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She lives and writes in northeastern Florida.
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Website: www.sexysassyromance.com
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OFF BALANCE
SUPERSTITIOUS BRIDES HUMOROUS ROMANCE #8
SUSAN ANN WALL
Sometimes, to find your center, you must collide with the one who throws you off balance.
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Heather Wolfe started practicing yoga as a way to find some balance in her life and maybe decide on a new career. After the world of software engineering sucked the life out of her, she’s bounced from job to job to job, never finding any satisfaction. The same is true of her love life. She’s never been afraid to go after what -- or who -- she wants, but so far, the direct approach has produced zero results. She hasn’t ignored the crush she has on her yoga instructor, Haven Masters, but she’s kept it on a short leash while she devises the perfect plan to get him to make the first move. When Haven asks her to book a tropical cruise retreat for his Mindful Masters of Self class, of which Heather is a student, she puts her new skills as a travel agent to work, manipulating the accommodations to propel her plan forward.
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Along his journey to enlightenment, Haven has come across many bumps and roadblocks, but never once has anything or anyone thrown him off balance the way Heather does. Normally confident, he’s confused by his hesitation to ask her out, but when they are thrown in a small cabin together for seven nights aboard the cruise ship, he believes it is the Greater Spirit providing an opportunity that he must seize. Heather doesn’t seem comfortable with the arrangements at first, but after their first night aboard ship, things start moving so quickly, Haven’s head spins as fast as his heart races. Heather seems to have everything he’s been looking for in a woman, so much so that she seems too good to be true. All Haven can do is look for his center again and hope he finds it with Heather.
CHAPTER 1
“ N amaste.”
The word shouldn’t turn her on, but every time her yoga instructor breathed the three syllables, every inch of Heather Wolfe’s body quivered with a need like no other she’d ever experienced. She remained on the yoga mat, eyes closed, the bottoms of her feet turned in and touching, her hands falling to rest on her knees. Sounds of the others standing and rolling their mats whispered across her ear, but Heather’s focus was on one voice, the calming baritone of the man who had just brought her Zen.
She just wished he would bring her to the other side of Zen.
It wasn’t her usual practice to meditate at the end of yoga class. Usually she was eager to strike up a conversation with Haven Masters, yoga god, but today she had to harness a little more courage to tell him something he was likely to be upset about. Since she had never seen him upset, dread filled the pool where the courage needed to be.
With no time like the present, Heather took one last deep breath, pushed to her feet, and took her sweet time rolling the mat. Before she finished, Haven’s deep voice made her quiver once again. “Heather, got a minute?”
“For you, I have two,” she responded, making no effort to hide her shameless, flirtatious smile as she turned to him. Haven responded with his own smile, the kind that made panties disintegrate in a flash. Unable to fight the shiver, Heather pretended it was the morning breeze caressing her sweat-dampened skin and not Haven’s smile that caused her body to misbehave.
Haven finished his conversation with another mystic, as he liked to call those who attended his yoga classes, turning to Heather and flashing that smile once more. “I know we are meeting tonight to go over all the travel arrangements, but I just wanted to check in and make sure everything is set.”
Taking a deep breath, Heather braced herself for the conversation she’d rehearsed in her head a hundred times. “Everything is set, there’s just one small glitch.”
A deep breath expanded Haven’s muscular chest, but his smile didn’t falter. “Do tell,” he encouraged.
Heather sucked in a long breath of courage, trying to push the dread aside. “Well, it only impacts you and I. As I told you, this is the first cruise I’ve ever booked, so it was a learning process for me.”
Offering a comforting stroke of her shoulder and upper arm, Haven continued to smile, his chiseled face reflecting a warmth and calm that Heather mentally reached out and stroked with her fingertips. The morning sun shining through the glass ceiling of the Mindful Master Studio was bright enough to force Haven’s hypnotic blue eyes to squint, the left one pinching closed as if he was trapped in a permanent wink just for her. “I’m sure everything is fine, Heather,” he said, her name crossing his lips throwing her further off kilter. She squeezed her thighs and silently uttered her mantra. You got this. You own this. You are unstoppable.
Maybe someday she’d actually believe it.
“Tell me what’s going on,” Haven said, giving her arm a gentle squeeze.
With another deep breath, she knew it was now or never. Never meant running for the hills and spending the rest of her life in a cave to avoid facing what she’d done. You got this. You own this. You are unstoppable. “The cabin situation, well, instead of each of us having a single room, we were booked together, in one room.”
She had chosen her words carefully to avoid getting caught up in a lie. When Haven had asked if she could book a tropical cruise ship retreat for his Mindful Master of Self class, in which Heather was enrolled, she said she’d be more than happy. She’d only been working as a travel agent for a few months and welcomed the challenge. Some of the mystics had doubled up in rooms and others had opted to bring their significant others. Heather hadn’t hesitated when she booked herself and Haven in the same room. She didn’t want to be single forever, but her direct approach with men had gotten her nowhere. Sharing a room would save them both money and it would give Heather an opportunity to be in close quarters with the man who owned every waking thought.
