He opens the curtain and ushers me in. He immediately comes in behind me as I bask in the glory that is hot water.
There’s a few things about pregnancy that aren’t exactly my favorite, well, more than a few if I am being entirely honest. But not being allowed to shower or bathe in water that is hot enough to melt off the first layer of my skin is really up there.
“Water temp okay?” Rhett asks as if he can read my mind.
“No, but this is probably as hot as it should get.” Disappointment is clear in my voice.
“No hotter than ninety-nine degrees.” He chirps off like an auto-recording.
I look at him in disbelief because I use those books as nightly reading to help me sleep. “You must be really into the parenting and pregnancy books.”
“They’re really interesting. And I didn’t know a lot about babies or pregnancy going into this, so I wanted to learn how to take care of you both,” he says.
This man is something else. Not only is he the most thoughtful person I have ever met, but right now the water is splashing, making him look like a lumberjack in a freaking axe body spray commercial. It’s as if my body has already forgotten we just got off, not once but twice, my body starts to heat up again.
“No, no, no. I know that look. Turn around, let me get your hair washed,” he says.
My eyes narrow. “I’m not entirely convinced that you can’t read my mind.”
“When you take the time to learn someone, it becomes easy.” His voice comes off in a husky grumble; at least he is unaffected.
His sentiment makes my heart warm. Rhett isn’t like me, where I am loud and have a tendency to say exactly what is on my mind; he is the opposite. He is quiet and he watches, silently learning and tucking things away. Obviously, I know him too, but the way that man knows me is like nothing else.
His rough fingertips perfectly massage my scalp, making me like butter beneath his touch. He moves to body wash and starts rubbing. My sore muscles relax under his touch. Between the warmth and the massage, my eyelids start to feel heavy.
Rhett gently pulls me back under the water to rinse my hair and body, then quickly washes himself. My brain feels all tingly and desperate for sleep.
“Let’s get you dry.” He rubs the towel over me and helps dry off my hair. The best you can do with a towel, which isn’t great. But the effort is appreciated nonetheless.
Within a few minutes, I'm swept back off my feet and carried to bed. Much less arguments from me this time, mostly because that would take far too much effort. But I do manage to get a few words out, “Stay with me?”
“Of course. There’s nowhere else I would rather be.” His voice almost sounds far away as I begin to drift off.
“Me either,” are the last words off my lips for the day.
The last words I hear are even sweeter.
“I love you, always.”
Chapter 25
Rhett
“What the fuck is this?”
My eyes snap open because for a second there I thought I heard Weston’s voice, but it must’ve been a nightmare.
“What the hell are you doing in my sister's bed?”
Holy shit. This isn’t a nightmare.
I sit straight up as Aspen holds the sheet against her body. “Let us explain.”
His face is red with rage, and his expression is stone fucking cold. A look that will be burned into my memory for eternity. “Explain what exactly?” he asks, looking between us. It’s as if I watch the light bulb turn on in his head. “You’re joking. Aspen, is he the dad? Is that why you wouldn’t tell me?”
“Yes, but it’s more complicated than that,” she pleads. “Can you please leave the room? I think this is traumatic enough of an event for us all without having to add in accidental flashing.” Shelevels him with a look that only a sister can muster. Though he doesn’t look happy, he obliges.
As soon as the door slams closed, Aspen buries her head in her hands. “I cannot believe this is happening. I forgot he had told me he was swinging by to check on me this morning. I’m so sorry.”
