“Decently successful low-budget, high-quality indie film.”
“I see.” Her admiration for Cade inched a notch higher. The man was a go-getter—the only one who’d ever truly given her competition. On the ground, anyway. He made everything look easy.
The thought of sitting across from him on a double date suddenly felt…appealing. She shook her head. No. No sense going there. Cade had every chance to ask her out in high school and chose to spend time—and dates—with other girls, instead. She’d never even been invited to the parties he’d thrown. He could go months without acknowledging her in school.
She’d not been his type…which made her wonder if that moment at the Lazy Spoon had been embellished in her memory all these years.
“We should probably stop spying.” Elisa turned to face Rosalyn and clasped her hands. “Are you practicing tonight? I’d love to watch, if you want someone to cheer you on.”
Rosalyn rolled her lower lip, eyeing the silks now secured above them. She was tired, but it was more than that lately. Stress felt heavier ten feet in the air. Andthatprobably wasn’t going to go away anytime soon. “Sure. That’d be great.”
Elisa moved the ladder to the corner of the room while Rosalyn separated her silks into two poles. Then she wrapped her feet to provide a foothold and climbed upward.
“You make that look easy,” Elisa called.
“Wasn’t at first.” Once Rosalyn reached six feet or so, she unwrapped her ankles, holding the silks with both hands, and flipped backward into an inversion.
Elisa gasped.
“It’s not as bad as it looks.” Rosalyn chuckled as she came right side up, continuing to weave the fabric around her legs and hips. Then she flipped again, rolling out of the silks sideways, legs extended, in a short wheel down.
Elisa clapped. Which was nice.
But not as nice as the view Rosalyn’s inverted position granted her of Cade, watching through the studio window, a big smile on his face as he munched through a bag of chips. He tucked the bag under one arm and provided an exaggerated slow clap, as if she’d performed an Olympic-worthy move.
So maybe the Lazy Spoon memory hadn’t been embellished after all.
Flustered, Rosalyn scrambled to lower herself as he shot her a wink. Her chest burned.
Elisa caught the exchange as she glanced back and forth between Rosalyn and Cade.
“Don’t even think about it.” Rosalyn bit back a groan as her feet landed on the mat, providing her with stable ground again. Though arguably, coming down from the silks had done nothing to get her head out of the clouds.
“I didn’t say anything.” Elisa held up both hands. “Your face is red though.”
“I was upside down!” Rosalyn protested.
“Don’t worry. Cade makes a lot of women blush.” Elisa stood with a grin. “It’s not just you.”
And there it was. The reality check that doused Rosalyn’s flush with a bucket of cold water. Cade Landry had been—and would always be—Mr. Popular. The mayor’s son. And maybe Rosalyn had made a name for herself in recent years, but did she even want to flirt with someone she’d never been good enough for?
As much as she hated to admit it, her friend Amber had been right that evening on the phone, when Rosalyn got stood up for a dance.Men are destined to hurt you, Rosalyn. They’re not emotionally evolved enough. Look at guys like Cade Landry and you’ll see everything you need to know.And hadn’t Blaine proven that men lied enough for the entire male species?
She watched Cade head around the corner of the studio toward the door. Maybe Cade wasn’t like that. Maybe he was an overall good guy.
But it didn’t matter. Her secrets owned her right now, and there was only room for friendship.
It was safer for everyone—and her heart—that way.
* * *
Elisa had vanished like a blonde Houdini, muttering something about it being past her bedtime—not that Cade was complaining about impromptu alone time with Rosalyn.
He stood in the shadowed doorway of the dance studio, Elisa’s perfume hovering despite her abrupt departure, and shook his head as he watched Rosalyn gather her things inside. “She’s subtle.”
“So was her suggestion of the four of us getting dinner while I’m in town.” Rosalyn tugged her blue athletic top down over the waistband of her leggings and laughed, though it sounded a bit forced.
He held the door open for her as she flicked off the lights. Everything about the stiffness in Rosalyn’s back suggested a double date wouldnotbe a good thing to request.
