The Tourist Attraction (Moose Springs, Alaska #1)(45)

“Be the mountain, Zoey,” Graham told her as they stood. “Be it.”

She shushed him, but her shoulders were shaking from containing her mirth.

“From mountain, we go into tree. As you were the mountain, you now become the tree. You are the tree.”

“I think inner me is getting confused,” Graham murmured out of the side of his mouth to Zoey. “Excuse me, Russ?”

“Yes, Graham.”

“What kind of tree am I? Cedar? Evergreen?”

Russ ignored him.

“I think you’re a leaning log,” Zoey murmured back. It was true. Graham was doing a significant amount of leaning toward the woman next to him.

“Is there a downed tree pose? I can stick my sticks in the air.”

This time, Russ opened his eye and trained it on both of them.

“Remember, Morning Mountain Yoga is for opening yourself to the beauty of the world around you. As we mentally prepare ourselves to go into happy baby pose, first stretch your toes to the heavens, legs open, vagina to the sky. Lift with your hips, open and welcoming to the new experiences of today.”

Now, Graham had done many things in his life, but he had never once pointed his vagina to the sky.

But hey. It was always good to try new things.

“Hey, Zoey. Psst, Zoey.”

“Mm-hmm?”

The sexy little bit beside him was trying desperately not to fall out of position, her face purple from holding in her laughter.

“Am I doing this right?”

Jake had the decency to turn away.

By the time they came out of happy baby pose and relaxed on their backs for a while, Graham had to admit he felt more pelvically open to the universe than he’d ever felt before. That and bizarrely sleepy, but it might have had more to do with listening to Russ hum for a solid ten minutes than anything else.

Having Zoey by his side, Jake snuggled between them, felt oddly pleasant. And yes, they’d only known each other for a few days, but when he looked over and saw her stretching out comfortably on the grass, gazing up at the mountains rising above them, Graham couldn’t help but want to spend a little more time with her.

Hooking his pinkie around hers, Graham tugged lightly to get her attention.

“Hey, Zoey. Why don’t we drive down to Seward together? If we leave now, I can drop Jake off at home and get us down to the boats in time. I promise you won’t miss your ride.”

She hesitated, then shook her head.

“Learning about everything from the tour guide is the fun part.” Zoey reached over and patted Graham’s arm. “Thank you for being sweet, but it really is okay.”

Throughout their exchange, Lana stayed quiet, but Graham felt her eyes flickering over to them more than once.

“I could puppysit for the day,” Lana offered. “You know Jake and I are super tight. If not, Killian would love an excuse to get out of today’s meeting.”

While Graham was fairly certain this was manipulation, it felt a lot like her being an actual friend at the moment. Because when faced with the idea of his Zoey on a boat with tall, dark, and fancy pants, Graham was pretty sure he would much rather spend the day with her.

“Are you sure, L? Jake gets scared when he’s alone with strangers, and he gets sick from the stress. He needs to be with you or at my place.”

“I solemnly swear I will take the best care of Jake that anyone has ever taken of anything ever. Now, are you going, or am I calling Killian?”

Well. It wasn’t like Graham had anything better to do. He’d already opened his pelvis to new experiences for the day.

Zoey really was beautiful. And with the look of hopeful excitement back in her eyes, Graham realized he would do far too much to keep it there. Finally allowing himself the luxury of carefully adjusting her glasses high on her nose, Graham gazed over at her, voice softening.

“Whale watching it is.”

*

When Graham agreed to go on the whale watching trip with her, Zoey’s first inclination was relief. But when he turned his head her way, playfully squeezing her pinkie finger, it occurred to her Graham might be a problem.

A sexy problem, but a problem nonetheless.

After a quick change of clothes and a phone call to Moose Springs Adventurers to switch Lana’s name to Graham’s on the reservation, Zoey grabbed her Alaska bag and hurried down to the lobby. She found Graham just inside the hotel with Lana, ignoring the lurking Diego and his brochures, Jake at his feet and a worried expression on his face. Somehow, they’d procured a leash—one of the rules of the resort—but no one was actually holding the thing except for the dog. Ears perked and leash folded neatly in his mouth, Jake turned his cute little nose back and forth between the two humans, following their conversation.

“It’s going to be fine. Stop being a worry wart.”

“L. He’s my baby.”

“You’re so dramatic.”

Graham frowned at that. “I’m a responsible pet owner.”

“Are you? Because I’m pretty sure you showed up here in a sports car, and he wasn’t wearing a seat belt.” The dog turned toward Lana.

“How did you know that? And the situation wasn’t conducive to seat belts. Jake understands the limits of reasonable expectation. Right, Jake?”

Ears perked, he turned back to Graham.