Page 85 of Jam and Jingle Bells
He shook his finger at me. “Oh no, you can’t put this on me when you’re sitting there in hip-hugging yoga pants and a t-shirt so thin I can see through it. That’s just unfair.”
I glanced down at my chest. “It’s not see-through.”
His finger came up to trace around my areola. “Are you sure? Because this sexy nipple is driving me crazy with the way it’s constantly flashing me.”
I held up a finger, opened the apartment door, and grabbed a sweatshirt off the hook. I tugged it on and when I came back out his face fell. “Problem solved,” I said, throwing my hands up, snickering when he frowned.
He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “That’s disappointing. Promise you’ll take it off again when we’re done?” I trotted down a few steps, turning and waiting for him to follow. “I’ll take it all off once we’re done,” I promised, clicking the light on in the salon and taking his hand. “Okay, close your eyes. It was too big to wrap, so I had to set it out. Take my hand.”
He did as I instructed without question and knowing he trusted me was better than any gift he could ever give me. I only had the lights on in the back of the salon where I’d left the goodies and when we reached them, I stopped.
“Open.” I held my breath when his eyes came open to gaze at the gift.
His breath stopped filling his lungs. “Addie?” he said, his voice soft and questioning. “What on earth?” He walked to the ball chairs and pushed on the top of one. “There are,” he counted quickly and spun back to me, “twelve chairs here.”
I nodded, motioning at the layout. “Rudolph brown and Santa Claus red, I made sure of it,” I said, winking. “There are six kid chairs and six adult chairs. You can take the balls off the frames and use those separately if you’re working on balance. I know you wanted to offer more classes to kids with disabilities, so I thought small and large chairs would be good in case parents were with them, or if you have a group of teens. You keep your classes small, so this is a good start.”
He had his hands in his hair as he stared at the pile on the floor. “Addie, this is …” His hands came off his head in the explosion sign. “How did you know?”
“We talked about it at dinner one night, remember?”
He nodded, his head on a string. “We did, but baby, these are expensive. I meant it would take me some time to get it started.”
I motioned at the chairs. “Now you don’t have to wait. Parents are begging for a class like this. I wanted to help you the way you’ve helped so many families in town. All you have to do is look at Holly to see how your talents have changed Bells Pass for the better. Now you can add another dimension to your offerings.”
“Honey, I can’t accept this. They’re so expensive!” he exclaimed, turning and grabbing me in a hug. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Say you’ll accept them. I talked to the manufacturer and they cut me a bit of a deal on them after I explained what you were trying to do. There isn’t a studio within one hundred miles that offers any classes for autistic kids or kids who have other sensory issues. You’re it. Let’s not keep them waiting, okay?”
He kissed my neck tenderly. “I love you,” he whispered and that was enough for me to know he was going to start the classes as soon as possible.
“I love you too. Happy birthday. Oh wait, there’s one more gift.” I pointed off to the side of the ball chairs.
“More?” he asked, stepping around the balls to the silk laying on the floor. He knelt, confused until he held it up. “Arial yoga hammock?”
“I know you wanted one for the back room of the studio.”
“Addie, this is too much,” he said, inspecting the hammock. “You can’t buy all this stuff for the studio. You have your own business to run.”
I held up my finger and walked to him, grabbing the other side of the hammock. “This isn’t for the studio. This is for you. I don’t care where you hang it, you can hang it in the apartment if you want to. It’s for you to use for relaxation and when you need time to calm yourself. It will give you a chance to see how you like it and if it’s something you want to implement into the studio. Maybe it’s something you can use for kids who need more help and maybe it’s not, but now you’ll have a chance to find out.”
He lowered the hammock back to the floor and pulled me into his arms. “You’re wonderful. I never would have bought myself one when there’s always something I need for the studio.”
I patted his face. “I know, that’s why I did it. Besides, I thought maybe you could show me how to use it too. It might be fun.” I winked and he groaned, his hand trailing to cup my bottom.
“I like that idea. “Ever heard of naked yoga?” he asked, his tone teasing.
“I like the sound of naked yo—”
Headlights filled the front window and the sound of breaking glass had us throwing our hands over our heads. Instantly, popping filled the space around us as we ran for the bathroom.
“Stay down,” he yelled, as an engine roared and the lights faded. He pushed me into the bathroom and hit the lights outside the door, bathing the salon in darkness. He slammed the bathroom door and locked it, but we both knew it wouldn’t stop anyone who wanted in, especially now that the front door was broken.
I had my phone to my ear yelling at 911 for help. When I took a breath, I noticed the salon was silent again. “It’s quiet,” I told the operator. Either they parked and are coming in or they took off.”
Ellis waved his shaking hand at his throat. “They’re gone, that’s what the engine roaring was. They headed south toward Lakeview. Tell them large dark pickup with bug lights on the roof.”
I repeated the information and told the operator I already heard sirens. Before she could say anything more, I hung up and threw myself at him, his arms catching me and holding me to his chest. “Are you okay?” I asked, checking him over, running my hand up and down his body
