Stevie held her at arm’s length. “How are you? You should have told me you were coming. We could have made plans to do something before class.”
“Mi primo,” Ember said. “I wanted to surprise you. And honestly, I’ve not been feeling well this week.”
“What’s wrong?”
Her friend shrugged. “I keep getting these headaches, bad ones. Probably my sinuses. My cabin is surrounded by everything I’m allergic to.”
“Have you tried feverfew tea? Or chamomile?”
Ember shook her head.
“I have both herbs. Let me send you home with some. The chamomile might make you too drowsy to drive all the way home.” Since her friend lived on the other side of the falls—a half-hour drive from town—it would be better for her to have the concoction after she got home. “The tea can be a little bitter because of the feverfew, but it works. Add a little honey to it.”
“I will, thanks.” Ember squeezed Stevie’s hand. “Thank you.”
Next Jordan, Mallory’s twin blew in, hair tied up in a messy ponytail. She opened her mat and immediately stretched out on it. “What a day. I’ve walked eleven dogs, had conversations with two naughty kittens about their destructive behavior and had a heart to heart with one aggressive male cockatiel about why he can’t get along with his mate.”
“Sounds like business is good,” Ember said. “¡Felicidades!”
Jordan blew out a long breath. “Thanks. Pets sure gab a lot. And they’re terrible gossips.”
All the women laughed.
Jordan pulled Stevie aside. “One of your cats wants you to pick him up more.”
Stevie gave her friend her total attention. “Really? Which one?”
Jordan shut her eyes a moment. “You call him Mittens. He’s the Siamese, Russian Blue mix that came to your rescue last week. He says that he isn’t feral, just homeless.”
Stevie made a mental note to start holding his more. “Tell him I’ll work on that.”
“He says that there’s a strange energy on the property, something supernatural.”
“Really?” Stevie swallowed hard. Although supernatural energy could be anything. What the cat sensed could very well be coming from one of Stevie’s friends, or even Stevie herself.
Jordan stilled for a moment. “The cat says that the energy feels male to him. And something about a Leo.”
“A Leo?” She’d have to ask Griffin what his sun sign is. Before Stevie had time to think about that, Joelle poked her head through the door. “Am I late?”
“Right on time,” Stevie told her.
The redhead made a show of swiping a hand across her forehead. “I was in such a rush that I forgot my mat. Can I borrow one?”
Stevie tipped her chin to the corner where she stored the extras she kept for such occasions.
Minutes later, Amethyst and Darcy showed up, and Stevie started the yoga class. She managed to concentrate on nothing but her students and their sequences. An hour after they’d begun, Stevie ended the class with Savasana. As her students remained in the corpse position, she got up to fetch water for everyone. Out the kitchen window, she spotted Griffin waving to her.
After checking that her class was still zonked out in the other room, she quietly let herself out the back door.
Griffin met her at the fence between the properties. “Heard from your grandmother? I hope she’s having a good time with her cousin.”
She nodded. “Apparently the security guard knocked on Etta’s door at eleven last night to ask them to quiet down. Sounds like they’re reliving their wild days, huh?”
Shaking his head, he grinned. “She’s quite a character.”
Standing this close to him, she caught a whiff of his woodsy scent. Very masculine. “I hope Grandma didn’t talk your ears off.”
He tugged on both of his earlobes. “Nope, they’re still there. But she did tell me a lot about you.”
Her pulse quickened. “Really. Like what?”
With a mischievous grin on his face, he shrugged. “This and that. She happened to mention that you make a mean lavender tea bread, one that she said you ought to enter in the Valentine’s Day Bake-Off. According to her, it would be a shoe-in.”
She rolled her eyes. “Maybe if my grandmother is judging.”
“So let me be the judge.”
A zing of excitement danced up her spine. “Is this your way of trying to wrangle some lavender tea bread out of me?” Which might be a good way to thank him.
