Page 7 of Balancing Act (Soulmate #1)

Jamie reached her hand out to shake Beth’s and jumped slightly at her touch.

That same electric spark surged between them like it had the previous night, and it took all her self-control not to lean into it.

She willed her brain to push the flashes of memories of their bodies pressed against each other down and out of the forefront of her mind.

A familiar feeling of wanting to crawl out of her skin and run started to set in.

Jamie’s stomach plummeted as the pieces clicked into place. Beth wasn’t a thrilling possibility anymore—she was Lily’s mom. Her athlete’s mom. Off-limits didn’t even begin to cover it.

Worse, Jamie could still feel the ghost of Beth’s touch on her skin, the spark that had flared so quickly between them. Last night, Beth had been just Beth: radiant, magnetic, untouchable in a way that made Jamie want to try anyway. But now?

Now, she was Beth Walsh, Lily’s mother, and the line Jamie couldn’t cross had been drawn for her in bright, unforgiving red.

“You’re late.” Lily glared at Beth, which Jamie noticed. Did Lily suspect anything? No, how could she?

“I’m sorry, Lils,” Beth said, ignoring her daughter’s less-than-friendly tone. She looked around at the adults. “Apologies if I held anything up. The ferry was running a little behind this morning.”

“We were about to get started,” Amanda chirped, with a wave, “so you’re perfectly on time. We have some paperwork to go over with you and your wife?—”

“Ex-wife,” three voices said in unison as Beth, Sarah, and Lily spoke at the same time.

A wave of relief crash over Jamie.

They’d all said ex-wife.

Jamie wasn’t a homewrecker, and Beth wasn’t a cheater.

A small sigh of relief escaped her, and the knot in her stomach began to loosen.

“Oh! I’m sorry, I just assumed. Since everyone’s here, we can start with the official welcome.

We’ll take you around the facility, show you where everything is, and then head briefly into the gym.

Today is about everyone getting to know each other.

Transitioning coaches is a process, and we want to make that as smooth as possible for everyone involved. ”

Amanda guided the group through the gym, pointing out different things here and there.

Jamie lingered behind the group, observing the family.

She had learned early on that she could learn a lot about people by watching them, and what she had observed so far painted an interesting picture.

On multiple occasions, Jamie had watched Lily shrug out of Beth’s touch or brush her off completely—not in obvious ways, but subtly.

However, Lily actively leaned in with Sarah and wanted to be close to her.

She watched as Beth resolved to trailing slightly behind Lily and Sarah.

Interesting. She filed that away for later.

Amanda had begun talking about their holistic approach to coaching when Jamie’s attention was pulled by a voice in her ear.

“This is quite the surprise,” Beth said softly, making her jump. Which, again, caught her off guard. She was Jamie-fucking-Lyons, and Jamie Lyons didn’t jump. But after the emotional rollercoaster that had been this day, anything was possible.

“Shouldn’t you be paying attention to the tour?

” She wouldn’t let herself look at Beth.

Instead, she glanced at the other group members standing a few feet away, where Amanda answered questions from Lily and Sarah.

Once she was sure they were otherwise engaged, she responded, “Yeah, you can say it was surprising.”

The others started to move forward, but Beth hovered like she wanted to say more. But before she could, Jamie stepped away, back toward the group’s safety.

They pushed through the final set of double doors and entered the gym.

High ceilings and clean white and gray mats dotted with pops of purple created a spacious environment for gymnasts to train.

On one side of the gym, a wall was lined with mirrors.

On the opposite wall hung an assortment of flags: the Olympic flag with its five interlocked rings, an American flag, the University of Washington flag, a Black Lives Matter flag, and a Progress Pride flag.

“Look, Mom!” Lily said excitedly, looping her arm through Sarah’s. “They have the Pride flag up.”

“I can see, sweetie,” Sarah said, squeezing her daughter’s hand.

Jamie appreciated Lily’s excitement at seeing the flag. When they opened, Jamie insisted that the Pride flag be always hung in the gym. That’s exactly the effect she wanted it to have: a visual symbol to all that this gym was a place where everyone was welcome.

