The Retreat (A Clean and Sweet Romance Novella)

  Chapter Seven

  Tamara was flushed with pride when she left the retreat. Everyone had told her how much they had enjoyed it and how much better it was than they had expected. A few of them had even asked her to book them immediately on the next one. Tamara admitted that she hadn't planned for another one, because she first wanted to see if she'd be able to pull it off. "Tamara, you were born to do this," one of them had said. It echoed what Wendy had once told her, and she couldn't believe that one of the attendees was now telling her the same.

  She'd expected to wake up the next day feeling hung over. She hadn't had half a bottle of champagne to herself in a very long time. But she woke up feeling great. Thomas had to leave early that morning, but when he left, he embraced her tightly and told her just how much the previous night had meant to him.

  "Thank you, Thomas. It meant a lot to me too. And thanks for all the kind words."

  "And thanks for putting me in my place," he said to her.

  She tried to put away how it had felt holding his hand and concentrated, instead, on saying goodbye to everyone else. Then she packed up and headed home. She had a lunch planned with Wendy, who wanted to know everything that had happened, and she couldn't wait to fill her in.

  "Hey, Wendy," she said when she walked into the caf?. They'd chosen to meet at a different caf? than the one where Wendy worked. Wendy sometimes preferred meeting outside of work. She said, when she went to her caf? in a social situation, she always felt on edge as if she should be working.

  "Tamara! It's so good to see you. This week has been so long without you."

  "How was work? Was it as crazy busy as you thought it was going to be?"

  "It was. And more. But the upside to it all was that they were some of the best tippers that I've met in a very long time. And they all drank so much, so by the time they left, they kept forgetting that they had tipped me and insisted on giving me more. I made quite a bit of money this week. But it was exhausting. But how about you? How did the rest of the retreat go? And why on earth do you look so ravishing today? You look beautiful. All relaxed. Did you go to a spa or something before you got here? Did you get your hair done?"

  Tamara laughed. "I'm loving the compliments. But no, I've done nothing. I literally came here straight from the retreat."

  "Seriously? Well? you look good. Very good."

  "Thanks, Wendy. I feel good. The retreat went so well. Some people have already booked to go on the next one. It went better than I thought it would. You were right - I was meant to do this. I cannot wait to start planning the next one. I have so many ideas. Nothing went wrong on this one, but I still thought of so many things that I could have done to make it better. The next one is going to be brilliant!"

  "Ah, I'm so happy for you. No wonder you look so good. You are just flushed with happiness. You look like you were part of the retreat, rather than the person who ran it. You look more relaxed than I've seen you in a long time."

  "Well," Tamara said nonchalantly, "that's probably because I drank half a bottle of champagne last night, maybe more."

  Wendy laughed. "Sure, tell me another joke."

  "I'm serious. I honestly did."

  "What? Since when do you do things like that?"

  "I know? it's crazy. And I'm not even hung over."

  "You're too happy to be hung over. So, what was that then? Were you all celebrating?"

  "We were celebrating, actually. But it was just Thomas and me. He had a bottle in his car and decided we should share it. We drank it by the lake at night. It was actually more enjoyable than I thought it would be. I had forgotten how much I liked drinking champagne."

  "What? You drank it with Thomas? Thomas Winter? I thought you hated him."

  "I do. Well? I did. Turns out, he's not so bad after all. He finally took the retreat seriously. And I think he actually quite enjoyed it."

  "And by the sounds of it, you enjoyed him."

  Tamara felt herself blushing. "What? No? it wasn't like that."

  "So, nothing happened?"

  "No. Nothing at all. We just sat and spoke. We held hands, but it was more in a friendship sort of way. Plus, I was tipsy. I get a little touchy feely when I drink."

  Wendy laughed. "You do? That's brilliant. But seriously? let's go back a few notches here. First, how did you end up having drinks with just Thomas and nobody else? And second, how did you end up holding his hand? And third, how was it? Oh wait? I have a fourth? where's my photo?"

