

His breath caught.

“I’m doing it on my terms. From here.”

He stared at her like she was made of fire and gold. A woman who didn’t just rebuild her life—she rewrote the rules.

“This place matters.” She paused, eyes on his. “I’ve built something here worth protecting.”

His chest cracked open.

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