at Katie. He pulled out his phone and used his camera, both to take pictures and capture some video. His dad was going to want to see them later.
Jasmine focused on barre work, showing Katie how to do a plié, a tendu, a degage, and rond de jambe. Will asked her to spell all of them so he could make notes and look them up on YouTube, knowing Katie was going to want to practice them on her own. Judging by the beaming smiles he saw on her face every time Jasmine praised her, he was going to have to install a barre in his home gym that very afternoon.
They went over the hour by nearly twenty minutes. Will hadn’t even registered how much time had passed. Having the opportunity to watch Katie learn something that made her happy had the time passing in a blink.
“I know going through the moves and positions is repetitive,” Jasmine said as she and Katie sat to change their shoes. “But these are building blocks to learning routines.”
Katie nodded sagely. It had Will’s lips twitching in amusement, especially when he observed how she was mimicking Jasmine’s posture and mannerisms.
“It seems you enjoyed yourself, huh, kiddo?” he said, walking over to her and giving her bun a gentle tug.
She smiled and nodded.
“Would you like to do this again?” Jasmine asked her.
Another nod, this one more vigorous.
Jasmine also smiled. The genuineness of it made her attractive on a whole other level, he thought. It revealed to him that she wasn’t just polished, poised, and aloof. There was passion inside her just waiting to be ignited.
“Then we need to get you the proper gear,” she said, looking from Katie to Will. “If you’d like, I can take Katie shopping.”
The offer stunned him. Again, she was showing generosity he wouldn’t have previously attributed to her.
“I appreciate that,” he said. “Actually, I’m going to be tied up between now and my upcoming road trip. Would you be willing to go shopping with Katie and Gareth? He’s our neighbor and one of Katie’s caregivers.”
She didn’t immediately reply. Since she was pulling her sweatshirt back over her head, he wasn’t sure if that was because she was hesitant to go shopping with Katie and a stranger or because she didn’t want to talk through her clothes.
“I’d give Gareth my credit card,” he added when she just paused and studied him.
It took her another moment to say, “I’d be happy to help.”
“Great. Thanks.”
“Will we meet here again for the next lesson?”
He reached up to scratch the side of his jaw as he looked around the room. “That’s a problem. We need to get this place renovated, so we won’t be able to use it like this again. I’m thinking we can just use my home gym if it’s convenient for you. We’re in Piedmont Heights. I’m not sure where you’d have to drive from.”
“I’m right across from Steamy Beans,” she said, lifting her gym bag back onto her shoulder. “That should work well.”
“Perfect. Why don’t I help get that barre disassembled and loaded into your car?”
Five minutes later, he locked Giuseppe’s doors and walked with Jasmine to the back of the Jeep so he could load the barre for her. She reached past him to toss her gym bag into the back and he caught her scent, something lightly floral and utterly feminine that once again made his libido take notice. And when she reached up, untwisted her hair tie, and released her glorious dark hair so it spilled down between her shoulder blades, there was even a moment where he forgot how to breathe.
“So, call or text me when you’ve had a chance to talk with your neighbor,” Jasmine said as she closed the Jeep’s door. “We can schedule another lesson once we have some gear for Katie.”
“Sure,” he managed. Then, remembering he hadn’t paid her, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He handed her the hundred dollars plus an extra twenty for the additional time she’d given them. “Thanks again for doing this.”
“It was my pleasure.” She accepted the money and turned to smile at Katie. “Great job today, Katie. You work on what we learned today and then hopefully we can incorporate some new techniques next time.”
Katie lifted her hand in a thumbs-up gesture.
Will waited for Jasmine to get into the Jeep. She paused in the driver’s seat with her hand on the door. Before she closed herself in, she looked at him and