SIMON POV
Ichecked my watch for what felt like the hundredth time, trying not to get too caught up in whether she was going to turn up or not. Even though deep down I knew my happiness depended entirely on Miranda coming to yoga.
We never confirmed it, and I hadn’t seen her since that very first time she came into the apothecary for her chamomile tea, so there was every chance she had forgotten. But I had the store set up just in case, and I couldn’t help but wait with heavy expectations on my shoulders. It was so much that I couldn’t even bear to look at Kat. If my wife were here, she would be laughing at me for being so stupid. I could almost sense her doing so now.
“Hello?” I heard her soft voice just after the dinging of the door, and my heart instantly leapt into my throat. “Simon, are you here? Sorry if I’m late…”
The ray of sunshine that was Miranda entered my store and immediately settled the anxiety swirling within me. She was as useful as any of the concoctions I brewed here.
“Ah, Miranda, it’s so nice to see you.”
“I have so much to thank you for, Simon,” she declared as she spread out her yoga mat on the floor in the space I had created for us. “That tea you made me to take home was perfection. I will definitely need some more of it, although I insist on paying this time.”
I grinned. How could I not with a compliment like that being thrown my way? “I’m glad to hear it. Once we finish our stretches, I will brew you up some more. You certainly seem a lot more balanced today.”
I watched her inhale deeply, filling her lungs, before blowing out a breath of relief. “Well, it has been a crazy week, so I’m glad to see that I at least look calm.”
My lips turned down in to a frown. “Yeah, it hasn’t been a great week for anyone in town, really. Not the best time for you to try to get used to Twin Lakes. It really isn’t always like this. I usually think the police don’t have anything to do, but with the robberies and the murder, it’s been a bad time. I don’t know what is going on at the moment.”
It had been very troubling. I didn’t like drama, it never brought anything good, and I hoped it wasn’t so much that it sent Miranda packing.
“That’s why I need this yoga session more than you know,” she said with an awkward laugh. “My son, Timothy, has always struggled to make friends before we moved here. But he is playing at a friend’s house this morning, so I figured it was a good time for me to get out of the house and relax.”
She didn’t mention her son when she was here before, but I could see her being a bad ass mother who would do absolutely anything for her child, no matter what it took, to make sure her son was safe and happy. Not the easiest thing to do right now.
“Well, let’s get started, then. Get those muscles stretched out so you can be even more balanced.”
“Perfect.” She smiled and nodded. “Thanks so much, Simon.”
I led us through a nice flow, but it was a little hard for me to focus with her gorgeous curves moving easily in the most flexible of ways. She was intoxicating. Tree, warrior, snake…she moved easily through the positions, like it was as natural to her as breathing. I was impressed. This was a yoga session that certainly had my heart racing.
“That was amazing,” she said once we were done, a big, beaming smile on her face now. “I really enjoyed that. We should do it more often.”
“For sure.” It was hard for me to play it cool and to keep my eagerness inside, but I didn’t get the impression that Miranda minded. She just seemed to like me for who I was. “I enjoyed that as well. But now I have your tea to brew, if you have the time?”
I didn’t want to make her late to pick up her son, but as Miranda took a seat and lazily stretched herself out, the wolf within her satisfied, I knew we had time. Time I was very keen to use to my advantage to get to know her at last.
“So, Miranda, how are things in Twin Lakes for you? Aside from all the horrible things that have popped up, of course.”
She furrowed her brows in confusion. Oops, I didn’t mean for her to start thinking about the negative stuff going on in town. Guilt flowed through me as I racked my brain for a way to make it better.
“I really like Twin Lakes,” she cautiously replied before I could change the subject. “And I know my son does as well. But I’m worried about everything happening. I will admit it makes me want to move somewhere else to escape it. But then I keep thinking about danger being everywhere. There isn’t any way to escape it in this world, is there? It’s just one of those inevitable things.”
My eyes drifted to my picture of Kat. I understood that better than anyone. “It’s true, but that’s why we need to make sure we embrace every moment of life.”
I poured Miranda a cup of tea and bottled up the rest for her to take home. “So, have you been dating in Twin Lakes?” I asked as I handed her the drink.
“Why, have you heard something?” she said with a laugh. “I know what small towns are like.”
“I hear all sorts of things,” I replied with a shrug, trying to stifle my smile. “But I don’t believe anything until I hear it directly from the source.”
Rumor had it she had accidently scheduled a date with the twins, Cole and Ivan, and that had caused a bit of a scene at the restaurant. I would have loved to have seen that in person. I could just imagine the twins getting in to a scuffle. It might have only happened the night before, but she was right, gossip was wildfire in a small town like Twin Lakes. There was no controlling it, and it often got out of hand, bending the truth to make things more exciting.
“Well, I’m going to guess you heard about Cole and Ivan, then.”
I nodded. “How did things end up? Were you okay?”
Her cheeks reddened, which told me there was a deeper story there. I expected a twist of jealousy to make an appearance in my gut because I had a crush on Miranda too, but it didn’t happen. I wasn’t a jealous wolf by nature, we never really were, but I thought I might be because of the spark Miranda had ignited within me. I thought this might put the flame out, but somehow it only made it shine brighter.