AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He frowned and I felt horrible for making him question us when he’d done absolutely nothing wrong, but I couldn’t have this conversation right now with guests coming and going and everyone asking a million things of me at once.
He studied me. “Before everyone gets here, I want to?—”
“Hello?”
Relief washed over me as he cocked his head. “Is that my mother?”
“Hale?” she called in a tone that commanded a response.
I’d never been so grateful for my future mother-in-law. “You better go,” I rushed him toward the door. “I’ll be down in a minute.”
As it turned out, Naomi, Hale’s mother, was able to get an earlier flight. The woman loved her son and I loved how much she was going to monopolize him while I dodged his questions and suspicious looks.
He watched me like a hawk as his mother doted on Elara and asked about the plans for the next few days. The second we were alone he’d corner me. I suddenly wanted to be around all the people.
When Andrew arrived to announce the nursery was ready, I insisted on going with him to inspect it. Unfortunately, when I came back to the penthouse Hale and I were, once again, all alone.
“Are you finished avoiding me, now?”
“I’m not avoiding you, Hale.”
He just looked at me, not even dignifying my lie with a response. “Come on, Rayne.”
That was the tone he used to broach big discussions, so I blurted, “Phina made us an appointment for a couple’s massage. We have to get moving or we’re going to be late.”
“Huh?”
“A couple’s massage, Hale.” I grabbed my purse and handed him his phone. “It’s for our lymph nodes.”
“When did this happen? No one told me.”
“It was a gift. A surprise. Let’s go.”
I typically didn’t like wellness salons, because they felt like stuffy libraries with too much nakedness. But today the spa suited me just right.
In the common areas, signs requesting silence hung on various walls and a sense of safety cocooned me. A serene flute harmonized with soft bells and the air smelled of fresh lemongrass. The ambiance demanded quiet, so when Hale tried to speak, I pressed my finger to my lips and whispered, “Shh, no talking.”
As soon as we checked in, Hale and I were escorted to private dressing rooms where we stripped out of our clothes and changed into robes. I waited in the dressing room as long as possible before returning to the lounge.
“Right this way, miss. Your fiancé’s waiting,” one of the spa attendants whispered.
I entered a room upholstered in soft, creams and delicate pinks. Hale sat in a crisp robe holding a flute of champagne. I smiled nervously.
“Your champagne.” The attendant lowered a tray and I accepted the glass.
“Thank you.”
As soon as she left I sipped thirstily, emptying the glass. The lounge quickly transformed into a padded cell.
Hale appeared more at ease with the schedule shift. “This was nice of Phina.”
“Very,” I agreed, tapping my foot nervously. “We should get her a gift for everything she’s done to help. Something extra.”
We already had special favors for the wedding party that Quinn helped me put together. The girls were getting personalized Christian Dior totes, Chanel perfume, and Tiffany & Co. compacts, plus a few other more personal items I threw in. Hale was gifting the guys with Hermes overnight bags.
His finger traced over my knee and I stilled.
“Nervous?”
