Page 18 of The Dating Ban (Mind the Corbin Brothers #1)

“Jasper,” she interrupts, her voice taking on that firm, no-nonsense tone she usually reserves for unhelpful contractors. “Out. Now.”

He stares at her for a moment, then sighs heavily. “You’re terrifying.”

She smirks. “I know.”

With one last look at me, Jasper shakes his head in defeat and heads toward the door. Christa follows, all but herding him outside like a stubborn sheepdog.

“Be good, you two!” she calls over her shoulder.

The front door swings shut, leaving just me and Lucy standing in the obnoxiously nice kitchen.

We look at each other and giggle.

Lucy dashes toward the stairs. “Pool! Pool! Pool!” she chants as she scurries up, her little feet thudding against the polished wood.

I follow behind, a little slower but definitely not not looking forward to sinking into warm water and pretending for at least an hour that my life is not mild chaos.

I reach the top of the landing and find Lucy in a room that looks like a guest bedroom. She is kneeling over a small backpack. Eventually she pulls a pink bathing suit from it and spins on the spot, throwing her arms in the air. “I’m so ready for the pool!”

I rub a hand over my face, suppressing a laugh. “Lu, it’s not a pool, it’s a hot tub.”

She frowns. “But it’s full of water. ”

“Yes.”

“And it has bubbles.”

“Also, yes.”

She narrows her eyes like she’s about to dismantle my argument with five-year-old logic. “And you sit in it.”

I nod. “That is correct.”

She crosses her arms. “Then it’s a pool.”

I sigh. “Fine. It’s a very tiny, very warm pool.”

Satisfied, she holds out her bright pink swimsuit covered in little starfish, holding it up triumphantly. “I love my pool swimsuit!”

I grin. “Good, because you’re going to need it.”

Lucy flings off her T-shirt without a second thought and wrestles her way into the swimsuit, arms getting momentarily tangled before she pops her head out through the right hole. She wiggles her toes against the floor and bounces slightly.

“I’m ready.”

“Almost,” I say, grabbing an equally pink dressing gown I can see peaking out of her backpack.

Lucy’s nose wrinkles. “I don’t need that.”

“You absolutely need this,” I declare solemnly.

She scowls. “Why?”

“Because,” I say, crouching down to her level, “it’s spa day rules.”

“I don’t know the rules," she says with a sad voice.

“Well, let me tell you.” I hold up a finger like I’m revealing ancient wisdom. “Rule number one: Bathrobes are very important. All spa guests must wear them on their way to the pool.”

Lucy narrows her eyes. “Why?”

“Because it makes you fancy. ”

She tilts her head, clearly considering this. “Fancy like the ladies in the movies?”

“Exactly.”

She gasps, grabs the robe, and practically throws it around her shoulders like she’s stepping onto the red carpet. “Ooooh, I am fancy.”

I grin. “Rule number two: You have to walk like you’re a VIP… a very important person.”

She immediately stands taller, lifting her chin like she’s royalty. “Like this?”

“Perfect,” I confirm, tying her gown properly before grabbing my own. “I’ll just get quickly changed. Wait here for me, Lu,” I say, slipping into the bathroom across the hall that I had seen on the way in. I pull on my black one piece and my white dressing gown and return to Lucy.

With towels in hand, we make our way downstairs, Lucy practically floating like the Queen.

The back garden is just as ridiculous as the rest of the house—sprawling lawns, flower beds that look like something out of a National Trust estate, and next to the stone patio, a very inviting-looking hot tub, the water already bubbling in the afternoon air.

Lucy throws off her dressing gown dramatically onto a chair. “I’m going in first!”

I shake my head. “Carefully!”

Lucy stops just before the hot tub, her face lighting up with excitement. “Wait!” She spins on her heel and dashes to the little shed at the corner of the house, leaving me standing there, confused.

A few seconds later, she bursts back out onto the patio, waving a pair of neon orange swimming armbands in the air like she’s just won a prize .

“I need these!” she announces proudly.

I blink. “Lucy, it’s a hot tub, not a swimming pool.”

“But I want to float,” she insists, already jamming one of the inflatable armbands onto her tiny arm with sheer determination.

“You do know you can just sit in the water, right?”

She puffs out her chest. “But this way, I can be like a jellyfish.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose, but honestly, how do you argue with that?

“Fine,” I sigh, kneeling down to help her wrestle the second armband onto her other arm. “But no wild splashing, okay?”

She nods seriously, though I can already tell she has zero intention of keeping that promise.

Once she’s fully seaworthy, she struts to the small wooden steps and climbs carefully over the edge of the hot tub into the water. The second she leans back, her little arms pop up to the surface, and she giggles as the bubbles swirl around her.

“I’m floating!” she squeals.

I shake my head, laughing as I step in after her, letting the hot water instantly relax my muscles.

Lucy closes her eyes, drifting lazily. “This is so nice.”

I let my head tip back against the edge, feeling the warmth sink into my skin.

Yeah. This was a very good idea.

Just as I’m about to fully relax, the sound of the door from inside the house draws our attention.

Christa strides onto the patio, handbag on one shoulder, two bulky shopping bags on the other— every bit a woman on a mission.

“You started without me?!” she gasps, looking genuinely offended.

Lucy giggles, kicking her legs. “You were taking Uncle Jasper to the doctor!”

“I was!” she huffs, setting the shopping bags down with a dramatic flourish. “And then I very kindly stopped to pick up some essentials.”

I eye the bags warily. “What kind of essentials?”

Christa smirks, grabbing her things. “I brought the spa here.”

Before I can question her further, she spins on her heel and marches inside, disappearing into the house like she’s about to execute some grand plan.

I blink after her, then glance at Lucy, who is watching with wide eyes.

“What’s in the bags?” she whispers.

“No idea,” I whisper back.

Lucy giggles, then tilts her head. “Do you think she got snacks?”

I laugh. “If she knows what’s good for her.”

Christa’s head pops back out of the doorway. “Oh, by the way, Jasper gave me his keys in case we need to pop out for something.” She waves them in the air. “Now please tell me there’s still room in that hot tub.”

I shake my head. “That depends. What’s actually in those bags?”

She grins. “You’ll see,” she whispers mysteriously before sliding into the water and taking a seat next to me.

Whatever she’s got planned, I have a feeling this day is about to get even more ridiculous.