  Tamara chuckled and took out her phone. As promised, she'd taken a few sneaky pictures of Thomas at the retreat without him noticing. But on the last morning, she'd simply asked him for a picture to show her friend. He'd laughed and happily obliged. Tamara showed the photo to Wendy, and she grinned. "You held hands with THIS man? Oh, Tamara, you lucky, lucky girl. Tell me everything!"

  And so, Tamara told her the whole story and watched in amusement as Wendy looked at her, open-mouthed, throughout the tale.

  "So, when are you seeing him again?" Wendy asked.

  "Thomas? Uh? I don't think I am. I mean, we didn't make plans or anything. Like I said - nothing happened. We just shared a special moment together. He wasn't as bad as I made him out to be."

  "Oh, come on, it's obvious that you're infatuated with him."

  Tamara could feel herself becoming flushed, and Wendy pointed it out. Tamara fanned her face. "No, I'm not infatuated with him. I mean? come on, Wendy. He lives in a different world. We're such different people, and we want different things in life. This week might have done him good, but he's not exactly going to become this yoga-loving, calm man. He's not like that."

  "But the week was good for him. And you were good for him. And from what I can see, he was just as good for you. I've never seen you look so relaxed."

  "What? I'm always relaxed," Tamara said. After all, she was a yoga teacher. Of course, she was relaxed.

  But Tamara was surprised when Wendy snorted out a laughter. "What? You're the least relaxed person I know. Everything always has to be perfect. You never have a hair out of place. You're never late for anything. You never just go with the flow."

  "But? but aren't those good things?" Tamara stammered.

  "They are good things. But it's also good to let loose every now and again. Just relax. You don't always have to be so perfect. And Thomas is the only person that has actually managed to get that part of you out a bit. Honestly, Tamara? you look wonderful."

  Tamara didn't say anything for a while. She just sat there staring at the coffee in front of her. She felt strange hearing Wendy say these things to her. She'd always considered herself to be a very relaxed and calm person. She didn't know Wendy thought that way about her. And if Wendy thought that, it probably meant everyone else thought that too. Why didn't she know that about herself?

  "Hey, Tamara," Wendy said kindly, "you're a wonderful person. You're someone I admire more than anybody in the world. But it's okay just to let things be, sometimes."

  Tamara nodded. "I guess you're right."

  "So? come on then? tell me a bit more about Thomas. Are you honestly going to tell me that you don't find him attractive?" Wendy held up the phone with his photo as if to prove a point.

  Tamara giggled. "Okay, he's very attractive. He's probably the best looking person I've ever met. But, Wendy? he's so frustrating! He's so incredibly charming and gets away with everything."

  "But? you like him?"

  "No!"

  "Come on; just admit that you like him. Just a little," Wendy teased.

  "I do not!"

  "Just a little?"

  Tamara chuckled. "Just a little." She felt her eyes widen at the admittance. She looked at Wendy. "Oh! I do like him. Oh no! I don't want to like a man like that."

  Wendy was giggling to herself now, obviously pleased that she had finally gotten Tamara to admit the truth. "Oh, come on? you said he wasn't that bad. In fact, I think you saw a side to him that most people don't ever get the chance to see."

  "We
ll? yeah? I guess I did. I liked that side to him."

  "So? what are you going to do about it, then?"

  "What do you mean? I'm not going to do anything."

  "You're not even going to phone him?" Wendy looked very disappointed.

  "No. I'm not. He's an actor. He's the son of a billionaire. I'm a yoga teacher. We're worlds apart. It was nice, and I'm glad I got to see that side of him. But I'm definitely not going to do anything about it."

  Wendy sighed. "Okay, fair enough. But will you at least come out with me sometime for a glass of wine? Just one? I feel like it's a bit unfair that he got to see tipsy Tamara before I did."

  Tamara laughed. "It's a deal."

  "Wow, you really are a changed woman."

  And after that, Tamara tried to put the thought of Thomas behind her. Admitting her feelings hadn't come easily, but they were pointless. It had been nice to hold his hand, and it had been nice to get to know him on a deeper level. But the thought of anything actually happening between the two of them was ridiculous.