“I appreciate your honesty, Jackson. I know being in the middle couldn’t have been easy for you, and quite frankly, most people would have taken advantage of a situation like that. Thank you for being a decent human being. I see why my daughter keeps you around. I would never have expected to see her with a lawyer.” He smiled.
“Well, she wasn’t too keen on the idea to begin with, but I wore her down.” I grinned, giving Liv a slight nudge with my shoulder.
“He’s still working on it,” she joked.
Wine was poured, and orders were soon placed. The conversation was kept light as Liv’s parents asked about her life. Liv told them all about the counseling center. Both sets of eyes were focused directly on her. Her parents listened to every word she said with rapt attention even though I got the feeling they already knew most of the information she was telling them.
“Sounds like you’ve done well for yourself,” her mother replied.
The way Doug had spoken about her the other day in the office sounded much like a father who had kept at least some tabs on his daughter over the years.
Perhaps I’d underestimated the man, and Liv hadn’t been as alone as she thought.
For her sake, I hoped so.
~Liv~
The sun was barely over the horizon as I parked my car in front of the old studio and stepped out into the humid heat. Late August always brought record-breaking temperatures to Virginia. Looking around for Leah’s car, I realized I was a few minutes early, so I decided to take a seat on one of the wicker chairs in front of the studio and enjoy the quiet early morning.
After eight long years, I’d seen my parents, hugged them, and held them in my arms.
They’d spoken the words I’d been longing to hear. It was like a dream come true, yet part of me couldn’t accept that it was real.
Why now? Why, after all this time, did they suddenly have a change of heart?
The little girl inside of me had wanted to run into the shelter of their arms, uncaring of their reasons behind the long-awaited decision. The adult in me—the woman who had spent so many years alone—couldn’t help but worry about what else might have been lurking to ruin my perfect homecoming.
A car door slammed, bringing my attention upward. Coming toward me in tight black yoga pants and a barely there hot pink sports bra was Leah. She was the type of friend who everyone wanted to hate because she was tall, lean, and freaking perfect. Adding in the ridiculously hot, completely faithful ex-movie star husband to the equation, she was lucky that women even spoke to her.
But after we’d become close friends and I’d begun regularly attending yoga and Pilates classes with her a few times a week, I’d quickly figured out one thing. Leah worked hard to keep her body looking so damn good.
I’d always considered myself in shape and physically fit. I’d run several times a week, and I had taken a few classes at the gym. I had never truly felt out of shape until I’d walked into a Pilates class with Leah and spent the next forty-five minutes wondering what in the holy hell I’d done to this instructor to deserve such torture. It had hurt to walk, sit, and pretty much move for the next two solid days. Pilates had taught me a different way to move, and my muscles had hated me for even attempting it.
But Leah had convinced me to give it another try until the pain eventually lessened, and I’d even added in yoga to my weekly routine as well. Now, it had become a sort of weekly ritual for us. On yoga days, Clare would join us, but today, it was just Leah and me.
“Hey, hippie girl,” Leah greeted, sitting next to me on one of the chairs outside the studio.
“What’s up, crazy?” I replied with a grin.
“Oh, you know, the usual. Just doing my best to stay out of trouble.”
The lock on the studio door flipped, and the lights inside suddenly turned on, announcing the instructor’s arrival.
“Yeah? How’s that working out for you?” I laughed as we rose from our chairs and headed toward the entrance along with another woman who had just walked up.
“Well, it’s only six thirty in the morning, but so far, so good.” She winked.
“Does this mean you are going to refrain from getting us kicked out of class again?” I gave her a meaningful look.
Playing innocent, she held up her hands. “I have no idea what you’re referring to. I’m always a model participant in this class.”
“Who never stops talking,” the woman next to us added with a smirk.
I burst out laughing and covered my mouth to muffle the sound, but it didn’t help. “Oh my God, she’s got you pegged, Leah! It’s true. You run your mouth from the time class starts until it ends. I have no idea how you can hold your legs at a forty-five degree angle and still maintain speech. It’s inhuman.”
She shrugged. “I’m good at it I guess.”
“Talking or Pilates?” I laughed.
“Both, bitch! Now, tell me about this sexy man and the dinner with your parents while I attempt to annoy the shit out of everyone in class.”
“Oh God, I should just leave now and save myself some money,” I huffed.
“Now, what fun would that be?”
We set up our mats on the floor and took our seats as we waited for the instructor to begin.
“Jackson is just…well—”
“He’s what?”
“Amazing.”
“Amazing?” she echoed.
“Yeah. What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing. It’s just that I don’t think I’ve ever heard you describe a member of the male species as amazing. You even said it in a dreamy tone. Usually, they’re hot or sexy or good in bed…but never amazing. Well, there was that one guy who was amazing—in bed. Is that what you meant? If so, ignore everything I just said and carry on.”
“I think my head just exploded,” I said, shaking it to make sure I was still in one piece.
Spending a day with Leah was sometimes very exhausting.
“Well, which one is it?”
“Amazing. He’s just amazing. I mean, he’s fantastic in bed—okay, better than fantastic. He deserves a blue ribbon for best lay, but he’s more than that.”
“Whoa, you’re gushing—over a guy.”
“I know.” I giggled.
“And you’re not even denying it! Was that a giggle?”
I just smiled.
“I want to meet this guy.”
“You have,” I pointed out.
“For a minute doesn’t count. Also, he didn’t have a shirt on. By the way, that was weird, considering he came from your house.”