“Well… Thank you,” she said. She gestured toward the water. “Care to join me?”
“Honey, I don’t think?—”
She rolled her eyes. “This tub is massive, Duke. Get your ass in here before I drag you in.”
“I’d quite like to see you try,” I said.
I pushed off the frame and started toward her, reaching behind my neck and pulling my t-shirt off. It hit the floor with a soft thud, followed quickly by my sweats and briefs.
She sucked in a breath as her gaze dipped down my body. It was a strange sort of confidence. One I wasn’t used to.
I’d always been a bigger guy, which hadn’t bothered me until much later in life. Sports and the gym kept me lean enough, but I was never going to be the man to have washboard abs and blatant muscle definition.
Last night, Olivia had taken those fears and squashed them beneath her red-bottomed stilettos.
“Scoot up,” I said, stepping into the tub.
Water sloshed over the side as I settled in behind her. She leaned back, resting her head on my shoulder as my arms found her waist. Classical renditions of pop songs played softly in the background.
It was peaceful.
She was peaceful.
“I like these moments alone with you,” I quietly confessed. “They feel special.”
Olivia was silent for a moment before nodding. “They’re my favorite. It’s like we’re the only two people in the world.”
I pressed a kiss to her temple, savoring the heat along her skin. There was so much I could say, but what good would it do? I was terrified of breaking us out of this bubble we’d found ourselves in. It felt safe here.
Even if all we were doing was slowly breaking our own hearts.
“If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?” I asked.
She hummed, taking a sip of her wine. “Who’s going?”
“As much as I love the girls, they’re staying home this time,” I said.
“I’ve been to so many places. London, Paris, Milan.” She listed each one, ticking them off her fingers. “And they’re extraordinary, don’t get me wrong?—”
“But?” I couldn’t help but run my fingers across the expanse of her stomach and up to her breasts. Soon, I wouldn’t be able to do this whenever I wanted, so I needed to take full advantage of it while I could.
“But, other than this tub in this cottage right now,” she said, smiling. “I’d most like to go back to that cabin John rented for us.”
“The one from graduation?”
She nodded. “It felt simpler back then. I still had my whole life ahead of me. No kids or ex-partners or careers. It was just you, me, Lukas, and John for one full weekend.” Her words trailed off. “I don’t even know if it still exists, but in a perfect world, I imagine it does and that’s where I’d like to go.”
“There’s an easy way to find out. You could go there any time you wanted,” I said, bringing my hands up to her shoulders. The muscles beneath my fingers were tight. I rubbed them gently, enjoying the way she melted into my touch.
“It wouldn’t be the same without you.” I waited for her to say more, to add in Lukas at the very least.
It wouldn’t be the same withoutme.
“Maybe we can make that dream come true sometime,” I murmured, kissing the spot beneath her ear.
“Really?”
“I think—I hope—you know by now that there isn’t much I wouldn’t do for you, honey.”