Which was silly. He wasn’t a grizzled bounty hunter with a score to settle and nothing left to lose. He was just her easygoing and good-natured contractor, friend to all, who saw her as a giant paycheck and possibly an object of curiosity and nothing more. But in a nice way. Merritt doubted he was capable of doing anythingnotin a nice way, no matter what her dumb horny lizard brain tried to tell her.
It didn’t mean anything that his face lit up when he saw her.Them.When he saw the two of them. It was just the surprise and delight of running into someone he knew when he didn’t expect it. Though at this point, she’d think he would expect it by now, since he knew literally everyone in town.
He raised his hand in greeting and began to approach them, but the girl at the front desk waved him over first. Merritt cast her eyes to the bulletin board, glazing over as she read the ads for retreats and energy work, allowing her gaze to settle back on him only once he was standing right in front of them.
“Are you guys here for the twelve-thirty? Skylar just told me it’s canceled today; I guess I missed the message.”
Merritt shook her head. “We just did Prenatal.”
“Most of it, anyway,” Olivia added wryly. Now that she was reaching the end of her first trimester, Olivia’s pregnancy was common knowledge—and, to Merritt’s relief, it seemed like Niko hadn’t shared that she’d spilled the beans prematurely.
Niko glanced at Merritt, almost like it was a reflex.
“They weren’t testing at the door this time, so luckily I was able to sneak in,” she deadpanned.
The half smile that played across his lips in response sent something warm and unwelcome spreading beneath her skin. He looked away first, casting his eyes toward the door of the classroom, now darkened for Savasana.
“You left early?”
“Morning sickness is kicking my ass,” said Olivia.
His brow creased even deeper. “Even in the afternoon?”
“Even in the afternoon.”
“Wow. That sucks.”
“That’s what I said.”
Niko adjusted the strap of his yoga mat against his shoulder. “Did you walk here? You need a ride home?”
Olivia and Merritt glanced at each other. Merritt called on every available shred of latent twin ESP to mentally beg Olivia to decline.
“That would be amazing, actually.” Olivia’s slightly apologetic tone told Merritt that she understood her message but was going rogue.
“Don’t you want to get some tea first? Settle your stomach?” Merritt asked pointedly.
Olivia shook her head. “Let’s make it at home. I want to lie down.”
At that, the door to the studio opened and the rest of the class started filing out. Merritt plastered on a smile.
“Great. Let me go grab our mats.”
“I’ll help,” Niko offered quickly, following her in.
By the time she was done returning their props to the closet, the room had mostly emptied. Merritt shut the closet door and turned around to find Niko standing a little too close, their rolled-up mats tucked under one arm.
“Jesus,” she gasped, nearly jumping out of her skin. The jumping didn’t stop there, though; her skin tingled at his proximity like an aftershock. She reached her hand out to take one of the mats from him, but he just stood there, studying her.
She shifted uncomfortably. “What?”
“Did I do something wrong?”
She wasn’t expecting that. Especially not the troubled, vulnerable way in which he said it. Merritt opened and closed her mouth a few times before managing a muted “What do you mean?”
“I mean…I dunno. I’ve been working on the house for a couple weeks now and you haven’t come by once.”
Merritt felt her neck flush. “I’ve just been busy.”
