Page 6 of Adore Her
“Technically, yes. But some places are more conducive than others.” She shifts her position on the rock, making more room for me. I know she’s just trying to be polite, but I wish she’d do the opposite and scooch those lush curves of hers toward me.
“I’m guessing you haven’t ever done it?” she asks.
“Meditate? Nope. Can’t say I have.”
“You should try it sometime. Just shut your eyes, clear your mind, and focus on your breath. It’s such a simple thing, but it feelssogood. Really. It’s the best.”
“Uh huh…”
She gives me a look. “What, are you too manly to meditate?”
“Never said that.”
“Yeah, but it’s pretty clear from the look on your face that you feel that way.” She lowers her voice to a teasing whisper. “You don’t have to go around telling people that you did it, you know. You can make it your little secret.”
A laugh barrels out of my chest. God, she’s so fucking cute. “All right. I’ll give it a shot.”
“You better have something to report when I ask you about it later.”
“What happened to it staying a secret?”
“Well, not a secret fromme, silly.” She shakes her head with indignation. “Youhaveto tell me.”
It’s so damn hard not to kiss her right now.
“Fine,” I say. “But I want you to tell me something, too.”
“Like?”
“Like what prompted your brother to ask you to come up here with him.”
Her lips twist. “Oh. Well, basically, my life suddenly went to shit. I got laid off, I found out my landlord is hiking up the rent, and my online dating profile was hacked. I could’ve handled any of those things one at a time, but it all happened in the same week. It was just…a lot. And when I told Jude about it, he took pity on me and insisted that I needed a weekend away.”
“Fuck. I’m sorry, Cora. That’s rough.” My jealousy flares at the thought of her having a dating profile, but I smother the thought. No point in getting riled up about it. “How are you feeling now?”
“Better. I’m trying to focus on the positive. See this as a chance for a fresh start.”
“That’s an admirable way of looking at it.”
“Thanks. I mean, who knows…maybe this is a sign that I need to finally pursue the crazy dream I’ve been talking myself out of for years.”
I’m intrigued. I want to know everything she’s passionate about. “Which is?”
“I want to open a yoga studio. Which I know probably sounds silly, given that I’m not exactly a poster child for yoga,” she says, gesturing to her figure, “but it’s always been a dream of mine.”
“You should absolutely do it. Screw any gatekeepers who say otherwise. If anyone thinks you shouldn’t be running a yoga studio because you’ve got some curves, they’re idiots. You’re mind-blowingly beautiful.”
Her cheeks flush. “Thank you. But that’s not—I mean—there are other reasons, too. It’s a big deal, starting a business. There’s so much I don’t know. And then there’s the whole financial aspect. I have no idea if I would even qualify for a small business loan.”
I’m about to tell her that I can provide any funding she needs—money’s no issue, and God knows I’ve accumulated more than I’ll ever need myself—but the sound of shouting pulls our focus to the lake. The guys have done a full lap of the lake and are about to pass us by. Kurt is soaring at a high speed on his jet ski ahead of Jude and Graham, his watercraft barely skimming the surface of the lake. He’s hollering with joy, having the best damn time of his life.
I’m glad he’s having fun, but I also have a bad feeling about this.
Sure enough, a few seconds later, Kurt attempts a hairpin turn. Whether he’s ever actually done a hairpin turn on a jet ski or not, I have no fucking clue. From the way he flies off his watercraft, and the way it ends up flipped over, I’m guessing he hasn’t.
And because he’s Kurt, he hasn’t bothered to put on a life jacket, and now he’s submerged up to his shoulders in the lake without one, flailing his arms in a panic next to his capsized jet ski.
“Oh my God,” says Cora, pushing herself off the boulder. In an instant, I’ve slid off, too.