Page 97 of What About Us

“Two,” I confirm. “Two fancy dresses, Xander. Because they were both pretty and fit perfectly and Britney is an enabler. She thinks she’d be the queen of shopping, but really she’s the queen of enabling. I filled both this closet and the one back home, and that’s so silly.”

His smile slips. “Why is that silly?”

“Because I don’t live here, Xander. And I bought enough clothes to move in.”

And why does that bring tears to my eyes? Am I just so fucking tired from being out all day, walking endlessly and trying on outfit after outfit, and not getting enough calories?

Because I am hungry as fuck.

“Whoa, okay. Come on, wildcat. I’m putting you in a hot bath, and you’re going to get spoiled rotten.”

“I already am. Look at those bags! And I didn’t buy even one thing because you took away my credit cards this morning and left me with yours.”

He crosses his arms over his chest. “That’s right. That was the deal. You paid for the stuff you bought back home, and I got to buy you things here.”

“This is way more than you should have done, and I don’t deserve it.”

“No more of this talk.” He takes my hand and leads me down the hall to the primary bedroom and through to the bathroom, where he starts the water in the huge soaking tub, and then turns to me and frowns when he sees the tears on my cheeks. “Hey hey hey. No, baby. Don’t cry.”

“I don’t know why I’m emotional. I really don’t. I’m super happy.”

“Yeah, you look happy.” Grimly, he grabs one of my hair ties from the counter and works my hair up off my neck and into a knot at the top of my head.

“You’re way too good at that. How many women have you had in here and tied their hair up for a bath?”

What is happening to me?

He frames my face and brushes his thumbs over my cheeks, over the freckles I know he likes, and then leans in to kiss my nose.

“I think you’re tired, and this is probably adding to all of the stress you’ve had over the past month, so I’m not going to take offense to that. But I will tell you, truthfully, that I haven’t brought any women here. I keep things casual, and I don’t bring hookups to my home.”

“Oh.”

“And before you say it and piss both of us off, no. You’re not a hookup, you’re not casual. So, I’m going to put you in that bath so you can relax. What do you want to eat?”

“How do you know that I’m hungry?”

He wipes a tear away and smiles softly. “Because I just do. What do you want? I’ll order in anything that you’re in the mood for.”

“I want you to just order something and not make me choose.”

“Okay. I’ll wing it.” He tugs my shirt up over my head and tosses it in the hamper. Then he works my leggings down my legs, and they follow the shirt.

After he has my bra and panties taken care of, he leads me to the tub and helps me inside, and when the hot water envelops me, I sigh.

And my eyes fill with tears again.

“Cry if you need to,” he says softly, which only makes me even more gooey. “I’m right here. I’m gonna go order some food, and I’ll be right back.”

I’m too tired to even answer him when he walks away. This tub is nice. It’s big enough for about three people.

Okay, really it’s only big enough for me and Xander because he’s a big guy.

I use the shower gel on the ledge and wash my bits, then lean back and soak. I must drift a little because I wake up to Xander grabbing a fluffy blue towel off a warming rack, and he helps me out of the water and wraps it around me, hugging me to him.

“How did that feel?”

“So nice.”