“I truly do think you should come to yoga some time.” It was all Lou could think of to say. It was an invitation that held much more meaning than the permission it gave, and she could only hope Mia would see that. “It has helped me so much to just… be at peace with myself, if even for an hour a day.”

“An hour a day is quite a long time.” Mia brushed some more tears from her cheek and the beginnings of a smile started to form on her lips. “That’s quite a promise to make.”

“It’s not a promise. Yoga is not some miracle bestowed upon the western world to feel better about ourselves just because we take to the mat once a day. It takes time and work and consistency.”

“I’m glad it helped you. And that you found a job you’re so passionate about.”

In that moment, Lou was just glad she had changed the topic of conversation. If they’d kept rehashing the past in such an intense manner, she might have ended up crying alongside Mia.

“How about that sandwich now?” She stood, and took a pace in the direction of the kitchen.

“I’m not very hungry anymore,” Mia said.

Chapter Eighteen

After Lou had asked twice, Mia took it as an order to attend one of Lou’s classes—or as part of her still-ongoing penance, perhaps.

So there she stood, her shoulders screaming because of the downward-facing dog Lou had had them in for the past half hour, or so it seemed.

“Spread out your weight more.” Lou spent as much time walking among her students as she spent at the front of the class and it was the second time she had stopped next to Mia to correct her posture. “It will hurt less.” She wasn’t shy about touching Mia either, and put a hand on the small of her back to coax her into a more balanced pose.

God, this was so strange. This was supposed to be a beginners class, but because yoga was so new to her, Mia couldn’t quite keep up with the flow and needed the occasional break. In those moments she couldn’t stop thinking about the strange twist of fate that had made her end up in a Louise Hamilton yoga class.