“We pride ourselves—uh...” Amanda winced at the unintended pun.

Jamie tried to hide her laugh, and out of the corner of her eye, she caught the smile that flashed across Beth’s lips.

“We know that gymnastics can have a reputation for being a pretty buttoned-up sport with little room for any type of expression outside the rules. We encourage our gymnasts to be completely who they are when they train with us,” she said.

“We want everyone who walks into our gym to know that this is a place where everyone is welcome and respected.”

“That’s refreshing to hear,” Beth said, with sincerity.

Jamie’s ears perked up as the word refreshing rolled off Beth’s tongue. Not now , Jamie thought, pushing memories of last night deep, deep down.

“Definitely not something we’ve heard from other gyms before,” Sarah added.

“Now, as mentioned in my email a few weeks ago, I’ve read through all the notes from the doctors and physical therapist about Lily’s recovery,” Amanda said, “but I truly believe that to get her back to competition level, it would benefit Lily to work closely with someone who has had hands-on experience with this injury.”

“That’s where I come in.” Jamie put on her best professional tone and looked directly at Lily.

“You and I have a lot in common. I did nearly the same thing to my knee before London 2012. If you’re ready to put the work in, we can help you get back to where you were before.

Better, even. Let’s have you go out on the mats so I can evaluate where your starting point is.

” Lily headed over to the mats to begin stretching, and Jamie looked first to Sarah and then to Beth.

“I’ll work with Lily for two hours, just to give us a chance to get to know each other one-on-one before we dive into things tomorrow. ”

“You’re both more than welcome to stay and wait in the parents’ viewing room,” Amanda said, gesturing up to the windows on the second floor.

“I need to head back to the office,” Sarah replied, pulling her phone out and flicking it on.

“It’s the weekend, Sarah,” Beth said quietly. “I thought we were all going out to lunch after this?”

“Big merger coming up. All hands on deck. You know how it is.” Sarah’s tone was brisk, her attention on her phone as she typed.

“I already talked to Lily about it. It’s just going to be you two for lunch today.

” She tucked her phone away, turning her attention back on the group.

“It was nice meeting both of you. I can say this for all of us: we’re looking forward to this change for Lily.

” She waved to Lily as she exited the gym.

Jamie saw a shadow of disappointment flash across Beth’s face before she forced a smile, her jaw tight. “Can someone show me how to get back upstairs? I don’t quite remember where the stairs are.” Her question, Jamie noticed, only seemed to be directed at her instead of Amanda.

“Uh—yes, of course. Follow me,” Jamie said, leading Beth out of the practice area and down a hall where the door to the upstairs was tucked away. She pushed through the metal door, holding it open for Beth. The door had barely closed when Beth turned to face her.

“So...” Beth said, tilting her head so the blonde strands of hair that framed her face shifted slightly.

“Yeah, that was...” Jamie looked at the ground.

“Delightfully unexpected?” Beth offered, cocking an eyebrow at Jamie and stepping closer to her, her voice light and airy.

Jamie stood there, the electric memory of the night before coursing through her as Beth’s grin sparked and spread across her face.

But Jamie didn’t match it. Her morning had been a wild sprint through emotions—from the thrill of asking Beth on a date to the complete whiplash of thinking she’d unknowingly been a homewrecker, and finally to the heavy realization that any potential between the two of them was gone because Beth was, in fact, the mother of one of her athletes.

This wasn’t just “unexpected.” It was a downright mess.

“Unexpected for sure,” she conceded, folding her arms across her chest. She knew what she had to do, even if she didn’t want to do it. “I think we should probably cancel that date, though. Since I’m going to be working so closely with Lily, I don’t think it would be a good idea.”

There. Done. Easy.

Those thoughts didn’t make that slight twinge of disappointment go away.

“I’m sorry,” Jamie added, and she meant it. She had been looking forward to their dinner.

