“Sounds awesome,” Hanna said. Kirsten Cullen, a girl she knew at Rosewood Day, had gone on a fitness retreat in St. Barts the summer between ninth and tenth grades and had returned twelve pounds lighter and with the most flawless skin ever. “A retreat to where?”
“Oh, to nowhere.” Apollo shot her a sheepish smile. “We hold it here at the gym. But you’ll feel transported—and amazing by the time it’s done. Would you be interested in signing up?”
Hanna gazed at her sweaty reflection in the mirror in front of her. “I don’t know.” She wasn’t really into group classes.
Apollo gave her a dazzling smile. “Are you sure? I think you’d find it really, really amazing. It’s Hanna, right?”
Hanna’s jaw dropped. “How did you know that?”
“I’ve seen you here before.” This time when he smiled, he revealed two adorable dimples. “I’d love to have you in the class.”
Her insides tingled. Was he flirting with her? For a split second, she couldn’t wait to hop off the machine, call Mona, and tell her that Apollo from Body Tonic was practically begging her to be part of his fitness retreat—until she remembered, yet again. Every time she realized Mona had been A, and that she was dead now, it felt like someone had chucked a medicine ball at her chest.
“The pounds will melt off you,” Apollo promised. “You’ll be in the most amazing shape of your life. Please say you’ll do it.”
Since he put it that way, how could she say no? His sparkling blue eyes didn’t hurt, either. “Okay, you’ve twisted my arm,” she said, pausing the machine. “Count me in.”
“Awesome.” Apollo grinned again. Just being next to him made her tingle all over. And he had noticed her. He knew her name. All thoughts of Lucas and Puke-a-tan Brooke flew out of her head. If Lucas could flirt, then so could she.
“My name’s Vince,” he added. “The class starts at five today, and we’ll be meeting morning and night through the end of the year. I’m so thrilled you’re going to do this, Hanna.”
“I’m thrilled, too,” Hanna answered, looking deeply into Apollo’s—Vince’s—eyes. And she absolutely, positively meant it.
Chapter 6
The Biggest Losers
That day after school, Hanna sat on the steps outside Body Tonic and cradled her cell phone between her shoulder and her ear. “Sorry, Dad. I swore I told you that I had plans tonight.”
“But you’re going to miss Santa’s Village at Longwood Gardens.” Mr. Marin sounded very disappointed. “It’s going to be a blast.”
Hanna resisted the urge to gag. In seventh grade, she, Ali, and the other girls had gone to Longwood Gardens, which was essentially just that—a big, boring garden. It was hot, crowded, and downright miserable inside, so they’d spent most of the time hanging out in the parking lot, gossiping about which boy at Rosewood Day they most wanted to kiss and which celebrities they’d invite to their fantasy birthday parties.
“I’m really sorry,” Hanna repeated. “But I made these plans before I knew about your Twelve Days of Christmas thing.”
Mr. Marin sighed. “This isn’t because you’re uncomfortable with Isabel and Kate, is it? Kate says she wants to get to know you, but you keep yourself at a distance. She also mentioned you ditched out on going to the mall with her the day we moved in.”
Hanna opened her mouth, then shut it again. Kate had some nerve. “This has nothing to do with them,” she lied.
When she hung up, she rested the phone in her lap, wishing it would ring once more and she’d hear Lucas’s voice on the other end. But it stayed silent. She stared at the cars swishing back and forth on the remote country road. Snow was falling lightly, making the pavement sparkle. Hanna heard a shuffling noise to the left and sat up straighter. It sounded like someone was lurking behind the corner.
Hanna shrugged it off—no one was stalking her anymore—and jumped to her feet. She headed inside the gym, an excited flurry in her stomach. She might have been resistant to the group fitness idea at first, but now she was pumped. Everyone would probably be pretty, young Main Line girls—maybe she’d even make a new friend or two. And Vince had said that the class incorporated fitness, nutrition, and well-being; perhaps that meant regular massages at the end of each session, by Vince, of course. On a strictly professional basis, so Lucas wouldn’t get too jealous.