“Sorry to heart that.” Finn wanted his friend to be happy.
“You should talk. Are you even dating now?”
“Not right now.”
Finn’s phone alarm buzzed and he stood. “I have another session. Want to do lunch tomorrow?”
“Yeah. We can make plans in the morning.”
Finn was grateful that he was establishing bonds here. Right now, he didn’t need a woman in his life. He needed friends like Oliver. For too long, his twin sister was his only confidante and she didn’t need any pressure from him.
Once in his studio, his phone rang. He didn’t answer it. And half-way through his next session, he heard commotion in the waiting room. He tried to block it out, but male and female voices got louder and louder.
His client sighed. “I can’t ignore that, Finn, I’m sorry.”
“I’ll go see what it is. I have extra time afterward to give you the full forty-five minutes.”
He walked out of the room. And found a woman dressed in a white suit which contrasted to her dark hair which flowed down her back. “How can I help you?”
The guy said, “My client needs a session asap.”
Finn didn’t show any temper, but it was hard. “I’m afraid I’m not available asap.”
“You’re the only reiki practitioner she wants. Because of your article inPhysiology Todayon reiki and infertility.”
He turned to the woman. “I can see you in a month.” He handed her his card. “Please call for an appointment.”
She whipped off her sunglasses. “Do you know who I am?”
She looked vaguely familiar. But he knew he’d remember those violet eyes if he’d ever met her. “Actually I don’t.”
Her brows lifted. “Do you live under a rock?”
“No. I have a little house on the canal.”
She sighed impatiently. “I’m Elise Preston.”
He shrugged.
“The actress. I won an Academy Award last year.”
“Congratulations. Now I have to get back to my current client. Your antics out here disturbed a session.”
He walked to the door and opened it. She rolled her eyes, said, “Unbelievable!” and stormed out.
The man followed without comment.
Finn closed and locked the door. Maybe he needed an assistant out here. Or a bodyguard.
He walked back into the room with his client. He’d forget about the actress soon enough. Reiki worked both ways for him. It calmed the client and the practitioner which was why he’d chosen to study it. Somehow, though, images of the woman in the waiting room came back into his thoughts. He knew well the ravages of infertility. He hoped he could help her. In a month.
* * *
Elise Preston had everything. Model-like looks. A glamorous house in L.A. A very successful career. And pretty much any man she wanted. But right now, at 30, what she desired most in the world was a baby. But IVF had failed three times. And now she was stuck in upstate New York filming a movie.
She sat down on her comfortable couch and sighed. When she was alone, the void became worse. She opened up her iPad and clicked into the article on the Harmony Healing Collective that she’d just visited. Maybe one of the other studios in the collective could help her. She mentally checked them off. No to massage therapy. No to yoga. No to women’s or men’s health coaching, but perhaps hypnotherapy might work.
She clicked back onto reiki. Finn McKenna was handsome in a wholesome way. He was taller than his photo indicated. Hishair was well cut and a cute lock fell over his forehead today. His eyes were gray, his beard slightly scruffy. Charm oozed even from his picture. In person, it was magnified.
