“I strained something just watching them. What kind of class did you bring us to, Eliza?” I heard Tiffany murmur.
Eliza, Tiffany, Margo, Rose, Leah and I all were standing in a single-file line in the back of the studio wearing matching expressions of shock and awe, except for Eliza, who looked delighted.
“That’s an intermediate class. Come on y’all, we can drop our bags and stretch here.” Eliza waved us over to a small area with cubbies and—please and thank you—bright yoga mats so we could stretch.
I groaned as I sat down on a mat, which had Leah quirking her eyebrow. “You alright there?”
“Just a little sore.” Pasting an innocent expression on my face did nothing to quell the suspicion that had narrowed my bloodhound best friend’s eyes.
Eliza plunked herself down on my other side, settling into a butterfly stretch. “I always wanted to take a class here. The hubs turns forty-five next month. I hope to use some of the moves I learn from class today for his birthday present.” Eliza waggled her eyebrows as she spoke.
“Has he had his check-up recently? You might wanna check on his heart. Y’all wouldn’t believe how many heart attacks came in that started during sex back when I worked in the ER,” a worried Rose piped up from behind us.
“His heart’s in fine working order.” Eliza gave a sly grin. “Plus, we startedAmerican Taillast week and that strip scene halfway through the book? Let me tell you, he was up for it.”
Tiffany high fived Eliza as Margo groaned. “There are some things you can feel free to keep private, Eliza.”
“So, do you all, like, talk about what books you read with your significant others?” I asked the circle of women.
Tiffany replied, “I tell everyone what I’m reading, what the hell do I care?”
“Kyle doesn’t care what I read. Sure he may tease me about reading smut sometimes, but I just caught him watchingThe Holidayon his tablet the other night, so it’s not like he has a leg to stand on,” Leah said flatly.
“I think I’m the minority here, but my husband and I read books together. Most romance books only have a few chapters with sex on the page anyway.” Eliza winked. “And those few chapters benefit my husband as much as they benefit me.”
I nodded absently, leaning forward to stretch out my hamstrings. It’d been incredibly hot when I actually acted a few things out from books I’d read. The thought of actually acting them out with him, of him being anactiveparticipant was never something I’d seriously considered as a possibility. I had yet to jump the hurdle of even telling him I read romance novels regularly . . . but what if he met me with curiosity rather than judgment? Instead of embarrassing maybe it would be, sort of, thrilling.
A blush crept up my cheeks, and I forced myself to think about something else. As I switched to a different stretch, I caught Leah’s suspicious gaze.
“Yoohoo! Charlotte!” Rose called out. “I thought I spotted you out there. Y’all were doing moves that’d make me sore for ages!”
A tall, pretty blonde standing next to the cubbies smiled. “Rose! What brings you in?” she asked, then looked around to all of us. “I see y’all brought the whole gang. What’s the occasion?”
“It’s Eliza’s birthday and she signed us up to try chair dancin’, if you can believe it.” Rose said as both she and Leah stood.
“Suzie’s the best! These are the best workout classes I’ve ever done,” Charlotte said, dabbing her face with a towel.
“Anything that lets me stay in my jeans without doing lunges for five minutes straight will be a win for me,” Leah said, gesturing for me to stand. “Charlotte, I’d like you to meet my best friend, Polly Alberton. She moved back to town last month. She’s a pediatrician and has two kids close to Kimmy and Josh in age. Polly, this is Charlotte Mitchell. She’s worked as a teacher’s aide for the school district.”
Charlotte’s eyes widened when Leah introduced me. I extended my hand so I could introduce myself properly, when Rose spoke up from my other side.
“Polly is also the brand-new medical director of the school district and has been helpin’ me with the grant proposal, you know, the one you told me about last school year. She’s a gift. I couldn’t have handpicked anyone better!”
I gave Rose a patient smile then opened my mouth to introduce myself when I was cut off again.
“She also has the best taste in books!” Eliza added as Tiffany yelled, “And she can open up a bottle of wine using only a hair straightener!”
Slightly embarrassed by everyone’s enthusiasm, I held out my hand again and was finally able to speak. “Hi. I’m Polly. I promise I don’t usually travel with a fan club.”
Charlotte’s handshake was eager and warm. “It’s nice to finally meet you. I’m Charlotte Mitchell. And this isn’t the first time I’ve heard people sing your praises. I’m friends with Rae and Sienna. A few of my kids are in Young Wills, too. Jace Vargas has babysat for my kids dozens of times. We adore him. He’s watching your kids, right?”
“Yes.” I confirmed, my voice a little stiff. My supposed fan club already knew Jace worked for me, so my unease wasn’t from that. It was definitely due to the woman in front of me, who was my height with honey-blonde hair and similar green eyes, whose kids loved Jace whom he’s watcheddozens of times. My eyes, of their own volition, clocked her left ring finger. At the sight of a sizeable diamond, my chest relaxed, making me feel both lighter and pathetic simultaneously.
I felt more than saw the women of my fan club watching our exchange with rapt interest. I hope no one picked up on the fact that I checked out Charlotte’s ring finger to see if she was married.
“Myhusbandpicked up the kids from Young Wills these past few weeks.” Charlotte said, putting an emphasis on husband and twisting her diamond ring as she spoke. Well, that’s even worse. No one else perhaps saw it, but Charlotte definitely saw me eyeing her ring finger. I quickly debated explaining myself, but resolved the best-case scenario at this point was to stay silent and hope Charlotte thought I was gay and checking her marital status for my own interest.
Charlotte continued, “Are you going to be there with your kids next week? I’d love to talk about your work with the school a little more and your kids, seeing as they’re so close in age to mine.”