Beth’s brow furrowed, confusion etched across her features as she reached for Jamie’s hand. Her touch was oddly comforting in the awkward aftermath of their night together.

“Sorry for what? There’s nothing for you to apologize for, Jamie,” Beth assured her, her thumb brushing Jamie’s hand in a way that should have felt out of place but didn’t.

Jamie resisted the urge to pull away, wanting a few more seconds before reality would inevitably pull them apart. She wanted to tell Beth how excited she had been for their date, how the thought of more time with her made her palms a little sweaty in a way she didn’t want to think about right now.

“If anything, I should apologize to you for putting us in this position.” Beth squeezed Jamie’s hand before dropping it.

“I should have recognized your name. Lily has been talking nonstop about moving to this gym and getting to work with Amanda and you. God, it’s her dream to train with her two all-time favorite gymnasts.

Last night, when you introduced yourself, your name sounded familiar to me, but it wasn’t until I got here today and saw you again that it clicked.

I’ve been so busy with the tour the last few months, and—well—I only ever saw photos or old competition footage of you from when we were younger.

And then there you were last night, and God, in that suit.

..” Beth let out a breathy laugh, her cheeks pink.

“Sorry. I swear I’m usually more composed than this.

” She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear, glancing up at Jamie with something between regret and hope.

“But now, looking back... we shouldn’t have, right? I mean, we couldn’t have known, but...” Her smile faltered.

Jamie felt the corners of her mouth twitch involuntarily as Beth rambled.

This was not the confident and assured Beth who had approached her at the gallery last night.

No, Beth was standing before her now not brimming with confidence, but seeing this side of Beth—a slightly more anxious side of her—Jamie found it incredibly endearing.

This side of her was real and raw, and she was showing that to Jamie.

She couldn’t quite help the unconscious way her body seemed to lean into Beth’s aura like a moth drawn to a flame.

“Beth.” Her name left her lips softly, quietly, nearly a whisper, before she mustered the courage to say what she needed to say.

“Jamie . . .” Beth’s voice was equally as soft.

“Last night was incredible, but I hope you understand—if I had known who you were, I wouldn’t have let it happen. My focus here is on Lily and helping her get to the Olympics. I can’t have anything distracting me from that.”

The finality of Jamie’s words echoed between them. No dates or what-ifs, just the straightforward reality. Jamie watched as her words settled on Beth’s face. A shadow of something—chagrin possibly—flickered across her briefly before she could replace it with a more neutral expression.

“Of course. Right. I understand.” Beth’s voice shook, her response a little too quick to be believable. Jamie registered the disappointment she tried to mask.

“And you’re okay with that?” Jamie said slowly. “I don’t want you to think I regret last night, because I don’t. It’s just now, knowing what we know...” Her words fell away as Beth eyed her.

“We didn’t do anything wrong. We were two adults who consented to a good time.

A fantastic time. But I understand where you’re coming from.

I would never want to put you in a compromising position.

” Beth’s cheeks pinked as she registered the implications of her words, but she continued.

“Consider this our secret,” Beth said softly.

The words slammed into Jamie, pulling her under like a wave she hadn’t seen coming.

She’d lived enough secrets for one lifetime—dark, suffocating things that lingered like shadows long after they’d been uncovered.

The last thing she needed was another one.

But as she looked at Beth, with those azure eyes that still made her stomach flip, Jamie could only nod.

“Our secret,” she said quietly, the words heavier than she wanted them to be.

They stood in silence a moment longer before Jamie remembered why they had found themselves together in the first place. She cleared her throat. “To get to the parent’s viewing area, go up these stairs and directly across the hall. We’ll spend about two hours with Lily today.”

Beth nodded and began to ascend the stairs.

“Hey, Beth,” Jamie called after her, and Beth turned around a few stairs up, forcing Jamie to tilt her head slightly to meet her gaze. “I’m sorry I called you a cheater.”

“What? You didn’t,” she said quickly, confusion spreading across her features.

“I did.” Jamie smirked. “Earlier, in my head, I totally did.”