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“Let’s go in one of those small tubs. No, wait, the steam room.” I laughed. “I can’t decide. Do you have any preference?”
“The tub sounds good.”
I nodded. “I never quite like going into a tub after I’ve been in a steam room or a sauna. I feel that no matter how much I shower, I can’t get the sweat off myself.” I spoke very quickly, which only happened when I was nervous, but I hoped he wouldn’t pick up on it.
I walked in front of him because that made ogling him more difficult. I was certain that if I kept doing it, he’d catch on eventually.
We both used the showers next to the pool. The water was pleasantly warm, which instantly relaxed me. I hated when the shower next to even a heated pool was freezing cold. What was the point of it? To give me hypothermia?
Afterward, I walked down the pool steps carefully. The water was perfect. The bottom of the pool was dark blue withiridescent lights to look like the sky, and the overhead lights throughout the area were dimmed. I had to give it to Nick—it was peaceful to know that there were no other people here. No conversations going on, no one else moving through the water or flipping magazines while lying on the sunbeds.
There was a huge moonlit window in the ceiling, and I leaned back to admire the view.
“This is amazing,” I said.
“Yeah, it really is.”
I looked at Nick. He was looking at me, not at the pool.
I swallowed hard. Had tonight been a mistake? No. I was simply on edge. Nick was doing a very nice thing. That was all.
“Thanks for this.”
“My pleasure. And just so you know, there’s more to come.”
“Oh?” I said as he walked closer to me.
Oh, no, no. He couldn’t just flash his perfectly sculpted torso in front of my eyes. Did he want to make me weak in the knees? Was that his endgame? Because I could see myself heading straight to Puddleville.
“Nothing,” Nick said. “I’ve already said too much.”
I lowered myself into the water, swimming backward to give myself something to do. But the tub was small, so there wasn’t much swimming. I wondered why they’d put so many sunbeds around it. There was no way that you could fit more than ten people in here, and even then you’d be crammed next to one another like sardines.
“Are you relaxing?” he asked.
“Yes,” I replied truthfully, then glanced at him again. He’d joined me in the water. That was good, safe. I mean, his eyes were also very, very ogle worthy, but I’d at least gotten used to them. But those muscles? Hell no.
“You’ve had a rough week,” he concluded.
“I’ve had rougher, but it’s been intense. I keep wondering if I decided the right thing in one aspect.”
“Want to share it with me?”
I was surprised. I’d never actually had someone to talk about work with. Whenever I’d gone on dates, and even when I’d had boyfriends, we rarely chatted about each other’s jobs.
“My boss asked if I wanted to take on an extra project, an M&A.”
Nick frowned. “An M&A? Merger and acquisition, right? That’s a whole lot of work.”
“Yes, I know. In the past I’ve always volunteered for projects like that. But now with the twins... “
“Allison,” Nick said. “I’ll be around from now on, so if that’s something you want to do, then you should do it.”
Oh my goodness.Had the water suddenly gotten even hotter? Because I was hyperventilating.
Nope. I was actually melting.
“I can’t believe you just said that.”