Page 16 of Then There Was You

“Morning, Kat,” Brooke chimed in with a sunny smile.

Kat blew her a kiss, then led Sterling to the front to meet the teacher. “Bex, this is Sterling. He arrived yesterday.” She stepped to the side so Sterling and Bex could face each other. “Have you done yoga before, Sterling?”

“Never.” He managed to look completely unenthusiastic and more than a little forbidding at the same time.

“You’re in good hands, then,” she told him. “Bex is the best yoga teacher on the west coast.”

Bex laughed. “She only says that because none of the other yoga teachers live in the bay.”

“And none of them are my friend.” The two women bumped shoulders.

“Nice to meet you, Bex,” Sterling said, reaching out to shake her hand.

Bex took it, a sly smile lifting the corners of her mouth. “The pleasure is all mine.”

Sterling’s cheeks flushed, but he didn’t say anything, almost as if he realized she were flirting with him but didn’t know how to respond. Interesting. Most men were smitten with Bex at first glance. She had dark eyes and brows, golden brown skin, a straight nose, and full lips that were permanently quirked in a mischievous smile, except for when she was painting or mothering. Then, she was the very image of concentration.

Bex gripped his hand for a moment longer than necessary, then released it and snapped the elastic band off her wrist to collect her ebony tresses at the nape of her neck.

“Let’s get a mat and choose a spot,” Kat said. She collected a yoga mat from the edge of the room and handed another to Sterling, who followed like an obedient puppy. She claimed the spot beside Brooke and sat, cross-legged, facing Bex. Sterling arranged his mat in an identical position on her other side. From here, she could sense the tension radiating from him.

It was the beginning of a brand new day. What did he have to be stressed about?

* * *

Is this a nightmare?

Sterling closed his eyes, counted to ten, and opened them. No, he was still in a room full of attractive women—and one athletic man—expected to do something he had no idea how to do. He was going to make a fool of himself in front of Kat, the cute instructor, and the pretty blonde who’d been booking in guests the previous day.

He’d be willing to bet everyone here would put him to shame. His jaw clenched. Yoga was something his friend Mark would do, but Sterling wouldn’t dream of. He just wasn’t wired to be comfortable manipulating his body into strange positions in front of an audience. Why had he let himself be persuaded to leave his room?

“All right,” Bex said from the front. “I think that’s everyone.” She switched on a speaker and a soft, soothing melody started. “I want you to sit in whatever position is comfortable and keep your head high, shoulders relaxed, and breathe deeply with me. In and out through the nose.” She counted breaths. When she reached five, she said, “Now move into a tabletop position, on your hands and knees. Hands beneath your shoulders, knees hip-width apart, spine in neutral.”

Sterling followed her instructions, feeling utterly ridiculous. He hadn’t knelt like this in years, except to look for something he’d dropped on the floor.

“As you breathe in, curve your spine down and lift your head into cow pose. When you exhale, round your spine and drop your head into cat pose. Inhale, exhale.”

This was completely absurd. What good could it possibly do to bend his back up and down while breathing? His head began to spin.

“Stop hyperventilating,” Kat hissed. “If you keep that up, you’ll faint.”

“She said to breathe deeply,” he muttered.

“Just ease back a bit. You’re too pale.”

How embarrassing. They hadn’t done anything challenging and he’d already gotten it wrong.

“Bring your toes together, knees wide,” Bex instructed. “Lift your right arm towards the roof, then slide it under your body and thread the needle. Lower your ear and shoulder to the floor, and if you can, twist your left arm behind your lower back.”

Sterling watched Bex do the movement and tried to copy it, but his shoulder didn’t want to touch the ground. Instead, he ended up leaning on his head, his neck bent at an uncomfortable angle. He drew in a shaky breath. Then another. His left arm trembled. Thankfully, before he collapsed, Bex directed them to revert back to the tabletop position.

Okay, he could handle that. For the three breaths they held still, he almost enjoyed it—not that he’d admit to such a thing. Bex instructed them to lunge forward and come into a squat. He did so, feeling quite pleased with himself. But then, in a seemingly effortless movement, she twisted her body around and down, placing her palms on the floor and raising her feet off of it.

How the hell...?

Sterling peered over his shoulder at Kat, who mimicked the movement just as gracefully.

“How do I do that?” he whispered.

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