6
“What’s his deal?”Bex asked as Kat rolled up her yoga mat and snapped a strap around it.
“Who, Sterling?”
“Yeah. Mr. Tall, Blond, and Cranky.”
Kat sighed. The yoga session hadn’t gone exactly as planned. She’d considered chasing him when he’d run off, but decided to let him lick his wounds in peace. Besides, he’d been rude to her friend, storming out of the class just because he’d lost his balance, as most beginner yogis did.
“He wants to buy Sanctuary,” Kat said.
Bex whistled. “No shit.”
“I think his plan is to flatten it and build a resort.”
Bex winced. “Yeouch. Obviously you said no.”
“I did, but I promised to hear him out if he stayed for a while.”
The two women began to gather yoga mats and blocks to carry to Bex’s car.
“Why?” Bex asked.
Kat flicked her hair out of her eyes and held the door open with one hand so Bex could pass through, then followed her to her Mum-mobile, a gray mini-van with toys strewn over the back seat.
“Have you seen the guy? He needs to unwind. It’s not healthy to be so uptight, and you know Sanctuary is the perfect place for him to lie low and recover.”
Bex unloaded her armful into the trunk and put a hand on her hip. “You’re not worried about him talking you around while he’s here?”
“Nope.” Kat dropped her own load and straightened. “I’ll just listen, tell him thanks but no thanks, and send him on his way, better for having been here.”
Bex shook her head. “Saint Kat strikes again.”
Kat snorted. “Not hardly.”
A smile curled Bex’s lips. “I don’t suppose you conned him into staying because you wanted to stare at his cute tush in exercise shorts…”
The flippant comment caught Kat by surprise. “Bex,” she warned, “you know I don’t do that.”
“What?” Bex asked, as though she had no idea what Kat meant, when in fact, she knew very well. “You mean you don’t ogle sexy men? Because I beg to differ. You’ve been known to ogle a well-built guy a time or two.”
Kat tried to tamp down the panicky feeling rising in her chest like a butterfly battering against the inside of her rib cage, and massaged the spot, drawing in a long, even breath. “Whatever.”
Bex touched her shoulder. “You okay? You know I’m only teasing, right?”
“I know.” Kat forced a smile. “Besides, I saw you checking out his butt just as much as I was. He’s got a stable job and probably a bit of money in the bank. Dad candidate?”
“The guy can’t even try yoga without getting pissed off,” Bex replied. “He’s not a great dad candidate. Parenting Izzy is a great big exercise in failure. Like, a contest to see how many times I can get it wrong.” She shrugged. “Not the place for someone like him.”
“Don’t you give me that, girlfriend. You rock the solo parenting gig.”
Bex leaned over and kissed Kat’s cheek. “Now tell me, why would I need a man in my life when I’ve got a kick-ass woman like you?”
“Oh, you sweet talker.” Kat hugged her, then stepped back. “Go pick up that beautiful daughter of yours and give her a kiss from Aunty Kat.”
“Will do. Bye, now.”
As the Mum-mobile crunched over gravel on the way out of the parking lot, Kat headed back inside. In the foyer, she grabbed the sweater she’d stowed earlier and tugged it over her head, making her way to the dining hall, where she waved to each group she walked past, and breezed into the kitchen.