Admitting it, even in his own thoughts, made him wince.
It was harsh. It was also true.
Karo was right. One hundred percent correct.
Even if the two of them had conducted their idle, monthly affair for another decade, he would never have let down his guard for her. Because she wasn’t Tess. And Tess, as he was beginning to discover, was at the center of everything for him.
Absolutely everything. Which was, to be frank, absolutely terrifying.
When in doubt, eat chocolate.
Before he left the spa, he bought one of those Toblerone bars for himself too.
Eighteen
Tess stareddown at the booties in her lap. “So these are, uh, supposed to keep my feet warm?”
In her peripheral vision, she could have sworn Lucas’s dimples appeared for a fleeting moment. But when she looked directly at him, he was staring at her solemnly.
He inclined his head. “Yes. Just like it says on the package.”
“And you got me two sets?”
“Evidently.”
Don’t say what the fuck. Don’t say what the fuck.
She offered him a weak smile. “Um, thank you so much.”
“You’re more than welcome,” he told her graciously.
Another smile, this one hopefully more convincing. “They’re very pretty. Very fuzzy. Very…warm-looking.”
As soon as she and Belle had returned to the hotel from a day spent outdoors, they’d lowered their room temperature to sixty degrees and turned the fan on full blast. Then they’d decided to flip a coin to determine who got first shower.
Poor Belle. She’d never suspected treachery, although she should have. Once she’d turned away to find a coin in her wallet, Tess had dashed into the bathroom, locked the door, and flipped on the shower.
Belle might never forgive her—even through a closed door and over the sound of water, Tess had distinctly heard the wordsdracarysandqueen of the ashes—but so be it. She had her period, and thus deserved first crack at the bathroom. That was just basic justice, or maybe an unquestionable scientific fact.
Either way, she’d shamelessly reveled in every moment of that shower, her second of the day, this one ice-cold and meant to sluice away the sweat of hours and hours spent in Satan’s jockstrap. Otherwise known as the Gulf Coast of Florida in August.
Somehow, though, she was still sweating. She figured it was carryover heat at work, like when the temperature of her Thanksgiving turkey kept rising for a while even after it emerged from the oven. Or maybe it was simply Belle’s curse in effect already. Hard to say, really.
Which was why, once again, she was only barely restraining herself from asking Lucas what unholy impulse had made him look at heated booties and think, “Yes, if there’s one thing Tess needs right now, it’s hot feet.”
Still, the booties were a sweet—if decidedly odd—gift. One she might be able to use in, say, three or four months. Assuming she ever cooled off again.
“I’m sure these will be very effective at keeping my feet toasty.” She reread the label. What exactly did edelweiss smell like, anyway? “Thank you again.”
He blinked innocently at her. “Why don’t you try them on?”
Fuck, no.
“Uh…” She hesitated, searching for a courteous way to refuse.
Which was when he started laughing. Loudly.
“Th-the look on your face,” he choked out. “Oh, God, Tess, it’s amazing.”
