Page 7 of Home for Christmas in July

“It’s a great workout. You should try it.”

Yeah, right. I’ll be lucky if Griselda doesn’t bust me back down to the beginners’ Bollywood dance class, given myinsufficient undulating skills. I can’t imagine making any moves that would pass muster while hanging upside down from a pole. Iamcurious to see Nick doing it, though. My cheeks heat at the thought and I hurriedly clear my throat.

“So why are you here?”

“Hiding.”

Before I can ask who he’s hiding from, Griselda frowns and jabs her finger toward our corner. “Move your hips, not your lips.”

I smother a giggle, and Nick covers his laugh with a cough.

I grit my teeth and flail my way through the remaining thirty-five minutes of class, acutely aware of Nick standing to my left. When class is over, I’m prepared to flee, but Nick stretches his hands out. “Give me your hoop. I’ll return it for you.”

“Thanks.”

His fingers brush against mine as I hand him the hula hoop, and electricity sparks between us. I tell myself it’s static because I have dry skin and not his effect on me. Still, I loiter in the hallway, putting my shoes on in slow motion so I can say a proper goodbye to him and take another crack at trying to convince him to celebrate summer Christmas.

While I’m waiting, Griselda sashays over to me with a wide smile. It’s wild how much nicer she is outside of class.

“Hey, I want to let you know I’m having a large package sent to the library.”

Why wouldn’t she have it delivered here or to her house? I give her a curious look and then shrug. “Okay. Do you need me to bring it over for you?”

“No, no, it’s for you. Well, for the library. I was reading anarticle that said pretend play is so important for young children and they’re not getting enough of it now with all the screens. So, I ordered a set of puppets and a puppet theater stage for the children’s wing.”

“Oh, that’s great. Kids love puppets.”

“They do, right?”

“They do,” I assure her. “It’s really thoughtful, and I’m sure it’ll get a lot of use. Thanks.”

She waves a hand. “Don’t mention it.”

Just then, Nick returns from the equipment corner, wiping the sweat from his neck with a towel. “Another great class, Grizzy,” he tells her.

“Grizzy?” I manage to suppress my laugh.

She turns to me. “You know, he could help with your hip thrusts.”

“What?” I choke.

“Nick. He could show you how to get your hips thrusting. He’s good at that.”

“Thanks,” I say weakly, hoping that the floor will open up a hole to swallow me.

No such luck. But for an instant, I think it swallowed Nick because he drops flat on his belly. Griselda and I exchange a bewildered look.

“Nick, are you?—?”

“Shh.” As he shushes me, he army crawls on his elbows out of view of the window.

Noise out on the sidewalk catches my attention, and I turn to see Nick’s daughters and three other young women laughing and talking as they walk down the street. They stopdirectly in front of the fitness studio’s front door, and Merry gestures toward the sign.

“Are you hiding from your daughters?” I ask Nick’s departing back.

He doesn’t answer as he rolls into a storage closet that happens to be ajar. He eases the door shut behind him, and Griselda shakes her head. She’s as confused as I am.

The door opens, and the women troop inside.

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