“I’ve been assured that there are two beds in the room,” she continued, but felt a lie was needed to seal her innocence in all this. “I inquired about changing it to two singles, but it doubles what both of us will have to pay, so…”
His hand remained on her arm as his head tilted slightly. “Is sharing a room with me a problem for you?” he asked.
Heather shook her head a little too vigorously, then shrugged to play off the enthusiasm. “Oh, of course not. I mean, I don’t mind at all. In fact, I prefer that, you know, to save money and all.” And to get her needy little hands on his solid, cut to perfection body.
The studio windows were open since it was a warm morning for early April. A breeze danced through but did little to calm her racing nerves or cool her burning desire. She breathed in the cool air, concentrating on grounding herself in the moment. After another silent prayer of her mantra, Heather reminded herself that she neither rambled nor bumbled around men. She was an intelligent, independent, confident woman. Just because Haven Masters came equipped with a god-like body and sucked all the air from her lungs with just a glance didn’t mean she had to play the part of a foolish girl.
“You inspire me, Heather. I believe this is an opportunity, the Greater Spirit bringing us together for some mindful purpose. I’m intrigued to discover that destiny.”
Her knees buckled a little. Yes, she agreed that the Greater Spirit, or what she liked to refer to as God, had a purpose for them, though she thought of it as more heartfelt than mindful.
It required a long sip from her tea leaf infused water bottle for Heather to find words, and then, she still only managed one. “Great.”
Maybe Haven would think her flushed cheeks were a result of the yoga, after all, she had broken a sweat despite the consistent breeze wafting through the studio. Being Monday, today’s yoga was Yo-Fit, a little more demanding and intense than the Wednesday and Friday classes. Haven liked to start the week wi
th a more vigorous workout so everyone felt ready to conquer their week. Heather liked to start her week with Haven, and had come to enjoy the workout. In fact, she looked forward to Mondays since she had no viable reason to see him during the weekend.
Realizing they were just standing there staring at each other, she offered a quick smile and dug deep for some intermediate vocabulary. “I have excursions booked at each port that will accommodate the themes you listed for meditations and yoga practices.”
Haven nodded, still smiling. “I can’t wait to hear all about it. If I didn’t have a group meditation scheduled, I’d invite you to stay for tea to go over everything. I guess we’ll just have to wait until class tomorrow night.”
The Mindful Master of Self class met twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays. The first three-month session would conclude after the cruise retreat, but Haven had offered to hold monthly sessions as check-ins, to ensure everyone was still practicing the methods learned. Heather wasn’t sure how she would fill those evenings. She hated the thought of not seeing Haven every day, but she couldn’t justify enrolling in the next session since it would offer all the same lessons she had already completed. The other option was a class on crystal healing, something she found intriguing, but one she knew would be demanding on her wallet.
“I have to get to work, anyway,” she offered with another shrug. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Before Heather could step back, Haven moved closer, his other hand gripping her other shoulder, holding her steady as her knees again buckled under his touch. If ever she thought a man might kiss her, it was now, and she imagined the explosion that would ignite the moment their lips touched. Instead, Haven hovered just inches from her face, his eyes locked on hers instead of zeroing in on her lips. She held is gaze and did not lick her lips despite the compulsion. She would have to meditate later to reaffirm her strength in avoiding impulsive behavior, but for now, she focused on the breath, the coolness passing in through her nostrils, the warmth passing on the exhale.
“I have every faith that this retreat will be what all of the Mindful Mystics need to continue on their path to enlightenment, Heather. Even you.”
She wasn’t sure what to make of that last statement. She had signed up for his mindfulness class as a way to facilitate her crush and maybe score a date with him. Heather never had any intention of achieving enlightenment.
HAVEN’S NOSTRILS flared with the long intake of breath as he lay flat on his back on the mandala blanket his mother had crocheted for him when he graduated high school. His chest rose, lungs filling with air, and he held it for a count of four before releasing it long and slow, his chest falling, his nose tingling as the air passed. The breathing exercises helped about as much as his meditation had.
Haven had never subscribed to the fake it til you make it philosophy because he had faith, was a believer in positive, mindful energy and the power it had when harnessed. He lived his life not only to harness that power, but to share it, to teach others, to love life and live it to the fullest. He prided himself on being genuine, always, and his code was built on honesty and kindness.
So while he had been kind to Heather when she told him about the cabin situation, he hadn’t been completely honest. An hour of meditation did nothing to alleviate the guilt associated with that. How would she feel if she knew he wanted to share a room with her for personal reasons, intimately personal reasons? She was a fascinating woman, happy and beautiful. The yoga studio lit up with an abundance of energy every time she walked in. He wasn’t the only one who felt it. He could see the energy extend to the other mystics as well, particularly Jeremy Andrews. Haven was sure Jeremy had only joined yoga as a way to meet women; the proof was in how he shamelessly flirted with all the attractive ladies. Haven had also spent hours meditating to alleviate the jealousy that flared each time Heather flirted back. The temptation was always there to tell Jeremy to back off, that Heather was already spoken for, but the truth in that was in the lie, and Haven couldn’t afford to taint his business relationship with Jeremy, who owned a goat farm and provided the goat’s milk for the organic soaps Haven made and sold in his studio.
