legs as she lifted her heels and dropped her hips. “The gala arrangements are going well. Kimberly has it all figured out, and we have an amazing guest list so far. That’s not the issue. I’m just . . . frustrated.”
The music switched to soft piano songs, and Kendra invited them into the cool-down phase.
Eva moved her mat a bit closer to Marc’s and sighed as she lay flat on her back, heels planted on the mat, pressing her hips to the sky as she elongated her back and tried desperately to breathe steadily. “Training is harder than I thought it would be. And Angela . . . well, I think we overdid it that first day.” She told Marc about how her sister-in-law had lagged behind Eva for the final three laps around the path, and Eva had walked the final two laps with her after completing the loop four times at a jog. “I don’t think Angela is taking this whole thing as seriously as I am.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Every day for the last three weeks I’ve invited her to go running with me, and every day she’s declined. She claims she’s too busy with the kids . . .”
“I’ve got more than just myself to worry about, Eva. You don’t understand.”
Maybe she really was too busy. Angela was right. Eva didn’t know what it was like—even if sometimes she dreamed about how that might be.
“So she hasn’t trained at all?”
“She has, I think. Just not with me. So I have no clue how far she’s gone or how fast or anything like that.”
“Don’t worry so much. She doesn’t seem like the type to commit to something without thinking it through.”
“You’re right. I just have so much riding on this.” I have everything riding on this.
“We all do.”
As Eva lifted her right leg across her body and touched her knee to the mat, she considered Marc’s words. She’d taken his participation as a given, but why had he agreed to it? Was it for Brent?
Or was it for Eva?
And why this little trip in her heart that sent her blood racing at the thought that it might be the latter?
She flattened her whole body on the mat, spreading her arms outward, her legs stretched straight in front of her, allowing herself to be completely still. Her breathing at this point should have been relaxed, steady.
Instead, Eva gulped in air like she’d just run a quick mile.
“Stay here for as long as you need to, class. Thank you for joining me on our journey today.”
Other classmates rose and rolled up their mats. Someone blew out the candles, and overhead the lights flickered on. Pachelbel’s “Canon in D” ended abruptly.
“Eva, I know you’re frustrated with Angela.” Marc’s gentle voice intruded on her thoughts. “But we’re a team. And as a team, we have to support each other.”
She struggled to sit up, as if a brick sat on her chest. “I do support her. I know this is hard for her. That’s why I want to train with her. To encourage her. To motivate her. It’s hard to do it by yourself.” Especially if you had to be convinced to do this whole thing in the first place.
Of course she was grateful to Angela for agreeing to the race—whatever her sister-in-law’s actual reasons.
“You’re going to have to let Angela set the pace, you know.” Marc paused. “Whether you like it or not, you need her.”
10
Kimberly had outdone herself.
Eva balanced on her stilettos, gawking at the two gorgeous French Renaissance–style ballrooms her best friend had utterly transformed into a casino royale. Marble columns met the garlands of floral moldings ringing the ceiling. A chandelier high above them hung nearly as wide as the room itself—and that was big enough to fit thirty ten-top tables plus a stage where Eva would speak in a few short hours and urge donors to pledge their money to a great cause.
Guests had begun to arrive moments earlier, milling about in the room adjacent to this one, where casino tables featured everything from poker to blackjack, roulette, and more.
“What do you think?” Kimberly sidled up next to Eva, holding her phone, which Eva knew from experience was how she kept track of her to-do list during events. Her friend looked amazing in a shimmery black mermaid gown that hugged her hips and puddled at the ground. Kim’s long hair had been slicked back dramatically, and her eye makeup was on point.