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Kelli elbowed his stomach, making him laugh. “I’m serious, Kelli! Delegation is supposedly the number-one thing good leaders learn how to do. If I was a leader, I would delegate all the time. But as you know, I work for myself and don’t really play well with others. Except you, of course.”
“And I appreciate your help every single day,” Kelli said as she slowly drifted off to sleep, already breathing easier. Very soon, she would structure the Aquinnah Cliffside Overlook Hotel staff workload to allow herself more time with Xander, more time to sit comfortably in the ballroom at the hotel and dream about the hotel’s dramatic past, and more time to just feel the peace that had come this late in her forties. It was time.
ChapterSeven
Tuesday morning, Amanda awoke at the Sheridan House at six-thirty, tied her hair into a ponytail, grabbed her yoga mat, and hurried out the door. The drive to the yoga studio in downtown Oak Bluffs took seven minutes, which got her there at six-fifty-five, just in time to get a good spot up front. Just like always as of late, Sandra was there just a split-second before Amanda, already sitting cross-legged on her yoga mat.
“Hi!” Sandra patted the space beside her. “Everyone knows that I reserve the space beside me for you now. They don’t even try to sit by me.”
Amanda laughed as she set up her yoga mat.
“How are you feeling?” Sandra asked. “Just a few more days till the wedding!”
“I know. I’m so nervous,” Amanda confessed.
“Why? It’s going to go so well!”
Amanda eyed the door as a few more yogies straggled in, all looking as though they’d just hobbled from bed.
“My ex-fiancé left me at the altar,” Amanda confessed to Sandra very quietly.
All the blood drained from Sandra’s cheeks. “You’re kidding! That’s horrible, Amanda. I’m so sorry.”
Amanda shrugged. “It was probably for the best. I mean, if he hadn’t left, I never would have met Sam. And Sam’s my everything.”
Sandra nodded, although her eyes still glinted with pity, which Amanda hated. “Where is your ex-fiancé now?”
“He was traveling a lot,” Amanda remembered. “He went to Thailand, Argentina, India, and eight thousand places in between.”
“Were you jealous?” Sandra asked.
“No,” Amanda admitted. “I never wanted to travel. I always wanted to settle down, have a family, and focus on my career, the way my mother did. Isn’t that boring?”
“I don’t think so.” Sandra frowned.
Amanda eyed the door, wondering where the yoga instructor was. She was a minute late, which wasn’t like her. “What about you, Sandra?” Amanda asked. “I’ve been babbling about my wedding to Sam since we met, but I hardly know anything about you. Are you seeing anyone?”
Sandra’s face was suddenly dreamy. “I’m very in love, actually.”
“Wow! I had no idea. Who is he?”
“My fiancé is a really wonderful man. I met him several years ago, but we were separated for a while, which was devastating. When he got back, it was like we immediately picked back up again and got engaged shortly after,” Sandra explained.
“That’s beautiful. Is he here on the island?” Amanda asked.
“He will be soon,” Sandra explained. “We’re planning our future and can’t wait to settle down and have kids, just like you.”
“That’s incredible,” Amanda said, her heart opening at the happiness in her new friend’s eyes. “What does he do?”
“Oh, he’s in art dealing,” Sandra explained. “He has a tremendous eye for detail. Sometimes, at art museums, he’ll talk to me about what makes a painting or a drawing or a piece of jewelry special for half an hour. He usually knows more than the people who work there.”
“I wouldn’t know the first thing about that,” Amanda said. “He sounds really special.”
“Sorry, I’m late!” The yoga instructor burst into the room, her cheeks a violent red. “I hate to admit this, but I overslept. Now. Everyone, take some deep breaths while I set up!”
Amanda and Sandra exchanged knowing smiles, both aware that they weren’t the type to ever sleep past their alarms. Still, they would forgive the yoga instructor for this faux pas. It didn’t really matter, anyway.
Back at home, Amanda showered, did her hair, and brewed a pot of coffee, listening as the house awoke around her. It was eight-thirty, and Grandpa Wes appeared in the kitchen, his smile big and happy as he said, “Just four more days till the wedding, Amanda!”
