HANDLE WITH CARE (The Ludzecky Sisters Book 5) Read Online Free

experience when they’d had a date the next night. He was moving stiffly and she asked why.
    “Nope.”
    “Are you goingto?”
    “Probably.” He’d been doing research online. And some other things he’d like to not even admit to himself, let alone Lauren.
    “She’s the woman who’s going to be teaching it in the fall, isn’t she?”
    “Right.”
    “What’s she like?”
    “She’s little. And flexible. Man, what she could do with her body.”
    In a flash, he saw an image of that body being flexible in other ways. Inbed. With him. Because of the dream he had last night. They were having sex on a mat.
    “You just blushed, Max.”
    “I did?” He gave her his best sexy grin and winked. “The mention of
body
gave me ideas. About yours.” Man, when had he become such a good liar?
    “Maybe down the road some.”
    “I’ll hold on to that.”
    The dinner was fun, but they parted outside on the street with a brushof their lips, and he drove home.
    Max’s house in the city was small, but it had three bedrooms with one converted into a workout area. He had an early meeting tomorrow and he should just go to sleep. Instead, he made his way to a bathroom, stripped down to his skivvies and headed down the hall. He didn’t jump on the elliptical or do some weights; he dropped down on his newly purchased mat.Beside it were the other things he’d bought: a bolster, a strap and a block. Nobody knew about this dirty little secret. What he did in here stayed in here. He shook his head, not believing he was actually practicing yoga.
    Sitting up on the bolster, as he’d done for a week, he crossed his legs. He was happy to see his knees were closer to the floor than they were seven days ago. He’d measureit tomorrow. But tonight, he’d do some breathing—she’d called it
prana
-something. Then he laid on his back with the belt and extended his leg upright. He was surprisingly pleased he could straighten it more now.
    “You’re an idiot, Walker,” he chided himself, as he had every morning and night when he ended up here. But still, he continued the practice. In another week, he was going back to herstudio, and he’d be damned if he’d be the worst in his class.
    o0o
    Gus Carney had a positive outlook on life and a cheerful disposition. Sofia liked men with these traits because she cultivated them in herself. They’d arrived at a theater in downtown Queens and had just been seated.
    “So," he said, nodding to the stage, “this should be fun.”
    “I can’t believe you got thetickets for the production. I tried and they were sold out.”
    He shrugged. “I’d like to take credit for being resourceful, but my sister’s a set designer for visiting companies. She got us in.”
    Sofia studied the set of
Swan Lake
. “It’s wonderful. The trees appear to be moving as we watch them. And the little hills in back of them are murky, so it’s left to the imagination what they couldbe.”
    “I’ll tell her you said so. We could go backstage if you want, after the show. She’s here tonight.”
    Her heart seized up. Backstage. At a performance. She hadn’t been behind the curtain since she was sixteen. “You remembered I studied dance, didn’t you?”
    “Guilty as charged. I don’t know why you switched to yoga, but I’m glad you did.” He covered her hand with his. For some stupidreason, she remembered putting her hand over Max Walker’s the day they met at school. “Because that means I see you more often.”
    “I’m looking forward to it.”
    The orchestra was warming up, and the dissonance of the strings all playing something different was familiar.
    Gus added, “I hope Max Walker is supportive. He seems to be.”
    “Yes, he does.”
    “He’s a good guy. The kids adorehim, and not just the jocks. He teaches a special-needs PE class—volunteers for it—all year long. Their parents think he walks on water.”
    Hmm, Mr. I’m-So-Tough had a softer side. “I admire that.”
    “So do most women.”