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She came back quickly with her black garment bag, box of shoes, and small makeup pouch.
"I'll show you somewhere that you can shower and get dressed. You've worked enough already. I'll point the staff where they need to go for now."
When he finished speaking, he turned and started up the staircase without waiting for her to respond. She scrambled up behind him down a hallway with two bedrooms and a bath. He led her into a door to what looked like the master bedroom with its deep green walls and comforter. It was his bedroom, she realized with a start. He opened a door and let her into a bathroom that was as big as the lobby at work.
Inside was warm tan tiling, a two vanity sink, an enormous glass shower with four shower heads, and... oh, the biggest, deepest tub she had ever seen in her life.
"You can take a shower in here," he started, then noticed her envious look toward the bathtub and smiled, "or a bath." He walked over to a cabinet and got two fluffy white towels out and placed them on the steps that lead to the whirlpool. "These buttons turn on the jets," he said then walked over to the sink and grabbed a few containers from the cabinet beneath. "Here are some soaps and salts," he said, placing them next to the towels and backing away toward the door. "Take your time, I've got everything covered downstairs."
"Thank you," she remembered to finally say to him before he was out of the door. She saw him shrug and close the door behind him.
She was out of her clothes and sinking into the most glorious bath she had ever had in her life in less than two minutes.
–
Seriously, what had gotten into him? He released her of her duties to take care of the party and take a bath instead? In his bathroom? There were four other full bathrooms in the house and he had led her into his bedroom and then into his personal bath.
Elliott shook his head to clear his scattered thinking.
He had wrapped up things at the office early, wishing to get home and settle down a bit before he had to deal with a house full of all his colleagues and associates. It was going to be a long and tedious night and he wanted to sit and have a drink before he had to get into the host mindset.
He hadn't expected to walk in to see Hannah perched precariously on top of a chair and dusting his bookshelves. He hadn't meant to sneak up on her. He certainly hadn't been quiet coming in the house, but her mind must have been preoccupied and he startled her.
Thank God he had been close enough to catch her or she would have hit the floor hard and certainly hurt something. She had felt so soft in his arms, looking up at him with those huge gray eyes.
She looked vibrant but tired in her oversize sweatshirt and leggings. Something deep within him just wanted to reward her for being such a dedicated worker. Or, perhaps it was something more than that, but he wasn't going to let his mind go there.
The way she had eyed his bathtub was downright endearing. It was a luxury completely lost on him, but he could tell by her expression that it was something she had longed for for ages. And he couldn't deny her such a small thing.
He walked in to the kitchen to meet the staff, but couldn't shake the knowledge that she was right above him, sinking naked into his bathtub.
CHAPTER SIX
Hannah had lounged in the bubbles and jets of the tub for longer than she should have. It was so nice after months of quick showers to be able to lay and enjoy a soak. Her tub at her apartment was a shower/tub in one and when filled, the water would barely come up to her rib cage. A soak was not a soak if half of your body was constantly cold.
She crawled out of the bath only when her phone had chimed, announcing a text message and she worried that, perhaps, it was from someone messaging about the party. Wrapping herself in the softest towel she had ever felt in her life, she padded over to her cell phone to a message from Tad.
Tad: 7:30PM: Wear your hair down.
Hannah checked her reflection in the mirror, her hair was drenched.
Hannah: 7:32PM: I don't have a blow dryer.
Tad: 7:32PM: Look around. He has one somewhere.
Hannah rolled her eyes but checked the cabinet where the towels and the toiletries were located. Then she looked under the sink, and to her utter disbelief, there was a blow dryer. She pulled it out and went to work on her hair, brushing through it with her fingers. It had been almost a year since she took the time to dry her hair. Since it was so long, it could take upward of twenty minutes to get it fully dry. But when it was finished, the end result was a avalanche of shiny black hair falling straight to her waist.
Checking the time with rising anxiety, she quickly went about applying a few coats of mascara and slathering on some pink lipstick before sliding into her dress and slipping into her skin-tone heels that Tad had chosen for her.
She took a few steps back from the mirror so she could get a full view of her body. Tad was right. Her hair had to be down. She barely even recognized herself. She quickly snapped a picture for Tad who had threatened to steal her office stereo if she didn't sent him one. Somehow, she truly believed he meant it.
Tad: 8:02PM: Damn girl. Go show um what you got ;)
Carefully walking down the stairs, she heard the band practicing in the front sitting room. She placed her cell phone behind the lamp on the front table and walked into the study.
Inside she found Elliott standing, holding a glass in his hand. James was sitting at the desk, feet propped up like usual, with a glass held against his leg. He looked up when he heard her heels in the doorway and let out a low, appreciative whistle. "This might be the first time ever that I am not the most beautiful person in the room," he teased, getting up and walking over to her to kiss her on the cheek. "You look absolutely gorgeous, Hannah."
Elliott had turned when James had started to talk and fought to keep his jaw off the floor. Hannah had only ever worn clothes that were strictly professional and unflattering to the female frame. He had no idea what she was hiding behind bulky sweaters and button-ups.