Jealousy and guilt, two things Haven was ashamed to carry. He needed to release that negative energy so he could focus on the priority tasks at hand, his studies and his business plan. Using his core strength, he sat upright with a quick lift of his torso, folded his legs in and stood in a swift and graceful motion. His mind may not be at ease, but at least he could rely on his physical strength to propel him forward.
Using the brass snuffer, he extinguished the tea light candles illuminating the dark meditation room. Perhaps he should have done his meditation in the sun room, but he thought he’d find better focus in the space that offered no distractions from the outside world. Unfortunately, the distractions were in his mind and heart, not in the environment.
Haven grabbed the mandala blanket because unlike most of the items in the studio, this was for his personal use. It had seen better days, but given his mother’s arthritis, he didn’t have the heart to ask her to make a new one and didn’t have the strength to let this one go. It had seen him through all of his training, from earning a bachelor’s degree in psychology, to becoming a yoga instructor, and through his self-study in the mystic arts of meditation, the chakras, crystals, and now Reiki.
He left the door open to signal to mystics that the room was available, and headed upstairs to his office. First order of business, make a note to record a couple meditations about releasing guilt and jealousy. One thing he had learned along his journey to enlightenment was that if he was experiencing a challenge, countless others were too. Even though he hadn’t figured out how to pay for the meditation mobile application he dreamed of providing to the world, he never missed an opportunity to record a meditation of spiritual need. Once he had the means to pay for the app development, having a library of meditations would cut down on time and stress.
Knowing the studio store inventory was low, he focused on the next essential task, ordering supplies. Jeremy would be by later with the goat’s milk. Haven tracked the order of soy wax to confirm it would also be delivered today so he could make the candles used in the studio, sold in the store, and provided to the practitioners as a benefit of their monthly membership to the studio.
The two-way radio in the docking station on his desk buzzed with a burst of static before his part-time store clerk and marketing consultant Cathlynn Merriweather said his name. Someday he hoped to have a decent office phone system, but that was an expense that would have to wait. For now, the walkie-talkies provided an inexpensive option to their communication needs.
“I’m here, Cat,” he said into the radio.
“I could use your assistance in the store,” she said slowly. He knew Cat well enough to know she was speaking through gritted teeth, clearly dealing with a difficult customer.
“I’ll be right there.” Wanting to ensure Cat was fine and provide the best customer service, Haven wasted no time in getting downstairs to the store. The large Victorian house he’d bought through a short sale had previously housed three separate apartments. With his dad’s help, he had gutted the entire house since it was in disrepair, and renovated it to become the mindful practice studio he had dreamed about when he started on the path to enlightenment. The first floor included the store, the large sun room, a self-service cafe, and the violet meditation room. The second floor had two more meditation rooms, his office, the classroom, and a large kitchen where Haven made soap, candles, sugar scrubs, and massage oils. The third floor, yet unfinished, was currently being used as storage space, but someday would also include a large studio apartment.
The store opened to the cafe and had an outdoor entrance so his mystics weren’t disturbed by the retail customers. When he came in through the archway at the back of the store, he found a woman with long, dark hair and a strange familiarity standing at the clerk’s counter with her arms crossed and impatience, maybe disdain, pinching her expr
ession. Haven didn’t normally see auras unless he concentrated deeply, but her aura radiated dark green, nearly black. Haven breathed in a long, deep breath and asked the Greater Spirit to grace him with kindness, understanding, and patience.
After crossing the small space, he pressed his hands together in namaskar. “Namaste, welcome. I’m Haven,” he greeted, giving a subtle bow of his head before extending a hand to offer a handshake. To his surprise, the woman extended her hand. He wrapped both his around hers, hoping to warm the coldness emanating from her skin. Her aura darkened, no longer holding a green hue, and a harsh smile replaced the impatient expression. Haven sent another prayer to the Greater Spirit, this time asking for the power to accept this woman as she was and for protection from her negative energy.
“Sam,” she said, drawing out the m. “I need a birthday present for my sister. She’s into all this woo-woo stuff.”
Haven was curious why Cat hadn’t been able to assist, but that wasn’t a topic for him to pursue now. Instead, he projected positive energy. “I’d be happy to help you find something for your sister among our mystical gifts. What is your sister’s name?”
“Heather,” Sam responded, rolling her eyes. “She takes your classes. Now I can see why.”
Simply offering a smile, Haven didn’t succumb to the woman’s flirting. “Heather Wolfe is your sister?”
Another eye roll. “That’s her. So, what do you recommend? I’m between jobs, so I’m on a pretty tight budget.”
Heather had been considering enrolling in the crystal healing class that would start in a few weeks, but had admitted to being on her own tight budget because of the cruise. One of the retail items he carried in the store was a crystal healing deck. The cards could be carried to channel the healing power of the crystals and could also be used as an oracle deck. He had seen Heather looking at the package on more than one occasion. “Heather has an interest in crystals,” Haven said, signaling toward the crystal healing display. When they reached the shelves, he grabbed the deck. “This should be within your budget.”
Tropical Tryst: 25 All New and Exclusive Sexy Reads Page 125