Page 157 of Brighter Together

I open the door.

Steam rolls out around me.

Ella is sitting in the bath beneath a ridiculous amount of foam with a book propped in one hand.

Her hair is piled loosely on top of her head.

She looks up.

“Hi.”

Everything in me settles a little.

“Hi.”

She closes the book around one finger.

“Hope you don’t mind. I thought a bath might help me relax.”

“Why would I mind?”

“I’ve basically taken over your bathroom.”

I look at the bottle of bubble bath on the floor.

Then at the towel she has somehow managed to hang over three separate hooks.

“Clearly.”

Her mouth twitches.

That is better.

“Can I join you?”

Her smile grows.

I don’t need anything more than that.

I start undressing.

Ella closes the book properly and drops it onto the bath mat.

“You’re very eager.”

“I’ve spent most of the morning wanting to get back here.”

The words slip out before I think about them.

Her expression softens.

I step into the bath behind her.

Warm water closes around me.

My body relaxes almost immediately, but the knot inside my chest doesn’t loosen until Ella shifts back against me and I can wrap both arms around her.

There.