Page 11 of The Dating Ban (Mind the Corbin Brothers #1)

“Just passing through,” I say breezily. “Thought I’d make sure you haven’t set up some kind of underground yoga cult in my absence.”

He smirks. “Not yet. But Lucy’s been asking about you. She seems to think your presence improves the class.”

I scoff. “Doubtful.”

“Well, she disagrees.” He stacks some coffee cups, glancing at me. “You made an impression.”

I shrug. “She’s five. I could have done a star jump, and she’d think I was an Olympic gymnast.”

Theo chuckles. “True, but she was pretty sure you’d be back. She told me you like yoga. ”

I hold a laugh. “Lies. Slander. Defamation.” I shift in my seat and grimace. “Although… I did do yoga yesterday. And now I regret everything.”

His eyebrows lift. “You did yoga? On your own?”

“Don’t sound so shocked,” I say, crossing my arms. “I’m very disciplined.”

He leans on the counter, smirking. “Mmhmm. So, how’d it go?”

I groan. “Terrible. Everything hurts. I think my hamstrings are staging a coup.” I roll my shoulders and wince. “If I have to do one more downward dog, I might just stay down.”

Theo grins. “See, that’s why you’ve got to stick with the class. At least then you’ll suffer with moral support.”

“More like communal humiliation.”

“Depends on how you look at it,” he says, boxing up some cake from the vitrine. “You could always come back Monday. We’ll be there.”

I hesitate, stretching my sore arm like that’ll somehow loosen the internal tension, too. “I don’t know…”

Theo shrugs, like he genuinely doesn’t care either way. “Up to you. Just saying, suffering’s more fun when it’s a group activity.”

“That sounds like something a cult leader would say.”

“If I start handing out matching robes, you’ll know to run.”

I laugh, but even as the sound fades, something tugs at the back of my mind.

Pee-Pee’s words. Do it for you.

I hadn’t really considered that before. That I might actually want to go .

Because, pain aside, yoga has been… weirdly nice. Not just the movement itself, though that part surprises me.

Exercise and I have never exactly been on friendly terms. At my size, it’s not always easy. There’s that unspoken expectation that working out should be about shrinking myself, about changing, about fixing. But yoga hasn’t felt like that.

I mean, sure, I wobble in certain poses, and some stretches feel like they were designed by an actual sadist, but none of that has made me feel like I don’t belong. My body still works in yoga—it moves, it adjusts, it holds its own. And even when it doesn’t, there’s no judgment.

And, okay, maybe I enjoyed hanging out with Theo and Lucy. It’s hard not to enjoy Lucy’s unfiltered enthusiasm, the way she throws herself into everything like she’s the main character in a high-stakes action movie. And Theo… well.

And maybe—maybe—I liked the feeling of being part of something.

I glance at him. “How did you even get into yoga, anyway?”

He wipes his hands on a tea towel, thinking for a second before answering. “Cornwall.”

I blink. “Cornwall?”

He smirks. “Yeah. Not exactly where you’d expect, right?”

“I thought you are going to tell me about some exotic ashram in India or so.” I shift on my stool. “Why Cornwall?”

He leans against the counter. “Two years ago, I had my burnout, and my family basically staged an intervention. Told me I had to take two weeks off, no arguments. They all pooled together to take care of Lucy, and I—reluctantly—agreed.”

I rest my face on my hand. “They sent you away?”

“They strongly encouraged me,” he corrects with a dry smile.

“I was barely functioning at that point, so I didn’t have much of a fight left in me.

And I figured if I was going anywhere, it might as well be somewhere I had good memories of.

When I was a teenager, I went to Cornwall to surf, and it was great. Thought I’d relive my glory days.”

I raise an eyebrow. “And?”

He exhales a laugh. “Waves were shit.”

I snort. “Brutal.”

“Yeah. So I was stuck in this tiny beach town, no surf, no real plan, and kind of miserable. And then the lady who ran my B he wants to get to know me. A tiny alarm bell goes off, but I silence it with the thought that friends do that as well. Doesn’t have to be a romantic thing.

“Barry… my ex, cheated on me. We had a rough few years in our marriage after we found out I can’t have children, but I didn’t want to believe the doctors.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Ivy.” He leans forward and gently squeezes my arm. I know he means the children thing but I don’t elaborate. I don’t like talking about it.

“To be honest, I think I only married Barry because I wanted a family. I‘m definitely better off without him, only I was focused on one goal so long, I kind of don’t know myself. So here I am, trying to find myself… by not dying doing yoga.”

“You should be proud of that.” I can see in his eyes that he means it. Even more, he is proud of me .

For some reason, that makes me want to say something else, to fill the space with a joke or a quip, but nothing comes to mind. Before I can figure out what to say, my stomach betrays me with a loud, undeniable grumble.

“Hungry?” Theo breaks the tension with a smirk.

I sigh, pressing a hand to my stomach as if I could physically silence it. “Apparently.”

He chuckles. “I was just about to make dinner. You’re welcome to join.”

It’s a nice offer. And after my conversation with Pee-Pee, I know there’s no actual reason to say no. Spending time with Theo isn’t dangerous, it isn’t breaking any rules. It’s just dinner.

But something in me hesitates.

Maybe it’s because I’ve spent all day talking about my feelings, and I need to just exist in my own space for a while. Or maybe I just want to sink into a hot bath and not think about anything for a bit.

I shake my head, offering him a small smile. “Tempting, but I think I need a long, scalding-hot bath to recover from yesterday’s yoga session.”

Theo’s frown makes him look concerned for a moment. “That bad?”

I groan dramatically. “My hamstrings are crying out for some relief.”

“Well, in that case, I won’t stand between you and your recovery.” He grabs a tea towel and tosses it over his shoulder. “But you’re still coming Monday, right?”

I hesitate, but only for a second this time.

“Yeah,” I say. “I’ll be there.”

Again, he doesn’t gloat, doesn’t push—just gives a small, satisfied nod. “Good. ”

I shift on my feet. “Alright. I’ll let you get to your dinner before your child stages a real revolt.”

Theo chuckles. “Appreciate it. But take this.” He pushes the box he filled with cake earlier my way. “Dessert is on me,” he winks. Winking needs to be outlawed.

I am about to politely reject but I am supposed to do what I really want, and I really want that cake.

“Thanks, Theo!” I turn toward the door, but just before stepping outside, I glance back over my shoulder. “Enjoy your evening.”

His gaze flicks up from the counter, his mouth twitching slightly. “You too.”

And then I’m stepping into the cool evening air, carefully balancing my precious cake.

Monday.

I’m going to yoga on Monday.

Not because I have to. Not because I’m worried about expectations. Not even because of Lucy.

Just because I want to.