Chuckling, he held up his hands in surrender. “You got me. I’m curious. I’ve never eaten anything lavender.”
His gaze swept over her body, so quickly that if she’d looked away for a half a second, she’d have missed it. Heat bloomed in her belly, just as it had yesterday when she’d seen him in his aunt’s backyard, working on the storage shed. And the day before that, when she’d glanced out her window and found him weeding the flower patch between the houses. His sweat-soaked t-shirt stuck to his skin, emphasizing the vee from his broad shoulders to his narrow waist.
Taking a backward step, she cleared her throat. “I should get back to my class.” She hurried inside.
Half an hour later, after she’d finished the meditation, she walked her students out to the porch.
“I loved that meditation,” Darcy commented.
“It was awesome,” Jordan added.
That was a relief. Apparently, even with the fact that Stevie hadn’t been able to block Griffin from creeping into her head during the class, she’d still managed to give her students a positive experience. Even now, her thoughts kept returning to him—his smile, his captivating eyes. He’d been so sweet about driving her grandmother to her cousin’s. Yet he seemed immovable about selling her house.
Jordan elbowed her. “Who’s the hottie next door?” The blonde tipped her chin toward Miss Percival’s house, and Stevie spotted Griffin up on the roof painting thick black liquid around the base of the chimney.
Hottie? His t-shirt hugged his chest and shoulders, which showed off those impressive deltoids, biceps, and pecs. “That’s my new landlord.” At least until he made her homeless. The reminder put a damper on her mood.
Jordan let out a low whistle, only loud enough for Stevie and the other women to hear. “Lucky you. If he was my landlord, I’d be stopping up my sink every other day just to get him over to fix it.”
Amethyst fluffed her long purple locks. “He must have great balance to stay on such a steeply-pitched roof. And aren’t we all lucky it’s been so unseasonably warm this week that we get to see all of his muscles in action?”
“Not all of them,” Jordan added.
Stevie laughed along with her students, but her stomach started burning. “He won’t be in town for long,” she told Jordan. “So don’t get any ideas.”
Jordan raised a blond eyebrow at her. “Oh, I get it. You’ve got dibs on him, hmm?”
Heat rose to her face. “N-no. Not at all.”
But her denial didn’t stop her friends’ good-natured teasing.
“Somebody’s got a crush on her neighbor,” Darcy said.
“I do not!” Stevie protested, even though there was a kernel of truth in Darcy’s statement.
Even Mallory chimed in. “I totally get it, Stevie. I didn’t want to acknowledge that I liked Cyrus. At first.”
“Quit messing with my girl.” Ember pulled Stevie into a hug. “That’s my job. He is pretty sexy, in a Clark Kent sort of way. Admit it.”
Clark Kent. That was exactly how she’d characterized him that first day. Stevie shoved her away, unable to stifle a grin. “Okay, fine. Maybe Griffin is kind of hot.”
“Glad you think so.”
Stevie gasped at Griffin’s voice, which had come from right behind her. Heat crawled up her neck and face as she slowly turned around.
The smudge of black across his forehead and the amusement in his eyes only made him more appealing.
�
��Got to run,” Jordan said.
“Me too.” Mallory hooked her twin’s arm and the two joined Darcy, Amethyst, and Ember as they hurried away from Stevie’s cottage.
Stevie cleared her throat. “See you all next time.”
After the women were gone, Stevie mustered the courage to speak to Griffin. “We were just kidding around. I hope you didn’t take all that seriously.”
Amusement danced in his eyes. “Is that right?”
She nodded. “Absolutely.”
He pressed a hand to his chest. “Now I’m heartbroken.”
Pulse racing, she hugged her arms around her body. “I should…go clean up.”
“Wait.” He took a step closer, which did nothing to quell the butterflies flitting around in her stomach.
“Yes?”
“I almost forgot why I came over here.” He took off his glasses and wiped sweat from his forehead.
