Page 31 of All This Time (Blossom Peak #1)

“Oof!” Bouncing off my chest, she loses her balance and almost falls backward, but I catch her just in time, pulling her back into me.

Smooth, I know.

“Easy there, angel.”

Staring up at me, it takes her a minute to register that I’m the one who caught her. But when she does, her eyes grow comically wide. “Fletcher? Wh—what are you doing here?”

“I’m here for yoga.”

“What? Why?”

“Am I not allowed to do yoga?” I say, releasing her slowly to make sure she’s not going to lose her footing again. Thankfully, she remains upright.

“He brought Henley and Elliot too,” George adds, drawing Laney’s gaze to him and then back to me.

“Really?”

I stick my hands in the pockets of my gym shorts. “I kind of didn’t tell them what we were doing, so they’re pretty pissed at me right now, but they’ll get over it. I’ll just let them beat me in a couple of hands of blackjack and all will be forgotten.”

Her gaze moves between me and her father. “Okay. Well, I, uh…” Whether it’s the yoga crowd or the fact that we discussed our... arrangement yesterday, I can’t tell. But she’s flustered. And gorgeous.

George clears his throat. “I’m gonna go check on the sound system so we can get started, honey.”

“Okay. Thanks, Dad,” Laney says as she looks over at him and then back at me. “I guess I’ll see you out there then?”

“Yup. Go easy on me, will ya?”

But she doesn’t respond. As she walks away, my eyes trail her the entire time, fixated on her purple spandex-covered ass, of course.

George clears his throat again, alerting me to the fact that he hasn’t left yet, which means he just watched our exchange. When our eyes meet, one of his brows lifts. “I see the way you look at my daughter hasn’t changed at all.”

I feel the blood drain from my face. “Sir?”

He takes a step closer to me. “I might be older now, Fletcher. But I’m not blind. Never was.” Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I debate on how to respond. But then he winks and starts to walk off before I can speak.

Holy shit. Did Mr. Hart just admit that he knows and has known that I have feelings for his daughter?

And is that a good thing or a bad thing?

If I had his support, that might help Rhonan be more at ease with the idea too. But then again, was his statement more words of encouragement, or a warning to stay away from her?

“Mr. Hart?” I call after him before he gets too far.

“Yes, Fletcher?” he says when he turns around.

Hustling to catch up with him, I decide to follow through with my initial plan and test out the waters. “About that thing I wanted to talk to you about…”

***

“My elbow just popped. My fucking elbow!” Henley whisper-shouts at me from his mat where he fell into child’s pose, or at least I think that’s what he’s supposed to be in. With a second glance, I confirm he’s just in a contorted heap on his mat.

“If I rip the crotch on these slacks, you’re paying for me to get them fixed,” Elliot groans next as we transition into warrior pose. “Better yet, you’re buying me a brand-new fucking suit, Adams.”

“Shhhh!” the lady behind us hisses for the third time now.

I look over at Laney to find her eyes wide, telling us to shut up without actually saying the words.

“Motherfucker,” I mumble through clenched teeth as my entire leg starts shaking.

Elliot growls. “Sweat just dripped down my ass crack, Fletcher. My fucking ass crack.”

“And release,” Laney says just as Elliot and I both crumble to our mats, joining Henley in a sweaty heap of tangled arms and legs. “Thank you everyone for joining us tonight. I hope you enjoyed yoga, and now let’s celebrate with some wine!”

Murmurs of agreement filter through the crowd, and the lady behind us flashes us one more dirty look before heading for the main building.

With her water bottle in her hand, Laney walks up to us, but she’s upside down since I’m still lying on the ground, fighting to catch my breath. “So, boys… What did you think?”

“I came up with three possible ways to get my revenge on Fletcher during that last pose, so it wasn’t a total waste of time,” Elliot replies.

Laney laughs. “Henley? You okay?”

“Why do people do that for fun?” he wheezes.

“Yoga has amazing benefits for the mind and body,” Laney replies. “You don’t have to do anything super crazy or strenuous to get a good workout.”

“It’s a good thing Tori is out of town for a few more days because there’s no way I’d be able to fuck her after that,” Elliot admits.

Laney rolls her eyes. “I think you’ll survive, but I’ll make sure to tell Tori that if you ever piss her off, yoga should be her go-to form of punishment.”

Henley finally pushes himself up from his mat. “I need water, ibuprofen, and a shower.”

