Page 16 of Stay this Christmas
“Oh, wow,” she said, sounding like we’d just sat down to watch her favorite Chris Hemsworth movie. “This is going to be awesome.”
She nudged me again and again until I shifted out of reach of her elbow.
“What?” I hissed.
She stared at the front of the room, and I slowly swiveled my head, realizing too late just who I would see leading the class. Of course. Sam stood in front of a bank of mirrors, grinning at me as if he’d been handed a million dollars.
My stomach turned like sour milk as heat washed up my neck and over my cheeks. “Oh, no.”
Oh, Lord, I had not considered this. Why hadn’t Iconsideredthis? Of course he had to have a job somewhere. Why wouldn’t it be related to what I already knew he did? I couldn’t have been less prepared to run into him, in my skin-tight top and leggings, my hair in a severe bun, and my face already washed clean of makeup. Not my best look.
Not that it mattered—I didn’t care what he thought of me. Still, would have been nice to look decent when confronted with his gorgeousness.
Gorgeousness I needed to ignore.
He sauntered over, satisfaction spelled out all over his toothy grin. “Welcome to Gentle Yoga.”
His eyes stayed stuck on me, and, like it always did when I stood this close to him, my breath sort of faded out.Just a physical response, I reminded myself. This had nothing to do with Sam personally, it was just being in the immediate presence of an overly-attractive man.
One I used to know embarrassingly, intimately well.
“I didn’t know you taught yoga,” I blurted out as if my mouth weren’t connected to my brain.
“I teach yoga twice a week at Fiesta Village. I’m surprised you hadn’t noticed.” He grinned even wider.
I pursed my lips, willing my cheeks not to flare bright red. He would poke fun at me when I was already off-balance. “I meant here.”
“Side gig.” His eyes drifted next to me, and his smile lost its teasing. “Eliza, it’s great to see you again.”
“It’s really good to see you, too.” She grinned up at him, her cheeks practically bursting with joy at this awkward turn of events.
See, if I’d come alone, I could have pretended I’d forgotten something in my car and just got the heck out of there. But with Eliza? No such luck.
“I hope you have a good time tonight.”
He winked at me, then turned and went back to the front of the room to greet the last stragglers walking in.
My heart raced liked crazy, my stomach churning at the prospect of the next forty-five minutes in close proximity to Sam. I didn’t like the idea of doing new things in front of strangers in the first place, but doing new things in front ofhim? Gentle yoga wouldn’t be relaxing at all.
I followed Eliza to a couple of spots way too close to the instructor for my liking. I hoped she’d give it a rest with the saucy looks she kept shooting me, but understated had never been her style. Every time I glanced up, I found her waggling her eyebrows or staring expectantly, as if I should have thrown myself at Sam’s feet by now.
“Stop,” I hissed.
Bad enough just being here, but with Eliza in tow, I didn’t even have a chance to get my tangled emotions in order.
Taking the cue from the others in the room, we laid out our mats and sat cross-legged, listening to the soothing music playing overhead. Everyone else had their eyes closed or were doing gentle neck and shoulder rolls, getting ready to relax into the session. Meanwhile, all my muscles had gone tight like rubber bands ready to snap.
“Weird coincidence, right?” Eliza whispered.
I stared straight ahead, refusing to take the bait. Wasn’t sure how tonight could be any more embarrassing, but putting my sister in a headlock would probably qualify.
Eventually, Sam returned to the front of the room to start the class. He led us through easy stretches wading in, and though I’d feared some sort of smug awkwardness, he took his job as seriously here as he did at Fiesta Village. He spoke in low, soothing tones, encouraging us into each pose. After a while, my anxiety over the situation unwound until I almost relaxed.
Not quite, though. As class went on, he wandered among the students, lightly offering suggestions and helping people shift deeper into their poses. Keenly aware of everywhere he moved in the room, my heart thumped faster the nearer he got like some kind of ex-boyfriend sonar. At one point, he touched my shoulder blades to bring my arms back into a stronger Warrior pose, and I nearly lost my balance. My attention zeroed in on the tiny spot he’d touched, my skin alight with electricity that pulsed outward, as if his fingertips had started a chain reaction inside me at a molecular level.
I drew in deep breaths, trying to look as calm and unflustered as I could while a nuclear bomb went off beneath my skin. If I turned my head, we’d be eye to eye. I’d face those pale green eyes, see the way his too-long hair fell over his forehead, scan his biceps bulging below his shirt sleeve. Absolutely none of which was okay. Staring at the wall in front of me, I counted down the seconds until he turned his attention elsewhere.
After a while, he walked away to assist someone else, and my breathing came easier again. So ridiculous. I should have been past all this by now, shouldn’t I? I’d had eleven years to get completely and totally over Sam Donnelly, and yet somehow, I was right back to responding to him the way I had at seventeen.
