Page 5 of Stay this Christmas
His hands went to his hips, making his shoulders look impossibly broad. “Come on, you could help them do their stretches and maximize the good they get out of the class.”
“That’s…” Not a bad idea, actually. I sometimes helped out with activities, encouraging small changes using pastimes residents already enjoyed. People who didn’t think they needed physical therapy were often more willing to let me help with their bocce toss or little movements during Village trivia night than a full PT session.
Still. Admitting that would feel like a loss, and I’d already lost enough to Sam.
“We’ll see.”
He nodded as though my wishy-washy response had been an enthusiastic reply. “So, was that a yes to drinks at The Broken Hammer tonight?”
Heat flashed again over my cheeks. “No.”
“Busy?”
“Yes, actually.”
His flirty gaze didn’t alter. “Anything I should know about?”
Going out for a girls’ night, if we were being honest, but I didn’t feel like being that forthright.
Since the three closest women in my life had paired off in the last year, we didn’t make time for girls’ nights the way we used to. I liked their partners, and sometimes they included me in their plans, but I didn’t love the awkwardness of being the odd one out in a group of couples. Tonight, I would soak up my time alone with the girls.
“Not really.”
“Fair enough.” He watched me with that stupid twinkle in his eyes. “So. You want to learn rock climbing.”
I edged toward the door, ready to end this conversation ASAP. This was already much too close to our old dynamic than I liked—him encouraging me to try something new, and me getting swept up by his enthusiasm. I needed to shut this whole thing down. Getting swept up by Sam Donnelly again was a giantNOin my book. “It was just an idea.”
“I could teach you.”
I backed up another step. “Nope.”
No way would I subject myself to spending time with Sam again. Seeing him through the exercise room wall twice a week was plenty. Ugh—apparently, soon-to-be three times a week.
His cheerful attitude didn’t fade even as I shot him down. “I’m a fully-certified instructor.”
“Good to know.”
I’d tried not to keep up on all the Sam-related gossip through the years, but the pattern had been pretty clear: he liked travel and adventure. He’d left Magnolia Ridge the week after high school graduation and set off around the world. I’d heard about trips to New Zealand and Australia, Vermont and Wyoming, doing everything from running ski lifts to giving local tours. Rock climbing would be right in his wheelhouse. The yoga maybe came as a surprise, but still in the right vein.
“You know where to find me if you change your mind.”
“I won’t.”
“It might not be so bad,” he said. “Learning from a friend.”
Annoyance flared to life in the pit of my stomach at how casually he’d slipped on a label he hadn’t worn in over a decade.
“We’re not friends.” The ice in my tone could have chilled all the sweet tea in Texas, but I couldn’t keep pretending we’d started from scratch four weeks ago when he walked through Fiesta Village’s doors. We had a history, and if ninety-five percent of it had been wonderful, that last five percent had knocked me down hard. Acting like the last bit hadn’t happened only served to make me feel rejected all over again, a reminder that it hadn’t been all that important to him.
ThatIhadn’t been all that important to him.
His smile slipped a touch, his cheery expression almost strained. For a second, I felt bad for being so blunt about it, but then I remembered just who I was talking to. Sam Donnelly, heartbreaker extraordinaire. The guy I’d cried my eyes out over, who had loomed over the rest of my dating life as Villain Number One, the only guy I’d ever let into my heart enough to crush it. Not going to feel sorry for that guy.
I hooked a thumb over my shoulder. “I have paperwork to do.”
He nodded, his smile back in place. Real or fake, I couldn’t tell anymore. Didn’t matter anyway—not my problem.
“Okay. See you around, Harper.”
