“There’s been a change of plans,” she tells Bodhi.
He turns toward her. “What’s that?”
Chloe pulls a sheet of paper from her bag. “This is the new conference schedule.”
Bodhi scans the sheet. His shoulders lower and his jaw pulses, and when he meets Chloe’s gaze again, the spark is gone from his eyes. I don’t blame him. I know the feeling of Chloe slipping away.
“I’m disappointed,” he says, “but I understand. It’s good to see you taking care of yourself.”
Bodhi gives me a nod and heads toward the front of the room, folding the schedule and sliding it into his pocket.
“Well.” Chloe exhales. “That was easier than I expected.”
“Little too easy,” I say.
“You really have to stop doubting everyone.”
“You really have to stop trusting everyone,” I counter.
She shakes her head, then gives my hand a squeeze. “I’ll catch up with you after?”
“I’ll be right here.”
She smiles, then shocks me by pushing up on her toes to kiss me again. Her lips linger, and when she pulls away, she meets my gaze directly, with a soft “Thank you.”
I touch her cheek, then she’s gone, walking toward the front of the room and leaving me with bees in my belly and something completely foreign burning a path through my heart.
I could be in real trouble here.
Sure, I’ve wanted to sleep with her from the moment we met. Yes, our friendship is deep and important. But what I’m feeling right now is different from both of those things.
“You two sure make that look easy.” The murmur comes from behind me on the left, but I know it’s Laiyla before I look. She steps up beside me, crosses her arms, and tosses me a smile. “Maybe it’ll stick.”
“A boy can dream.”
Laiyla laughs.
Chloe makes her way to the front of the room, climbs the short stairway to the stage, and lifts the microphone. She tents both hands around the mic and gives a slight bow. “Namaste.”
The entire room responds, “Namaste.”
As Chloe welcomes everyone, whatever demons plaguing her dissolve, and she becomes the lively, vibrant, friendly, warm, and funny woman I know. The audience loves her immediately.
“Damn,” I say softly, “she’s good at this.”
“One of the best I’ve ever seen. She has the resort booked solid for an entire year. There’s already a waiting list for the following year.”
Her spirit lifts the energy in the room, brightening everyone’s faces. Bodhi stands off to the side, riveted and grinning ear to ear. It’s an affectionate, proud expression that bugs the shit out of me. He doesn’t deserve to feel proud of her now. It was the heartache he caused that pushed
Chloe to the next level, but it could just as easily have crushed her. Bodhi didn’t care either way. All he thought about was getting his rocks off.
“Let’s start these precious ten days together with a prayer.”
Everyone goes silent. No one even shifts in their chairs. With her eyes closed, the microphone held in praying hands, she leads the group in a prayer that’s certainly different from the prayers I was taught as a kid. She calls on Archangel Michael—whoever that is—and asks for guidance for everyone here tonight. She speaks of spirit and energy, love, union, compassion, patience, and that term that I associate with bullshit—enlightenment. Only, when it’s coming from Chloe, I find myself believing it means something truly illuminating.
As is always the case when I see a new side of Chloe, I’m impressed as hell.
“She was beside herself last night,” Laiyla whispers to me. “She tries so hard to make everyone happy. Wants so badly to be liked. As a recovering pleaser, and someone who spent twenty-nine and a half of my first thirty years fighting for my parents’ unconditional love, I know Chloe feels like she’s walking a tightrope with five different weights hanging off her limbs right now—the resort’s success, the commitment she made to me and KT, her friendship with you, loyalty to the retreat attendees, her own damaged heart…”