It was rare that she got to practice yoga. Ethan thought it a bunch of useless mumbo jumbo and encouraged her to stick to the stationary bike or jogging, whatever could burn calories the fastest. It wasn’t worth the ridicule to try to do it at home where he could walk in on her. And with her work schedule, there wasn’t a lot of time to sneak it in elsewhere either.

She’d actually forgotten how calming it could be. Stretching her arms over her head, she wiggled her fingertips to the sky, exhaling as she reached higher and higher. She moved gently forward until she was on her hands and knees, then raised her middle until she was in downward dog.

“Why do I keep finding you in compromising positions?”

She dropped quickly, embarrassed to find Liam standing over her.

“I don’t know. Why do I keep finding you standing over me?” she asked, irritated by his stealthy approach.

He didn’t pick up on the hint to leave her alone. Obvious from the short laugh.

“What are you doing here? I thought you were coming back tomorrow?” She pulled at the tank top she wore, covering the square of cleavage there.

He sat down at the table. “No, I said I’d get you the estimate tomorrow. This is Tuesday. I always come on Tuesday afternoons and help Maria with dinner. I brought the pork.”

“Oh. I guess I could’ve helped.” She stood, wiping her hands together to rid them of invisible dust. Anything to keep from looking at him.

“She hasn’t started yet, so she’ll welcome that, I’m sure,” he said. “There’ll be about sixteen to twenty people coming.”

Her head jerked up at that. “Sixteen to twenty?”

He nodded. “She does it every Tuesday. Friends and family, and whoever in the neighborhood is having a tough time knows they can stop by and feed their kids. Everyone brings a little something and together, it goes a long way.”

Quinn sat down at the table. “That’s really . . . admirable.”

He shrugged. “It’s not about that. It’s just the way it’s done here. My mother does the same thing on Sundays. Maria, Kupuna, and the kids usually come. They weren’t there last week. I think that’s because of what’s going on here.”

Her face flamed, but she wouldn’t let him get away with making her feel guilty. She lifted her chin. “Look, I didn’t know anything about Maria’s troubles. I just bought a house that was for sale. I paid, and the contracts were signed, fair and square. Everything was legal.”

He paused, scrutinizing her before continuing. “I’m not judging you, Quinn. I’m just telling you the facts.”