Page 140 of Against The Rules

SAVANNAH

“Five, six, seven, eight,” I count off, trying to bite back my grin as the pre-teen girls keep losing their place in my choreography. “Chasse, pas de bourree, turn, turn, breathe, good. Ba, ba, ba-dee, good, pose, pose, yes, tour jete—Alexis, chin up! Olivia, you got this,” I race in front of poor little lost Olivia, demonstrating where we are in the choreography.

In the mirror, her little tongue is stuck out in concentration, and I suppress a laugh because she’s trying so hard and it’s so darn cute.

The choreography they’ve learned so far ends, and half of them slump to the floor, panting, while the other half stand, shell-shocked and staring at me.

“You’ll get it,” I tell them. “Great class today, everyone. One arm up,” I demonstrate, and they follow my lead. “And we bow to each other and clap. Great work.”

A huge man bursts through the door as the kids leave, and I grin at him in the mirror.

“Hey, Ty, what are you doing here?”

“Your new phone was off.”

“I’m teaching class,” I remind him gently. “I can’t answer the phone while I’m teaching.”

Eva pokes her head in the door. “No making out, you two! Remember this is a one-way mirror, Tyler Matthews! There are parents out here.”

“I would NEVER, Eva!” he says in mock distress. “How dare you suggest I kiss my wife in front of such delicate eyes!”

He grabs me and dips me, staring her down in the mirror as I giggle, hanging from his arms. Someone in the lobby wolf-whistles.

Eva rolls her eyes.

Turns out the cheerleaders weren’t mad at me at all. Eva still wanted me to teach at her friend’s studio with her, and Ashley and Tiffany wanted to take me back to Vegas for a belated bachelorette party. I turned them down because my brand-new stationery business—Rulebreaker Paperie—is taking up all my time.

Well, that, and my husband.

Business is booming, especially with Christmas right around the corner.

Especially with all the press I’ve gotten from being Tyler’s secret wife.

“How was Dr. Jules today?” he asks, setting me back on my feet. “Everything going good.”

“Eh. It was a weird session. I cried a little. She said it’s normal to feel a lot when processing stuff like this, so…” I shrug. “The meds are helping, though.”

“I’m so fucking proud of you, babe.”

“You didn’t drive all the way to tell me that. What’s up?” I narrow my eyes, because he’s got the kind of restless energy I haven’t seen since the season ended.

“What do you think about Santa Fe?”

“The city?” I frown at him, confused, as he beams at me.

“Holy shit, the Coyotes picked you up. You’re being traded.” I gape at him. The Coyotes just lost their playoff game, but they’re way better than the Beavers. They were actually a fave to go to the bowl game. “Shut up, shut UP!” I squeal, flinging my arms around him. “I’m so proud of you.”

“They benched their starting wide receiver and he quit.”

“When do we leave?”

He blinks at me. “I hadn’t even gotten to the part where I ask you to move with me.”

“Don’t be silly.” I swat his shoulder, then pull him down for a quick kiss, one-way mirror be damned. “Of course I’m moving with you. You’re my home now.”

He scoops me up, and I wrap my legs around his waist, pecking his lips with kisses.

“But I didn’t get to ask you.”

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