Free Sacred Serenity (Lotus House Book 2) by Audrey Carlan

Flow classes but also he has an idea for a brand-new class that would set Lotus House apart from all the rest.”
    Jewel smiled and leaned forward. Her fiery red hair bounced around her pretty pixie face in heavy waves. “We’re already different. When our clients come to us, they receive spiritual and physical health beyond what money can buy alone. How can this friend of yours do that?”
    Before I could answer, Atlas strummed his guitar. The volume in the crowded bar eased as the sound from his instrument began to filter through the space. I closed my eyes and waited for the words to come. Words I knew would settle within the minds and hearts of both Crystal and Jewel in a far more ethereal journey that traversed time.
    Open your heart to me…
    In there you will see…
    I have come to protect and save…
    Don’t push me away…
    What we have will never again be…
    If you don’t open your heart and see me…
    Atlas’s voice rolled and crested, a wave with power built of a thousand tsunamis, each one hitting stronger and more devastating than the last. He continued his song, and I opened my eyes. A tear dripped down Crystal’s face. Her ice-blue eyes filled with more unshed tears. She was riveted to the man on the stage. Jewel sniffed and pushed her hair back.
    “I want to know more about the new class concept he has,” Jewel said when Atlas sang his last words.
    “Absolutely. This friend of yours is beyond gifted. Why is he teaching yoga when he should be in the recording studio?” Crystal asked.
    “He’d love to be in the studio, only he hasn’t met the right people. He does these amateur nights every week hoping a scout will find him.”
    Jewel nodded and put her hand up for the waitress. “Hot tea, please,” she said.
    “Oh, me too!” Crystal jumped in.
    The waitress’s expression was a mixture of disbelief and surprise. “You want hot tea? In a bar?”
    “Do you not have it?” Crystal asked.
    The waitress chuckled. “Yeah, I guess we do. I’ve just never had anyone order tea before. I’ll see what I can pull together. And for you?”
    “Beer. Imported IPA. Whatever’s on tap.” I thanked the waitress and winked.
    She grinned and swayed her hips delightfully. Man, I loved the female form. Long legs, narrow waists, curvy hips, and voluptuous breasts. Instantly, my mind went back to Amber walking away from me earlier in the week. She had an athletic body from all the yoga but with enough curves that a man would have a little bit of something to hold onto when he made love to her.
    “Oooh and fresh honey if you have it. I don’t do sugar or aspartame,” Jewel called out.
    The waitress held up a hand and waved. “You got it.”
    “So, no liquor?” I asked.
    “Nope,” both women said simultaneously.
    “Yet you agreed to meet me in a bar on a Thursday night?”
    Crystal put her hand on my shoulder. Jewel canted her head and pressed her lips together. Both of them looked at me the same way my stepmother who raised me did. Like I was the best thing that ever happened to them.
    “Dash, honey, you asked us to come and hear your friend play. You are important to us. Been with us for years. You’re part of our yoga family. Of course we’d accept the invitation.”
    I laughed and sat back farther in the booth. “But you don’t drink. Why is that?”
    Jewel clasped her hands together on the table. “For me, it’s part of my enlightened path. You know I’m a vegan. In order for me to find my truth, I need to protect my body and only put things into it that are good for me. Alcohol, my young friend, does nothing but alter your perceptions and dull the richness of life around you.”
    I swayed my head from side to side, thinking about what she’d said. “I don’t know if it dulls life. Some would say it magnifies it.” I grinned.
    Crystal pushed a long lock of golden-blond hair behind her ear. For a woman just hitting her sixties, she could easily bed a man half her age if she wanted.