Page 74 of The Holidays with Mr. Mitchell
“Lay back,” she instructed, “and trust fall into your partner’s energy.”
That’s when everything went to shit. Jake tried first. When his mat slipped, Collin reached to help the dipshit and toppled into a poinsettia display.
“Release the ego!” Luminara cried after we all burst into laughter.
“Fuck! I think I released my spine,” Collin groaned from the floor. “Jesus, Jake,” he said, laughing at his best friend.
Ash was now laughing so hard she could barely breathe, while Jake looked like he was tangled in his robe from the twisted-up fall.
“All is fine! All is fine!” Luminara fanned herself furiously. “Accidents are just resistance leaving the body.”
Jim’s lips twitched, and he pressed a fist to his mouth to hide it. His emerald eyes met mine, calm yet full of restrained laughter.
“You’re actually enjoying this,” I whispered.
He leaned closer. “I’m enjoying you.”
Before Jim and I could fall under some romantic spell, surrounded by all the chaos around us, Luminara stepped backward onto a fallen candle that must’ve dropped when Jake and Collin collapsed. Her eyes widened when the wax splattered. With the heat of the wax, she gasped, grabbing the curtain, and then, the entire bamboo drape crashed down in slow, expensive motion.
Oh shit!
For a second, no one breathed.
Smoke curled around us, while Collin was still half-upside-down. Luminara stood in the wreckage, mascara streaked, and clutching her fan like a weapon that could defend her from all our jackass vibes. Vibes which, I was certain, no meditational program could ever work out of us.
“The session,” she said hoarsely, “is complete.”
Jim rose, smoothing his robe, utterly composed. “I appreciate your efforts,” he said, more truthful than not. “But truly, we are all beyond saving.”
I snorted, giving up all pretense of serenity. “We should probably go before she finds our karmic debt.”
He offered his hand, palm up, eyes warm. “After you, gorgeous.”
“We have to make this right for Ash, though,” I said to Jim. “She apparently comes here all the time.”
He brought an arm around me. “That will only happen when and if she and Jake cough up the truth of what the hell we all just went through,” he kissed the top of my head. “I need a cocktail.”
“No shit,” I said, turning back and seeing everyone just leaving the sanctuary area. “I think we all do.”
I knew once we were a few cocktails in, someone would finally spill the truth about our bizarre yoga session. But honestly? Who cared. It was fun, the night was young, and for the first time all week, we were completely unplugged from the noise, the headlines, and the chaos of everything else.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Jim
I wasn’tsure if enlightenment and cocktails were meant to feel like frostbite, but that’s exactly what this place delivered. The Snow Globe Lounge sat on the edge of the wellness resort, resembling a billionaire’s igloo. It was a glass dome dusted with frost, glowing from the inside as if someone had captured the Northern Lights for ambiance.
Inside, snowflakes drifted lazily above the bar. The tables shimmered like carved ice, the floor radiated a cool blue haze, and the air was crisp enough to keep a man somewhat sane after the shit show we’d just endured.
Snow-covered pines lined the curved glass walls, each one strung with crystal ornaments that reflected the soft white lights like scattered diamonds.
“Well, was it as great as you all imagined it would be?” Ash asked with the usual excitement she had whenever we indulged her new-age side. “We’ve all been completely unplugged andtuned into each other, forgetting the stresses of the outside world altogether.”
“Best part was watching the guys collapse in their yoga poses,” Laney joked.
“I’m actually proud that Jim didn’t complain as much as I expected,” Avery added, her blue eyes sparkling from across the table.
I grinned. If she kept looking at me like that, she’d soon find out just how proud she could be once we got home tonight.
