“We’ll definitely be indoors next time,” Taylor said.

The smiles on both women’s faces grew wider as they looked past Taylor and waved.

“Hi! I’m a big fan, Diesel,” the brunette said.

“Thanks,” he answered.

The deep timbre of his voice caused more goose bumps to pop up along her skin. Taylor kept her back to him, even after the two women withdrew from the area she’d commandeered for this morning’s class. She needed a moment to gather herself.

“Taylor,” he called.

Anxiety knotted in her stomach as she turned to face him.

He still had his hands in his pockets. Any passerby who saw him would presume he was the epitome of relaxed and unbothered, but she noted the strain in his broad shoulders, the lines marring his forehead and bracketing his mouth.

“Hey,” she said, her heart pounding steadily against her rib cage.

“Hey,” he returned. He nudged his chin in the direction of the two women who’d just left. “Did I hear you say you aren’t taking on any clients?”

“Not anyone new.” She picked up her yoga mat and rolled it up so that she’d have something to do with her hands. Tucking it underneath her arm, she said, “A couple of my old regulars contacted me. I’ll be working with them and offering a few pop-up classes here and there, but I don’t want to take on too much.”

“Because of your ankle?” he asked. “Is it healing properly?”

“My ankle is fine,” Taylor said. She straightened her shoulders, any vestiges of modesty floating away on the wave of pride that swelled in her chest. “I don’t want to take on any new clients because if I do as well as I think I will do on the college entrance exam in a few weeks, I’ll be starting classes full-time when the winter semester begins.”

A small smile lifted one corner of Jamar’s mouth. “You registered to take the exam.”

“And I requested testing accommodations: extra time to complete the test and a proctor to read the questions out loud.”

“Good.” He nodded, his throat undulating as he swallowed.

Intolerably tense moments ticked by as they stood there facing each other. Disquiet filled the space between them, a cloud of unspoken words weighing heavy in the air.

“Did you see the press conference yesterday?” he asked.

“Yes. I think the foundation is a wonderful way to honor Silas’s memory.”

“Yeah, I think so too.” He glanced at the ground, then brought his eyes back to her. “I’m sorry, Taylor,” Jamar said, the words exiting his mouth on an achingly soft whisper. “I know sorry isn’t enough. There’s no excuse for the way I spoke to you the day you left, especially because you were right.”

Her brow arched. “Was I?”