Page 67 of Balancing Act (Soulmate #1)

TWENTY-FOUR

JAMIE

Jamie shut the car door quietly, mindful of the early morning stillness.

Dew slicked the driveway, and the sky was starting to blush with dawn.

When she glanced back, Beth was in the doorway, barefoot, wrapped in one of Jamie’s old sweatshirts—messy-haired but smiling.

She gave a small wave, which Beth returned as she climbed into the car, where Lily was already waiting for her.

She stole a quick glance at the girl beside her.

Lily was still waking up, her hair pulled into a loose braid, her gym bag slumped at her feet.

She looked younger like this, and the closer they had become over the last few months, the more she appreciated Lily for who she was, not just the gymnastics phenom whose name was suddenly everywhere in their world.

“You better start waking up,” Jamie said, as she backed out of the driveway.

Lily groaned, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “Ugh, I know.”

The drive to the training center was short, but the silence between them felt anything but empty.

Jamie had learned early on that Lily wasn’t much for small talk in the mornings, but neither was Jamie.

Whenever she stayed at Beth’s and Lily had been there, Jamie always took her to the gym in the morning, even if it wasn’t a day where she could stay and work with Lily.

She liked doing it. She knew Beth wasn’t a morning person, and this was a way for her to take something off her plate.

“So, when are you officially moving in?” Lily asked, her voice cutting through the soft hum of the car’s engine.

They told Lily a few days after she and Beth had talked on the ferry about Jamie moving in and were met with absolute excitement.

“I told you, Lil, after you get back from your competition in Kansas City—sometime next week.”

“Are you sure you can’t come? I don’t know how I feel about competing without you there.”

Jamie glanced over, surprised by this admission from Lily. She had spent years convincing herself she wasn’t the kind of person people relied on—not really. But hearing that from Lily? Knowing she mattered like that? That hit her differently.

“I’m sorry, Lils. I’ve got that big work meeting.

” She genuinely was sorry. She hated missing it.

But she and Shannon were gearing up for the launch of Empwr, which was set for the coming Friday.

“But don’t think for a minute I won’t be watching.

Your mom is going to FaceTime the whole thing for me.

And I’ll be watching online, too, because we both know she’s not the best at holding the camera still. ”

That made Lily laugh, and Jamie loved her laugh. It was infectious as it bubbled up. Before Jamie knew it, she was smiling, too. “Besides, you did pretty amazing in Austin, even when you thought I wasn’t there.”

“I don’t know,” Lily said softly, twisting the bag strap around her fingers. “It just... didn’t feel like a competition.”

Surprise crept into Jamie’s words. “Third in the all-around, first on the floor, beating half the national team—and it didn’t feel like a competition?”

Lily shrugged, but Jamie caught the faintest flicker of a smile. “I mean, it was great. I didn’t feel nervous. Not like I used to get before.”

Jamie tightened her grip on the steering wheel. That was new. The Lily she’d first started coaching had been full of fire but equally as full of doubt, unsure whether she belonged among the best. Now, though? Now there was something different in her tone.

“That’s a good thing,” Jamie said carefully. “Nerves are fine, but confidence? That’s what sets you apart.”

Lily shifted in her seat. “You think so?”

“I know so. You’re proving that every time you step out there. You’ve got people talking about you—people who don’t usually talk about first-years.”

Lily didn’t respond immediately, but Jamie caught the slight straightening of her shoulders, the way her gaze focused on the road ahead. It reminded Jamie of herself at that age—the quiet hunger to prove herself, the belief that being good wasn’t enough.

They fell into another comfortable silence until Jamie pulled into the lot outside PGTC. As she parked, she turned to Lily. “Alright. What’s your focus today?”

“Beam,” Lily said immediately, unbuckling her seatbelt.

Jamie smiled at the lack of hesitation and uncertainty. “Good. Let’s get to work.”

Inside the gym, the familiar training sounds washed over Jamie—feet hitting mats, the distant echo of chalked hands slapping bars, the soft thud of landings. It was a world she knew intimately, even now, when her time in the gym had dwindled since starting her new job with Empwr Ventures.

She trailed behind Lily as the younger girl made her way to the warm-up area, her movements purposeful, her focus already locked in. Jamie let her settle into her stretches before stepping onto the mat.

“You’ve been nailing that floor routine,” Jamie said, crouching beside her. “But I’ve been thinking about ways you could take it to the next level.”

Lily arched an eyebrow, intrigued but wary. “What are you thinking?”