Which gave her another opportunity to really see the flecks of gold in his eyes.
“I remembered you said that you were a runner in school.”
“Mm-hmm. East Charleston High track team.”
“Do you still? Or would you like to?” He slipped his glasses on then shielded his eyes from the late afternoon sun. “I’m asking because…I thought maybe you’d like to join me tonight, for my run.”
Her pulse quickened. She shouldn’t get too attached to him. But what harm could there be in a simple workout? “Well…”
“I don’t really know my way around here yet,” he said. “It’ll be dark soon. You wouldn’t want me to get lost, would you?”
She couldn’t resist teasing him. “Is that a rhetorical question?”
There was that devastating smile again. “Ouch.” He slapped his chest and pretended to stumble backward. “You don’t pull any punches, do you?”
She hadn’t a few days ago when she’d used her magic to stir up an allergen tornado. And then he’d helped her out by driving her grandma across the state. Her chest constricted.
He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I get it. You see me as the enemy, the evil landlord. You know, just because I plan to sell your cottage, that doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll have to move out. You’ve got a proven track record as a good tenant, and that’s a plus for an investor in search of rental property.”
“Yeah?”
“Sure, investors buy houses to use as rentals all the time. I’ll ask my real estate agent if she can market the houses with that in mind.”
A kernel of hope lifted her mood. “That would be great.”
His smile widened. “So will you come with me?”
She hadn’t done any cardio since before her grandma had arrived more than a week ago, but how could she say no now? “Sure, what time?”
“In about half an hour.”
They parted ways, and Stevie went inside to change. She tried on three different outfits, which was totally ridiculous. This was a workout, not a date. She checked her look in the full-length mirror in her bedroom—hot pink Capri exercise pants with a white t-shirt. Then she synched her braids into a ponytail that she secured with a pink bandana. After she’d smoothed on a coat of clear lip-gloss, she headed outside.
And found Griffin waiting for her, wearing a tank top and shorts. The man had legs like freight trains. She could hardly keep her eyes off of them.
“Got to love this weather, huh?” He crouched to tie his shoelace. “It’s probably in the forties in New York right now.”
She nodded. “This is pretty warm for us, but I’m not complaining. Although the temperature will drop fast now that the sun’s set.”
“I like it cool when I exercise.”
They started out walking.
“What do you do in New York?” she asked.
“I’m a code enforcement officer.”
That made sense. “Do you like it?”
He picked up his pace, and Stevie matched it.
“I do. It’s rewarding.”
“Rewarding?” She turned right at the end of the street. “Citing people, fining them?”
“It’s my job to inspect new construction and renovation projects for safety issues. Mostly it’s making sure that buildings, and the people who inhabit them, are safe.”
She hadn’t thought of it that way before, but it made sense. Keeping up with Griffin’s pace was becoming a little challenging, but she was determined to do it. Sweat trickled down her neck. They ran in silence for a little while. When the automatic irrigation system kicked on in front of a large Victorian mansion on Shadow Drive, she made a detour through the corner of the yard to cool down in the sprinklers.
“What are you doing?” Griffin jogged in place and kept glancing toward the house. “That’s private property.”
She hopped over a sprinkler head, which got her just wet enough to give her a second wind. “Relax. I’m not tearing up the sod or tagging the place.”
“Tagging?”
“Marking it up with graffiti,” she clarified. Apparently, he hadn’t spent any time in the hood, as she had during the early part of her childhood, all the years she’d lived with her mother.
His lips flattened to a thin line. “Regardless, walking through someone else’s lawn is technically trespassing.”
Mentally rolling her eyes, she returned to the sidewalk and leaned against a lamppost. “You need to lighten up, Griffin. Live a little, be spontaneous.”
He stopped moving and set a hand on his waist. Muscles around his jaw ticked.
Yikes, maybe she shouldn’t have said that.
“I can be just as spontaneous and fun as anyone.” With that, he tore off his shirt and tossed it to her. Then he jogged straight through two of the sprinklers.
