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“Nothing to thank me for, Candy Cane.”
I pull away and pinch the underside of his arm until he yelps, laughing. “You know I hate that nickname.”
“You mother says it all the time!” He rubs the back of his arm.
“Those things are not mutually exclusive.”
Blake just laughs, then ducks down to kiss me. I part my lips and am about to get lost in his kiss when the sound of an engine coming down the driveway makes us pull apart. Blake lets out a sigh. “Guess we’ll have to pick this up after your class.”
“I’ll come find you,” I say with a smile, and I watch him walk away until he disappears into our beautiful new house. Turning to see the first arrival, I’m surprised to see Nora.
She smiles. “Hey. Am I early? I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”
“Right on time. Everyone else is late.” I step aside to let her walk inside, then grin when she lets out a whistle.
“Blake didn’t hold back, did he? This place looks sleek.”
“Wait until you see the shower and bathroom. It looks like a luxury resort.” I walk across the space and open the door to the shower, all gleaming stone and fancy finishes.
As someone who lived in the same house for the better part of twenty years, with mostly hand-me-down furniture and old memories, moving somewhere new has been interesting. After my house burned down, my daughter Allie and I moved to a small rental in town, but this new house with Blake feels more…permanent. It’s the start of something beautiful.
“You certainly landed on your feet,” Simone says from the doorway, brows arching high as she takes in the space.
“Says the woman with a coastal property that she calls her own woodland fairy tale,” Fiona quips, gently shoving Simone inside so she can enter.
Jen arrives next, looking a bit flushed. “Sorry I’m late. Fallon and I were planning the autumn menu for the café. I lost track of time.”
Simone’s eyes narrow. “Girl, you have sex hair.”
Jen’s eyes widen as she pats her bird’s nest down. Her cheeks flush, and I can’t help the belly laugh that tumbles out of me. I’ve known Jen a long time, and seeing her with Fallon is something special. She’s never been so relaxed. The other day, she burned a batch of cranberry-orange muffins and laughed. Jennifer Newbank laughed about messing up her baking. Unheard of.
There’s a bit of bustling as everyone removes their shoes and lays their yoga mats on the ground. As everyone talks and laughs while we wait for Trina and Lily, I grin. This is a far cry from the normal yoga classes I teach, where people relax and lie down to meditate for the minutes before the class—but I know trying to get these women to stop chatting and giggling would be near impossible. I wouldn’t want to silence them, anyway.
Trina and Lily arrive together, and I immediately know something is wrong. Lily has dark smudges under her eyes, and her steps are labored. Immediately, my plan for a vigorous session to get everyone sweaty goes out the window.
“Let’s all get bolsters and blocks from the shelf by the wall,” I say. “We’re going to do an easy Yin yoga class today.”
Lily lets out a sigh of relief. “Thank God. I was worried you’d work us until we collapsed. I almost didn’t come.”
“I had to threaten her with calling Mom to keep her company before she agreed to join me,” Trina says, grabbing a couple of bolsters from the stack on the shelf.
Smiling, I steal one last glance at my little sister, and head to the front of the class. First, yoga. After that, we can talk.
CHAPTER 30
Lily
It’s funny how time can be fast and slow at once. My days feel torturously sluggish, like every task is an effort. I do yoga with Candice and I keep myself busy with work, but my thoughts always drift back to Rudy. The hours tick by, and I know in the depths of my heart that if our situation had been different, we could have had something great.
But at the same time, the days whip past so fast I can hardly keep track. It’s not until Candice is helping me into her car to drive me to the hospital for my surgery that reality comes crashing down.
“Did you pack an extra pair of underwear?” Candice asks, grabbing my bag to put it in the back seat.
I huff. “I pretty much only packed granny panties and socks.”
She nods, satisfied, then slides behind the wheel. “Mom and Trina will meet us there.”
“You guys don’t need to come. I’ll be wheeled into surgery this afternoon and probably home tomorrow or the next day. It’s no big deal.”