“A double-double,” Jamie said simply, watching her carefully for her reaction.

Lily blinked, her mouth opening slightly. “A double-double? Now? The competition is in a few days. Are you crazy?”

Jamie nodded. “It’s a big ask, but it’s doable for you.

You’ve got the power, the height—you just need to polish the technique.

If you can land it consistently, it’ll bump your difficulty score by at least three-tenths.

That’s a huge advantage, especially since we only have one competition left before the Olympic trials. ”

Lily’s lips pressed into a thin line as she considered it. Jamie could see her wheels turning, weighing the challenge against the reward.

“Alright,” Lily said finally, her voice steady. “Let’s try it.”

Jamie smiled, a surge of pride swelling in her chest. “That’s my girl.”

They moved to the foam pit, and Jamie walked Lily step by step through the mechanics.

She spotted her through the first few attempts, offering corrections and encouragement as Lily worked through the unfamiliar rotation.

The first couple of tries were rough—Lily under-rotated once, over-rotated another—but she didn’t falter.

“You’re rushing the twist,” Jamie said after one attempt, demonstrating the takeoff with her hands. “Set higher first, then snap into the rotation. Don’t rush it.”

Lily nodded, brushing chalk from her hands. On her next attempt, she adjusted, and Jamie saw it—the spark, the potential. She clenched her fists at her sides, watching as Lily inhaled deeply, setting her stance. For a split second, Jamie worried she might second-guess herself. Then, Lily launched.

“That’s it!” Jamie said, clapping as Lily landed the pass cleanly into the pit. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

Lily grinned, her face flushed with effort but lit with determination. “It felt better that time.”

“It looked better,” Jamie agreed. “Keep drilling it. If we can get this consistent, you’ll have a routine no one else can touch.”

As Lily climbed out of the pit, Jamie couldn’t help but see herself in her—the same drive, the same hunger to be the best. But there was something else, too.

Jamie had spent her career terrified of not being enough.

Lily? She competed because she loved it.

Because she believed in herself. The way Jamie wished she had.

Jamie saw in Lily the gymnast she wished she’d been.

“You’re going to be unstoppable,” she said quietly, almost to herself.

Lily turned, catching the words. “What?”

Jamie shook her head, smiling. “Nothing. Let’s grab some water and hit it again.”

Lily nodded, already heading toward the cooler. Jamie watched her momentarily, pride filling her. Lily was ready for whatever was coming.

Later that week, Jamie stood in Beth’s kitchen—soon to be their kitchen, she supposed—wineglass in hand, leaning against the island. Lily sat at the table, animatedly breaking down her latest D-scores, her excitement filling the space as she rattled off numbers and connections.

Jamie half listened, nodding along at the right moments, but her mind kept drifting.

To her phone sitting on the counter. To the call that hadn’t come yet.

To the what-ifs she had been trying to ignore.

Occasionally, she caught Beth looking at her with the slightest glint of concern in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything, which Jamie was thankful for.

“My beam’s at a 5.9 right now, but if I stick with the full series, it’ll push to 6.0 with the side aerial we added in.” Lily’s voice was bouncing excitedly, her hands gesturing as she spoke. “And if I upgrade my dismount before trials, I could get another tenth.”

“That’s amazing, Lil,” Beth said, stirring the pot on the stove. “But maybe let’s focus on getting through this competition before reworking your routine.”

Jamie, catching Beth’s eye, smirked into her wine.

“Hey, I’m just saying,” Lily said, grinning. “Got to think big, right? Since Jamie and I added the double-double to my floor routine, all my routines have been way up.”

Across the kitchen, Sarah was hanging up her phone.

“Car service is confirmed for six thirty,” she said, reaching for her glass of bourbon. “They’ll take us straight to the terminal.”

Beth turned. “We have car service now?”

Sarah took an unbothered sip. “Of course.”

Beth shook her head, hiding a smile. “You’re ridiculous.”

“I prefer thorough ,” Sarah corrected. “And we’re all flying first class.”

“Jesus, Sarah.” Beth groaned.

“What? I want the best for Lily.”

Lily beamed at that. “First class? Hell yes.”

“Language, Lily,” Sarah and Beth said reflexively.

Jamie took a sip of her wine, quietly watching the way Sarah was . It had become clear to her that Sarah loved the people closest to her effortlessly—not in some grand, dramatic way, but in the details. The logistics. The way she made things easier without ever needing acknowledgment.