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Then he noticed something he hadn’t before. Brooke was sending meaningful glances in Kat’s direction, mouthing something he couldn’t make out. When she saw him watching, she stopped and scooped up a forkful of pasta.
“Why did you book me a spa day?” Kat’s question drew his attention away from her friend’s odd behavior.
This, at least, he could answer. “Because you seem overworked and if you sell to me, you’d have the time and money to visit the spa more often.”
“Ah.” She nodded. “You’re showing me what I’m missing out on.”
He didn’t respond. She wasn’t wrong.
“Okay, I’ll go to the spa, but you have to make me a promise in return.”
“That hardly seems fair. I played your introductions game this morning.”
She smiled tightly. “Humor me. For the rest of your stay here, ditch the suits. You’re on holiday.”
Considering the cook’s horse of a dog had ruined his suit and it wouldn’t be ready for a few days, agreeing wasn’t a hardship. “Fine, I can do that.”
* * *
The following morning,a warm breeze stirred Kat’s hair as she walked to Beauty in the Bay. Birds sang from trees, and in the distance, she could hear waves rolling onto the beach. She closed her eyes for a moment and smiled. Haven Bay on a summer morning was one of her favorite experiences, closely followed by spring, when the flowers were blooming, and autumn, when the leaves turned hues of orange, red and yellow and littered the ground. Winter, she could do without. Although there was something to be said for long days spent inside while rain drummed on the roof.
She passed the glamping pods and waved to a couple who were eating breakfast at a picnic table. Outside the local primary school, half a dozen cars were parked while parents accompanied their children to the gate.
“Hi, Shane,” she said cheerfully to the teacher manning the road crossing, his preschool-age son hanging off his leg.
“Morning, Kat,” he replied, nodding to her. His son, Hunter, waved shyly, his face half-hidden behind Shane’s thigh.
She waved back and called out, “Morena, Hunter. Are you helping your papa today?”
“Yes, Mrs. Hopa.”
“Ka pai. You’re doing good.” She gave him a thumbs up and picked up the pace as a pair of mums approached, both looking far better than anyone ought to at this time of day, and both wearing predatory smiles. Shane beseeched her with his eyes not to leave, but she just laughed and carried on.
When she reached the spa, she paused outside and wondered if Anica and Harriet Rubis-Staats, the owners, would be particularly bothered if she turned around and went back to Sanctuary. It had been an enjoyable walk, but she couldn’t really spare four hours away from work.
But she had agreed to give Sterling a chance to persuade her to the dark side. While she may not have the slightest intention of changing her mind, she should at least make it look like she was open to the idea. She dithered on the doorstep, then a light flickered on, prompting her to action. She’d gone five steps in the opposite direction when a woman yelled after her.
“Kat? We’re opening up. Where are you going?”
Kat bit into her lip, swung around and pasted on a false smile. “Harriet! It’s been ages. How are you? You look great.”
Harriet raised a pierced brow and put a hand on her hip. “Girl, I know you were not just doing what it looks like you were doing, because most people would kill for a massage from my Anica. She has magic hands and you’re going to go inside and act like there’s nowhere you’d rather be and neither of us will mention this—” with two fingers, she gestured back and forth between them “—interlude. Hear me?”
“Loud and clear.” Kat’s cheeks heated in a guilty flush and she mumbled a quick prayer of gratitude that it was Harriet who’d caught her fleeing and not her wife, Anica, who’d most likely have watched her go, and then wondered whether she was somehow to blame.
Inside the waiting room, where soft piano music played and a water feature bubbled beside the desk, Anica greeted her with a welcoming smile. “Good morning, gorgeous.”
Coming around the desk, she put a hand on Kat’s shoulder and kissed her cheek, bringing with her the scent of vanilla. Kat kissed her cheek in return and hoped Anica would use that body lotion on her during their session.
“Hi, lovely,” Kat replied. “I hear I have you all to myself for the morning.”
“That’s right.” Anica beamed, revealing teeth that were perfectly straight, courtesy of the braces she’d worn as a teenager. The expression transformed her from merely pretty to captivating, especially when combined with her flawless complexion, courtesy of her Lithuanian mother. “We’ll start off with a massage, then an exfoliating back scrub, a facial, and finish with a manicure and pedicure. Does that sound great, or what? This mystery man of yours sure knows how to pamper a girl.”
It sounded like a long time to sit still and dwell on whatever was happening at Sanctuary.
“Looking forward to it,” she said, not wanting to disappoint Anica or dent her ego by being unenthusiastic. “And there’s no mystery man.”
Anica blinked at her expectantly. “Oh, so you’re openly dating him?”
