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“You too.”
“Have a great time with him. If you can still walk tomorrow, I’ll know you didn’t give a hundred percent.”
“Kate! Jeez. Love to everyone.” I end the call, rolling my eyes.
Below me, Mack and Gus are making their way back. Mack looks up, sees me, and blows me a kiss. I do the same, warming through, then go back inside to make sure the bath isn’t running over.
It’s half full, so I turn off the taps. There aren’t any bath salts or anything, which seems strange, but there’s a container of shower gel, so I pump a couple of handfuls of that into the water and swoosh it about a bit to make a few bubbles.
The front door opens, and I go back into the living room to see Mack come in with a wagging Gus. “Nighttime biscuit, then bed,” Mack informs him, pulling a packet out of his bag and producing a doggy biscuit. Gus sits, then takes it back to his bed, turns around half a dozen times, and finally settles down to crunch happily.
“It smells great out there.” Mack pours some cold water into a bowl and puts it on the tiles for Gus. “Jasmine all along the front of the hotel, lemons on the trees, and the salt from the sea. It smells like freedom.” He chuckles. “You want a drink? I thought I’d call room service.”
“Mm, yes please.”
“G&T?”
“Ooh yes.”
“Want anything to eat? I might get a sandwich.”
“You’ve got hollow legs. I’m fine, thank you.”
He makes the call, and I go into the bathroom and start taking off my jewelry. A few moments later, he comes in, goes over to the bath, and presses a button on the side. A loud hum begins, and then jets start shooting bubbles through the water.
“Oh! I didn’t realize it was a spa bath.” I’m excited. I’ve never been in one before.
I go into the living room to plug in my phone, and he follows me, then pulls me into his arms again. “I’ve been thinking about this all day,” he murmurs, sliding his hands down over my hips and kissing up my jaw to my ear.
“I’m all sandy,” I whisper.
“You smell of summer.” He nuzzles my ear, then bends and picks me up.
I squeal. “You’ll drop me!”
“What do you weigh? A hundred and twenty pounds?” he scoffs.
“I’m five foot ten—if I weighed a hundred and twenty pounds you’d miss me if I turned sideways. I weigh distinctly more than that.”
“Good job I’m six two then.” He turns, sits on the bed, and lies back so I’m on top.
I kiss him, and he sinks his hands into my hair, then laughs as his fingers get caught in the sticky curls. “I see what you mean.”
“I know. It’s disgusting, sorry. It’s like seaweed.”
“It’s not like seaweed. It’s beautiful.” He kisses me. “You’re beautiful.” He looks into my eyes for a long moment, and my heart bangs on my ribs. He opens his mouth to say something, but at that moment there’s a knock on the door, and Gus barks. “Room service,” he says. “Can you hold Gus?”
I lift off him and pick up Gus’s lead, and Mack goes to the door to let the guy bring in the tray with our drinks and his sandwiches. We don’t normally tip in New Zealand, but I spot Mack giving him a folded note, and the guy says, “Oh, thank you, sir,” before heading out.
“These look good,” Mack says. “Mind if I eat in the bath?”
I laugh. “Not at all. The idea of having the G&T in there is quite—oh!” I stop at the entrance to the bathroom and clap a hand over my mouth.
He follows me with the tray and stares, then starts laughing.
“I didn’t know it was a spa bath,” I say meekly. “I put some shower gel in.”
The bath is filled with bubbles. There are so many that they’re spilling out onto the floor and floating in the air.
