Page 66 of The Yoga Teacher

He reached up and curled his hand around the ring,herring, holding it tightly to his chest.

“I’m going to be better,” he whispered to the dark. “Because you’re out there. Because I got to love you once.”

He didn’t know where he was going.

But he knew what direction to move in.

Forward.

Away from the man he had been.

Toward something better.

Someone better.

For her.

Always for her.

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Hannah

HANNAH LEANED FORWARD into her final stretch, feeling the satisfying pull in her hamstrings. She watched idly as the man approached from across the gym floor. He moved with easy confidence, weaving between equipment and other gym-goers like he owned the place.

When he stopped in front of her, she straightened, wiping sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

"You did good," he said. "First few weeks are always the hardest."

Hannah reached for her water bottle, taking a long sip before responding. "That obvious I'm new?"

He grinned—a genuine smile that softened his earlier cockiness. "Let's say I recognize the look. I'm Leo, by the way." He extended a hand.

"Hannah." She accepted the handshake, noticing the calluses on his palm, the firm pressure of his grip.

"So, Hannah," he said, releasing her hand, “Would you want to grab a coffee sometime? Or a protein shake if that's more your speed?"

The question caught her off guard. She'd assumed his interest was a fleeting gym flirtation, the kind that evaporated once the endorphins wore off. In her current state—hair plastered to her forehead with sweat, face still red with exertion—she hardly felt like someone worth pursuing.

Her first, gut reaction was: I can’t. I’m married.

The thought struck like muscle memory—instinctive, automatic.

But then the weight of reality settled over her.

She wasn’t really married anymore. Legally, maybe, but no more than that.

Daniel had shattered that reality the moment he stepped into Sienna’s arms. The moment he chose to fuck another woman.

No, shewasn’tmarried.

But a date? The thought of sitting across from someone, making small talk, pretending she wasn't still carrying the wreckage of her marriage—it was exhausting just to consider.

"I'm not really in a dating place right now," she said finally, holding his gaze. "I'm... coming off something complicated."

He looked disappointed, but he nodded. "I get it. No pressure."

Hannah surprised herself with what came next.

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