Elliot rolls to his side and sits up too. “And a heating pad.” When he stands, he glares at me one more time. “If you ever coerce me into doing that again, we aren’t friends anymore. Understood?”

Staring up at him from my position on the ground, I reply, “You’re the one who wanted me around more, remember? I mean, if I were in town more, we could do yoga every week.”

Elliot taps his chin in thought. “I formally retract that request. You can take your yoga-loving ass back to Charlotte as soon as the wedding is over.”

I bark out a laugh as Henley and Elliot walk away from the scene of their demise, leaving Laney and me alone.

“Were you trying to end two of your friendships tonight?” she asks, a smirk on her lips.

“They’ll be fine.”

Her smile falls and then she crouches down as I sit up, facing her now. “Why are you here, Fletcher?”

“Is it a problem that I am?”

“No, but…”

“Just trying to support you and the winery, Laney.”

She glances around us for prying ears. “This wasn’t part of our arrangement, though.”

Irritated that she’s irritated, I decide to push past my desire to argue with her and give her a piece of information that will appease her.

Leaning closer to her, I say, “Well, men are visual creatures. Watching you bend your body in half for the past forty-five minutes was like me studying a playbook—now I know all of the different positions I can put you in to make you come.”

Her cheeks are already red from the workout, but I don’t miss the way they darken. “Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.” I push myself up from the ground and lift my shirt to wipe the sweat from my forehead. Laney’s eyes drop to my abs as I do, locking onto my skin glistening with sweat. “Laney?”

She jumps, knowing she was just caught. “What?”

Chuckling to myself, I shake my head. “Nothing.”

She sighs loudly. “I—I need to finish cleaning up and then I’ve got an early morning.”

“All right. What time should I come over tomorrow night?”

“Oh, uh… Six should be good.”

“Six it is.” Taking a step closer to her, I lean down and line my lips up to her ear. “See you then, angel.”

Letting out the breath she was holding, she takes a step back from me, blinking up at me slowly. “Good night, Fletcher.”

I reach down to grab my water bottle, check my pocket for my keys, and start heading in the direction of the parking lot. I assume Henley left with Elliot, which is probably for the best since he might have tried to murder me while I drove us back to his place.

Feeling like I’m on cloud nine, I close my eyes and savor the feel of the breeze on my skin as the heat from today evaporates from the air. I made a point tonight by showing up here. It may have been subtle, but Laney needs subtle right now.

As I close in on my parking spot, the last person I expected to see locks eyes with me before I can pretend that I don’t see him.

“Son.”

“I’m busy, Dad.” Increasing my pace, I head straight for the driver’s side door to my truck, but I can hear his footsteps still behind me.

“Fletcher! Damn it, stop walking.” The command of his voice instantly puts me on high alert. I know that tone. He’s irritated, which can only mean one thing.

Spinning around to face him, I take in his sullen eyes and the pallor of his skin. “Let me guess. You need money?”

“I just need a few hundred to hold me over until payday.”

Shaking my head, I contemplate what to do, but I also know that the quicker I decide, the faster I can get away from him.

I pull my wallet from my pocket, open it up, and take out all the cash I have on me. Tossing it at him, I watch it float to the ground. He doesn’t bend down to get it at once though. He has more pride than that. “That’s all I’ve got.”

“Thank you.”

Pointing a finger at him, I feel my jaw grow tighter. “Don’t. Don’t act like you’re fucking grateful. You’re just grateful that I keep feeding your habit.”

He takes a step closer to me and lowers his voice. “One day, when you can’t play anymore, you won’t judge me like you do now. In fact, you’ll probably join me…”

“I will never end up like you,” I spit out.

“Never say never, son.” He turns around and picks up the cash off the gravel, peering around us to make sure no one saw him, and then heads inside the entrance to the courtyard to get his fix before the winery closes.

He must go home before he causes any problems. That must be the only logical explanation as to why they continue to serve him.

As I sit in my truck and stare out the front window, the two thorns of my life come at me from both sides—my unrelenting feelings for my best friend’s little sister, and my alcoholic father.

Then the conversation with Elliot comes back to me, reminding me of how short life is. I’m tired of avoiding parts of mine because of my dad. I need to let shit go so I can move on.

I’m just not sure how I’m supposed to do that when every time I feel like I can breathe, he pulls me back underwater with him, leaving me fighting for air.