When the meal is over, we say goodnight to Zachary, and Olive and I wander through Hayes Valley to our favorite ice cream shop.
Which makes me think of Harlan and our Sexual Tension Swirl ice cream.
Which makes me miss him.
Which makes me wish our timing was a little better.
Damn.
I sigh in the San Francisco November air, the fall breeze whisking by us.
“Hey,” Olive says, linking her arm with mine. “How do you feel about this partnership? Are you truly okay with it?”
I whip my gaze to my mind-reader of a sister. “Was it that obvious?”
“Obvious that you were thinking about your guy who got away? Yeah,” she says, with a bob of her shoulder. “I can kinda read you. Sister intuition.”
If only she’d seen me yesterday when I lost my mind over Harlan’s big play in the Seattle game. She wouldn’t have neededintuition, that’s for sure. But she was doing a long bike ride in wine country to prep for a charity century ride, and now’s the first time we’ve had a chance to truly connect.
“To answer your question, I’m all good with the partnership. It’s huge for us, don’t you think?”
“Definitely. And it’s already leading to more. But I feel bad for you that you had to cut off your thing with him. That’s why you asked about timing, right? To see if the contract would end at the end of the season?”
Way to read me like a book.
I scoff like it’s no big deal. “We barely even had a thing. It’s fine,” I say as we bound up the steps to the ice cream shop. “And this is for the best.”
She arches a questioning brow, her piercing blue eyes boring into mine. “Are you sure?”
“Positive,” I say with more conviction than I feel. Whatever was brewing with Harlan was more than athing. But I don’t want to ruin Sassy Yoga’s expansion plans on account of my romantic interests. I already had to clean up a wedding that went bust. Kick my ex-fiancé out of my apartment. Get rid of his stuff. Return countless gifts. It was a man exorcism, and I don’t want to go through anything remotely similar again. Getting involved with a client, and then Roomba-ing my business life would be even messier, and that’s saying something.
Best to let those romantic hopes go. “We didn’t truly have a date, so what am I even giving up?”
Just the best chance I’ve had in ages.
That’s all.
We head inside and order ice cream.
A consolation prize.
Chapter 24
Katie
The next day, I work with the team at the training facility. A cornerback grumbles as I lead fifty-three men through the lizard pose. As we move into triangle, cat, then cow poses, some of the linemen shoot me dubious looks.
But I’m used to it, and the skepticism doesn’t bother me.
Plus, I try to meet them on their terms.
Competitive terms.
Saying things like:Bet this helps you protect the quarterback more, bet this will help you evade the secondary, bet you’ll dodge and dart past linemen faster.
And the handy caveat that motivates most athletes—bet this helps your…stamina.
Lacey weighs in from her post at the back of the exercise room where she watches over the class. “We all love stamina,” she says.
