Page 41 of The Story of Us
Bianca rolled her eyes. “I think we got off on the wrong foot.”
Nate crossed his arms, and the urge to protect him prompted Eloise to launch into her sales pitch. “Did you know that Kathleen’s Place was established in the sixties by Nate’s great-grandmother and continues to provide a range of different services to the Wattle Junction community?” Warmth hit her square in the chest when Nate sent her an encouraging smile. “Our art classes are one of our most popular programs, and they run three afternoons a week. We were hoping you might be interested in doing an article on the importance of community engagement in small towns to coincide with the launch of a new program that focuses on combining mindfulness with creativity and movement.”
Bianca stepped forward and trailed her hand over the scarred wooden table in the centre of the room. “I used to teach art classes at summer camp. They’re some of my favourite memories.”
Would you look at that. Eloise and Bianca had something in common that wasn’t just an unrequited interest in Nate. They were never going to be gal pals, but at least it was something to talk about.
“Eloise did all the work to get this art program off the ground, and she’s studying for her master’s right now so she can offer art therapy, which is going to be a wonderful asset to Kathleen’s Place. Just like she is,” Nate said.
The warmth in Eloise’s chest migrated north, staining her cheeks, making her feel flush. Hearing Nate recognise how much effort she’d poured into making her art classes as popular as they were made dealing with Bianca worth it.
“Okay, so the classes are Eloise’s baby. But this new program”—Bianca lifted the colourful brochure Eloise handed her. She’d only finished making them last night after she’d helped Mary make more of the new bonbonnieres—“‘Mindful Movement’ is both of your baby? And you want to highlight it as part of your profile?”
The question was obviously for Nate, but when he didn’t say anything, Eloise looked over at him. Nate was staring at a tub of colourful pipe cleaners like they were the most interesting things in the whole world, his jaw set in a hard line.
“Um, kind of.” Eloise laughed, jumping in to fill the weird silence, but the sound was tinny, nothing like her real laughter. “Kathleen’s Place relies on the generosity of many benefactors and volunteers, and Nate’s one of our biggest supporters. He’s recently stepped in to run our youth sporting clinics and joining the two programs together makes sense. Any extra publicity is always appreciated.”
“Is that something you’re passionate about, Nate? Using your own experiences to help your local community?” Bianca typed a few things into her phone.
“Movement and creativity are the cornerstones of my life and my career. It’s easy to overlook one in favour of the other, and I love the idea of kids learning how easily they go together.”
Bianca slid her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. “Couldn’t agree more. I’ll pitch this to my editor, and if she signs off on it, we can do the full interview and shoot. Can you guys find some kids whose parents will sign a photography release? Nate with little ones will definitely get ovaries exploding.”
That was another thing Eloise and Bianca could agree on, but Nate shook his head immediately. “But the focus will be KPs, right? Not me?”
“No one cares about a community centre filled with adorable kids fingerpainting and playing hopscotch. No offence. I think this is great,” Bianca said, turning towards Eloise and she was struck by how sincere the woman sounded. “Sometimes you have to play the game to get what you want. Add a mysterious professional athlete who’s also a bestselling author to this mix and we’ve got lift off. I don’t make the rules, Nate.”
Weariness settled across Nate’s features. “I know.” He scrubbed his hand down his face.
An idea blossomed in Eloise’s mind. “What if we could get one of our participants to agree to a case study? Talk about how it has helped them?”
“Sure.” Bianca shrugged. “Try to get a cute one, though. No one likes ugly kids. Okay, I’m going to snap some shots and finish writing this pitch later. I’ll see you both at dance training in a few hours.”
Eloise walked her out, and when she returned to the art room, she found Nate staring out the window towards the lavender field and dam.
“You’re thinking of Callum for the profile, aren’t you?” he said without looking at her.
“Yep, but before we ring his dad, we should check with Callum first. See what he says.”
They were so on the same wavelength it was almost scary.
* * *
“Doyou think we’ve improved at all?” Ryan asked as they walked to the pub after dance class. The night air was especially chilly, and puddles littered the path after a string of thunderstorms had hit Wattle Junction at lunchtime.
Eloise pulled her puffer jacket tighter around her body. “Only two couples crashed into each other tonight. And the vein in Charlie’s head was barely visible. That’s progress.” She didn’t mention that Nate hadn’t stepped on Bianca’s toes once, either. Or that she hadn’t caught him watching her and Ryan at all.
Seemed like they were well and truly back aboard the SSFriendship.
“I think Charlie’s hoping we all look crap on the day to take the pressure off him,” Ryan said as Eloise pulled open the heavy wooden front door of the pub.
“You know you’re meant to let me do that, right? I’m trying to convince you I’m a gentleman over here.” Ryan winked, and it definitely didn’t have the same effect on her as it did when Nate did that to her. Ryan gestured for her to go in front of him, and Eloise smiled weakly.
“Glass of cider?”
She was so predictable. “How’d you really guess my favourite drink?” she asked.
Ryan leant forward until their faces were almost touching. Rocking back on her heels, Eloise created space between them. There were none of the butterflies she got when Nate was close to her.
