Page 135 of The Nanny and the Beefcake
The frilly-sounding position of spiritual advisor Briggs had invented had morphed into the role of Pun-chi yoga coach.
And these sessions were no joke.
Augie had scheduled an hour a day of the budding practice, and she wasn’t about to let him or Raz down. What had started as a game with Sebastian had become an offshoot of traditional yoga that literally and figuratively packed a punch. The practice fostered balance, core strength, and endurance, and she challenged Raz every day, training him to use his breath to channel his focus.
And he did.
He not only followed her instructions, but he also suggested punches for different yoga poses. On the surface, yoga and boxing appeared to be two diametrically opposed types of exercise.
But they weren’t.
Not anymore—not with the two of them collaborating.
She’d lead him through a yoga flow, and Raz would suggest boxing elements.
This balanced approach had ushered in a balance within her—a centering of her chi that she welcomed like a long-lost friend.
Was it simply a tweak to her usual yoga regimen that had stabilized her life force, or was it something else?
Could it have been the power of three, the harmonious trifecta of energy created between herself, Raz, and Sebastian, that evened out her life force?
Or could it be the man who gazed into her eyes and spoke the words that set her body aflame?
You’re mine.
With that statement, he’d stripped her soul bare and touched her heart, but the proclamation came with an unspoken caveat.
She would be his…until she wasn’t.
Their stint in Rickety Rock would end in a matter of weeks.
What did the future hold for two self-professed loners in love?
She didn’t have a clue.
All she had was this time in this place, and she wasn’t about to waste a single second worrying. There would be plenty of time for that later. Luckily, their days were jam-packed, rarely giving her time to dwell when the questions arose in her consciousness.
And speaking of jam-packed days, the training didn’t stop after their midday Pun-chi yoga session.
There was no time to lounge around after lunch.
That time was donkey time.
Maud and Wobbly Bob had shown them the pack burro racing ropes. Never in her life had she pictured herself jogging alongside a donkey. But now, she couldn’t imagine hitting the trail without her sweet Plum. Sebastian was right. Donkeys were remarkably smart, undeniably affectionate, and exceptionally fast when they wanted to be. She and Plum had clocked a seven-minute mile—and they’d done it running uphill.
But it wasn’t always an effortless walk in the park—or run on the trail, for that matter. Bob was on the mark with his “thedonkey knows” words of wisdom.
The donkey really did know when it wanted to move, and it also knew when it didn’t. But Plum, with her gray face and a fondness for chasing butterflies and Beefcake with his occasional bouts of passing foul-smelling gas, had brayed their way into their hearts.
Yes, even Raz’s beastly boxer heart had opened to the animals.
Similar to the Pun-chi yoga sessions, Augie had worked the donkey runs into Raz’s training schedule, and truth be told, this had become one of her favorite parts of the day. Raz and Beefcake shared an alpha energy like no other, and the banter between the beefcakes had her in stitches. Of course, Beefcake couldn’t speak, but his grunts and whinnies communicated his bullheaded nature. These two loved to go at each other, which had educated her in the wide world of British insults, thanks to Raz’s colorful language.
She cleared her throat as she formulated a zinger. “What do you say, my sweet bird?” she sang in her best British accent. “Ready to splash out and show these plonkers what a proper burro racer looks like?”
“Nice one, Mibby!” Sebastian called, glancing over his shoulder.
Here’s the thing.
