Maybe peaceful wasn’t the right word.
“Thanks. I’ll take that into consideration.” Amber huffed as she flowed into a warrior. “Are you taking hair suggestions? Because I have a few,” she said.
“Not from the geriatric crowd,” Val said, smirking. She squinted. “Hey, isn’t that your new boss?”
Sure enough, Theo was running along Main Street, tanned muscles glistening in the early morning sun. As he rounded the bend toward the green space where their mats were, he caught sight of Amber.
He grinned, his charming white teeth and dimples on display. She felt that smile like a shot of tequila, straight down to her toes, leaving a burn in its wake so powerful she almost fanned herself.
She stared too. Theo’s gray T-shirt clung damply to his broad chest and his powerful thighs. He looked hot and sweaty and thoroughly male. She would never have guessed her least favorite activity could be quite so...riveting. The look on his face when he’d stood next to her at the lake crossed her mind. For a moment, she had thought he was going to kiss her, as crazy as that would be.
Because it was crazy.
This was the best job she’d had in a long time, and she would not mess it up by sleeping with the boss. How trite would that be? Even so, a small part of her had hoped his impressive control would snap. He had shocked her in the best possible way with his dare to take her panties off, and true to form, her wild streak had come out in full force. She still couldn’t believe she’d flashed him. Freshly waxed and everything. She stopped breathing, remembering the look of hunger on his face.
And lost her balance, tumbling over, and nearly knocking Val over with her. “Ow, you’re heavy.” Val pushed Amber back to her mat. Amber glanced back, but Theo’s back was to them now. She flopped over on her back and held in a groan. Would she never not make a fool of herself in front of the man?
“Shh,” Jessica Thompson hissed sharply. She stood in a perfect warrior position, glaring. “Some of us are trying to find our inner glow.”
“Inner glow?” Val asked, snapping her gum. “You’ll have better luck finding Narnia with that attitude, lady.”
“Ladies, let’s free our minds to accept the peace and stillness of the morning,” Lily’s voice floated nearer, and Amber felt a foot nudge her ribs. She looked up guiltily at her sister.Sorry, she mouthed. Lily rolled her eyes and made her way up and down the aisle of mats.
She forced herself to forget about the mayor's naughty dare and pay attention to the last bit of class.
But it was hard.
After class, Amber and Val sat on one of the benches scattered around the green and waited for Lily to pack up. When she joined them a few minutes later, Lily took out her inhaler, took two puffs and held it in. “Are your lungs tight?” Amber asked, worried.
While Evie was the youngest, Lily was the sister they all looked out for most. She and Evie were born prematurely, with underdeveloped lungs, but while Evie’s had strengthened as she grew, Lily’s had given her problems all her life.
Dancing, her true love, was a double-edged sword for Lily. The physical activity helped her stay fit and made her lungs strong, but it could just as quickly make it harder to breathe during an asthma attack. She was never far from her inhaler.
Lily shrugged and exhaled the medicine. Her hair was swept back into a low ponytail, and her creamyskin was makeup free. A few freckles scattered over her nose, making her look younger than her twenty-six years. “No more than usual in this heat. It makes it harder to breathe.” She inhaled the medicine, held it, and blew it out again. “I saw the mayor run by.”
Amber avoided her sister’s eyes and rolled up her mat. “Hmm. Did you?”
Lily looked at her curiously. “You still work for him, don’t you?”
“Of course I do,” Amber said. “It’s only been a week. What? Did you think I blew it already?”
Lily squinted in the sun and shielded her eyes. “No,” she hedged.
Amber poked her in the ribs. “Yes, you did. Admit it.”
Lily hesitated. “Not that you blew it. It’s just that office jobs don’t typically last for you.”
“Not anymore,” Val said, joining them. “She’s drinking the Kool-Aid like the rest of the office rats now. Did you see her corporate hair?”
Lily looked behind Amber’s head at her ponytail. “No more pink?
Amber glared at Val, but Val just shrugged. “It was time for a change,” Amber said. “You could use one too.” She tugged on the dyed-black strands arranged that hid Val’s eyes. “Want me to take you to see Lucy?”
“No,” Val said scornfully. “I’m not a sellout. I’m never going to change who I am.”
Lily looked back and forth between them. “Change happens whether we like it or not. If you’re not changing, you’re not living.”
“Not me,” Val said with the unshakable confidence of a seventeen-year-old. “I’m out. Gotta go pick up Holly and then look for Narnia.”
