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Nick narrowed his eyes. “I’d like to extend it for the whole evening.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible.”
“Two hours is more than enough,” I answered, wondering what she meant about our “slot.”
“I’d give you keys to the changing rooms, but since it’ll be just the two of you for the entire duration, that’s not necessary.”
I blinked several times. “Just the two of us?”
“Yes. Mr. Whitley booked the whole place.”
My mouth fell open as I turned to look at him. That grin. Oh, it was smug and so damn sexy. I was already overheating, and we hadn’t even reached the sauna yet.
The woman led us from the main area, then pointed to the left and said, “Men’s changing room is upstairs, and the women’s is on the other side. You can also change in the same space. It doesn’t matter in this case.” She smiled at Nick as if he’d hung the moon—and, well, he kind of did.
“Anything else you need, we’re right here at your service.” She turned to me with a brilliant smile. “Your fiancé is a very generous man.”
I was too stunned to reply, so I just smiled and nodded.
Once she was gone, I looked at Nick. His grin was smugger than before, if that was even possible.
“Cat got your tongue?” he asked playfully.
“No, you did.” I only realized how that sounded after the words were out, of course.Oh goodness.This evening was off to an interesting start. “Nick, I can’t believe... This is too much.”
“One thing you have to learn, Allison, is that things with me are always on a grand scale. Life is too short to do any less.”
Wasn’t that the truth?
“Thanks. This is more than I could have ever imagined.”
“I figured you’d relax even more if there were no people around.”
“You’re right. I’m going to change. Oh, I didn’t even ask. Their steam and bath sauna, are they clothed ones? Can I use it with a bikini, or do I have to be...?” I couldn’t bring myself to say the wordnaked, which was just downright silly. We were thirtysomething-year-old adults, not teenagers.
“Clothing,” Nick said, and his voice didn’t sound so nonchalant either anymore.
“Great. See you soon!”
It was an eerie feeling to be completely alone in a changing room. I didn’t bother going into any of the cubicles, just dropped my clothes on the large counter in front of the mirror and put on my bikini. It didn’t cover much, but I was proud of my body even though lately I wasn’t able to work out as much as in the past. The twins kept me busy and moving, though, and that helped a lot.
The guilt of being away from them gnawed at my insides again, and I chastised myself.
Allison, you’re with them every night. Just relax tonight.
Yeah, but you booked Doreen again for Friday and for Saturday.
Stop it, Allison. Just enjoy it.
So I did. I pulled my hair up, tying it with an elastic band, then headed out of the changing room—and nearly swallowed my tongue.
Nick looked absolutely delicious in swim trunks. My God, those abs. How were they even possible? When I was at the gym, I’d seen a lot of men training, but Nick looked sculpted. That eight-pack and the V lines disappearing into his trunks... holy shit. Not to mention his arms. They were strong, almost to the point of bulky, but they worked on him because he was so damn tall and big.
“Are you listening?” His tone implied that he’d asked me something before and was waiting for my reply. But ogling Nick Whitley was a full-body effort. My ears hadn’t been functioning at all.
“Hmm?” I asked.
He grinned. “What do you want to do first?”