He wasn’t exactly a yoga guy. Sure, he was a fan of the tight, short shorts Riley was wearing for the class. But he didn’t know what the gong at the front of the room was for. And he sure as hell wasn’t expecting to find his mother sitting serenely on a pink mat in the center of the studio.
She glanced in his direction and did a double take.
“Nick?” She looked delighted…and suspicious in gray tights and a high-necked tank. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a bun.
“Mom? I didn’t know you did…” He gestured at the colorful tapestries and collection of incense burners. “This stuff.”
“I’ve been coming here every Tuesday for the past two years. Wander is wonderful. I’ll introduce you when she gets here.”
“Actually, I know her.”
She cringed. “Oh, God. You didn’t sleep with her, did you, Nicky? Because if you did, we’re pretending we don’t know each other. I’m not giving up this class.”
“No, Mom. I didn’t sleep with her,” he scoffed. “But I am sleeping with her sister.”
“Hi, Dr. Santiago.” Riley stepped out from behind Nick and waved.
“Oh. It’s you.” The pre-yoga buzz evaporated from his mother’s face.
“It’s nice to see you too,” Riley said with a fake smile.
His mother turned her back on Riley. “What happened to your face, Nicky? And why are you so sparkly?”
He pushed her hand away as she fussed over him. “Nothing. It’s fine, Mom.”
“Well, come set up next to me. And stay away from that ridiculous couple in the corner. She’s some sort of hippie witch, and her husband is a farmer obsessed with his cow, I believe. Absolutely dreadful people.” She shuddered and pointed.
Blossom and Roger Thorn waved cheerfully from the designated dreadful corner.
“You probably shouldn’t tell her,” Riley suggested.
“Oh, I’m telling her.” Nick blew out a breath. “Mom. Meet Riley’s parents, Blossom and Roger Thorn. Blossom and Roger, this is my mother, Marie.”
Blossom hauled Roger off his mat, and the introductions were made.
“Your son is a lovely human being,” Blossom said to his mother.
“Yes, well,” Marie said.
“What’s with the glitter?” Roger asked, peering at Riley and Nick.
“We got glitter bombed this morning,” Riley explained.
Marie’s well-maintained eyebrows skyrocketed up her forehead. “Glitter bombed? Is that some kind of euphemism?”
“I wish,” Nick said.
“What the hell is the She-Devil doing here?” Roger demanded as Elanora swept through the door and frowned at the room.
“Is that Stevie Nicks’s mother?” Marie wondered.
Nick helped himself to a mat from one of the shelves and gauged the distance from the door. They were on the second floor, so it was less likely that a threat would come for Riley through the windows, but the door was still a problem. “Mom, move your mat.”
“But I always set up here,” she complained.
“Humor me and move it over there. Wander’s a big fan of novelty. Seeing the world from new perspectives,” he said.
“Really?”
