Broken Hero

Sarah’s eyes glaze over. “Oh my god, Lucy. That’s perfect! We are definitely doing that. I’ll be there, of course. I know at least… five women who would love to join a yoga class. No, ten. At least ten.”

I chuckle. “We could order yoga mats in bulk and I can set up the main space. Maybe we could do it on the weekend?”

“It can’t clash with church,” she says immediately. “Mrs. Masters would have a fit. Saturday noon? That feels like a good yoga time.”

“Sounds perfect.”

“Oh, Lucy, I’m so happy you came to work here. So few of the people from town have been up at the Ranch since it opened as a retreat and I’ve been trying to think of more ways we could get involved in the community, but this is perfect. We’ll have the massage treatments posted in the spa by then, as well.” She winks. “We’ll make sure we get some more work for you, don’t you worry.”

The ball of nerves in my stomach lessens, just a tad. She’s not Oliver, but she clearly likes me still-despite my little garden hose incident. I just have to make sure that I keep it that way; professional, helpful and positive, that’s my new creed.

But then Sarah shoots up from her chair. “Oliver’s upstairs, I just saw him. Let’s ask him what he thinks right away.”

“If he’s working, I don’t think we should bother-”

But Sarah’s already by the stairs. “Oliveeeer!”

I hear the half-snarled, half-yelled response. “What?”

“Can you come down for a bit?”

I hear heavy footsteps heading down the stairs only a few seconds later. For such a large man, he moves surprisingly fast. His body is just another weapon in his arsenal. It wouldn’t surprise me if he secretly worked out at dawn, running the trails around the ranch. I think of the scar on his torso. I think of his abs.

I think of how angry he was yesterday.

Oliver stops by the doorway and my heart does a double take. He’s just as handsome as he was yesterday.

“What do you want, Sarah?”

“Lucy had the best idea. Here, have a seat. Do you want a croissant?”

I see him shake his head from the corner of his eye, gaze flicking to me. “No. What idea is this?”

I put my hands down on the kitchen island. “We could have yoga classes in the spa for the people of Claremont.”

“Yoga?”

“Lucy is also a licensed instructor,” Sarah says. “We could run a trial session on a Saturday. It would introduce everyone to the spa and we could hand out brochures with the different treatments.”

“They’re not guests.”

“I know that, silly,” she laughs. “That’s why it’s perfect! We haven’t really done anything to give back to town.”

Oliver’s frown deepens, and I’m fairly sure that of all possible arguments, that one is definitely not going to convince him. “We could ask for reviews or testimonials and use them on the website. Running a trial session will also allow us to iron out any kinks before I potentially run a class for actual guests. And having a weekly class allows guests to join if they want, without having to schedule a private session. That would work for when the Ranch is only half-booked.”

I hope I’m making sense. I don’t know how you run a hotel, but I do know a bit about running a spa-and a bakery.

Oliver is looking straight at me and I can feel the heat creeping up again, just thinking about yesterday. His eyes give nothing away. I can’t tell if he hates me and wants to fire me or if he’s forgotten all about it the hose incident. Somehow, I doubt it’s the latter.

“It’s a good idea,” he says. “What do we need to order?”

“Yes! You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to us, Luce.” Sarah grins and leans over the island to give me a high five.

I feel like pulling a face at the exaggerated praise, especially with him there, but I force a smile. “We need yoga mats,” I tell him. “Maybe around fifteen. I think that’s the maximum amount of people that will comfortably fit in the big room. We already have speakers and essential oil burners, so that’s it, really.”

“That’s all? Really?”

I nod. “It doesn’t take much.”

“I’ll start calling people,” Sarah declares. “I’m sure we can get fifteen people together before next Saturday.”

Oliver holds out a hand to stop her. “Only if Lucy is ready and comfortable with that. It’d be quite soon,” he tells me. “And you already know how people from town can be.”

“I am. I will be. I’m just really thankful for the chance to work here, doing this sort of thing.” I hold his gaze and the tension between us builds, just slightly.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Sarah grin. “Well, I have things to do. See you later, you two. Ta ta, as the Brits say!” The door shuts behind her.

I clear my throat. Without thinking much about it, I reach for the croissant on the table, desperate for something to do.

Oliver runs a hand through his hair. The silence is deafening.

“I’m sorry-”

“I think I-”

“Sorry?”

He shakes his head. “Go ahead.”

I bite my lip. “I’m sorry about yesterday. Truly, I didn’t mean for that to happen. I’m not usually unprofessional, and I hope I can prove that.”

Oliver’s gaze softens, just a bit, and I see the man I shared lunch with again. The one who tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and made my mouth dry. It’s impossible to forget how physically impressive he is, or how attractive he is, but at times like this… all that is second to his eyes.

“I shouldn’t have barked at you like that,” he says. “Tim and Jack were goofing around, and I figured you needed help. If they ever bother you, you come to me, okay?”

“They weren’t bothering me, truly. I really did fall in the mud. For a yoga instructor, I’m not always the most graceful.”

“What were you doing out by the east paddock?”RêAd lat𝙚St chapters at Novel(D)ra/ma.Org Only

I want to hide from his gaze, from admitting the truth, from letting him see so much. I don’t. “I wanted to say hi the horses.”

Oliver’s lip curls. “You like horses?”

“I’m from a small town, remember?”

“Do you know how to ride?”

“Yes, but it’s been years since I last did it.”