Stevie snorted with laughter as she brought him his shirt. Although she was reluctant to give it back to him since she was so enjoying staring at his bare chest. When he held out his hand for it, she had no choice but to return it.
Their fingers touched. He didn’t move away.
A zing of attraction tendrilled through her whole body, heating her right back up, despite the cool water clinging to her skin.
“See?” he said. “I can be spontaneous. Heck, I just broke a rule, too. You must bring out the rebel in me.”
His gaze tracked down her body, and awareness washed over her. And reminded her that she was wearing a white shirt, which probably made her look like a participant in a wet t-shirt contest.
She folded her arms over her chest and stepped out from under the glare of the streetlamp. “Yes, you’re quite the rebel. What’ll you do for an encore, jaywalk?”
Moving a little closer, he narrowed his eyes at her. “Snarky becomes you.”
And half naked became him. She managed a smile, but with him standing so near, smelling like pure man, looking like Adonis in horn-rimmed glasses, it was all she could do to draw a breath.
He pulled on his shirt, his gaze never releasing hers. “Race you home?”
“What do I get if I beat you?” she asked.
“You sound like your grandmother.”
How had he known about her grandma’s penchant for bets? “You certainly found out a lot about her on your little drive.”
“Wasn’t so little.” He threw her a playful wink. “If I win, you make me some lavender tea bread.”
“And if I win?”
He shrugged. “Won’t happen. But on the off chance that I should fall and break a leg or something, I’ll buy you dinner.”
“Maybe the restaurant will give you a discount, on account of your leg being in a cast and all.”
Laughing, he gave her a thumbs up. “Deal?”
“Deal.” Without waiting for him to respond, she took off, sprinting to the end of the street then took a right turn onto Gravestone Way. Seconds later, Griffin passed her. She caught up to him at the bottom of the hill on Crossbones Drive where he was jogging in slow circles.
“I was wondering
when you’d get here. I think I grew a couple of gray hairs while I was waiting.” He licked his lips. “I can almost taste that lavender bread.”
She was breathing heavily, but she refused to give in. “Who’s snarky now?”
As she started walking up the hill, Griffin showed off by running a curvy pattern next to her. “I’m giving you a handicap,” he explained.
“I’ll give you a handicap, one that makes you limp.” She pasted on an exaggerated scowl. “I’m still in the race. I’m a lot stronger than I look.”
“I’m sure you are. Care to up the ante?”
“What’d you have in mind?” As long as she kept him talking, she got to rest, and save up her energy for the final sprint up the hill.
“How about a homemade dinner, and lavender tea bread for dessert.” He waggled his brow.
A pleasant ache took root in her belly. “And if I win?”
He shrugged. “Name your price.”
First thing that popped into her head was asking him not to sell her cottage, but that wasn’t fair. Besides, they were just playing around. She skimmed her gaze over his broad shoulders, his long, muscular legs. “I can think of some sort of physical labor you could do for me.” She caught him tracking his gaze down her body before meeting her eyes, and her pulse leaped like a jackrabbit. Had he thought she’d been referring to something of a sexual nature? She gulped. Getting all hot and bothered about her landlord was a terrible idea. “I meant, around my house.”
His eyes flashed with amusement. “Of course you did.” He gestured toward the street. “Are you going to speed it up, or just forfeit right here and now? We should call your grandmother and let her bet on who’ll win.”
The challenge spurred her on. She charged up the hill, drawing on her reserves to go as fast as she could.
Griffin kept his pace slow, slower than she knew he could run, giving her the handicap that he’d mentioned.
Only it didn’t matter. The steep grade proved too much for her. A moment later he passed her. Worse, he didn’t seem to be exerting very much effort to do so. Griffin got to her house half a minute before she did. And he wasn’t even breathing hard. His smile widened. “So when’s dinner?”
The Yin to His Yang Page 6