“I better, or no baby time for you,” I threatened.
Rhys gasped dramatically. “That’s low.” He glanced my way, and I made sure to keep a straight face. “You wouldn’t.”
I grinned at him. “I so would. No Uncle Rhys time for you.”
“Stop whining. You’re gonna enjoy this.” Rhys huffed. “Babies, remember how mean your papa was to your Uncle Rhys.”
I laughed again. “Oh, don’t sulk. You’re going to be these babies’ uncle and godfather.”
“What?” Rhys’s hand tightened around the steering wheel. He took his eyes off the road for a second, and I saw the emotion there.
“Me, really?” His voice was choked. “I thought it had to be a friend since I’m the uncle.”
“You are my friend, though, Rhys,” I reminded him. “And you’re my brother, so I don’t know who else I would possibly choose to be our babies’ godfather.”
“You’re so sappy,” he sniffed.
I also had to wipe tears from my eyes. And I found myself thanking everything for whoever had paired Rhys and me up as roommates.
We left the ranch, but instead of going right towards town, we went left, towards the mountains. “I thought we were going shopping.”
“I never said we were. You assumed. I didn’t correct you,” Rhys corrected me.
“So where are we going?”
“Can you just chill and wait for your surprise!” Rhys smirked at me. Clearly, he was pleased with himself.
“This better be good,” I said in a sing-song voice, “or someone won’t be getting baby time.” I patted my belly in emphasis.
“Evil,” Rhys muttered but loud enough so I heard him. Suddenly, the two of us burst out laughing. And the rest of the car ride was made in companionable silence.
It took about twenty minutes before we turned off the road. There was a sign, but I didn’t catch it as we went up an incline. About a mile in, the road widened and a large log structure with slanted roofs and floor-to-ceiling windows in the middle appeared.
It was perfectly framed by the mountain behind it and the river in front.
“Wow, this is beautiful.” I craned my neck to get a better look.
Rhys parked, then turned to me. “Spa day, anyone?”
My eyes widened. “Oh my gosh! Yes, please!” I was huge, and a day of being pampered sounded perfect. I patted my belly again. “Boys, looks like we love Uncle Rhys again.”
Rhys snorted and turned the car off. “Boys, your papa is cray-cray. Ignore him.”
I laughed and opened the door. Rhys was out of the car and by my side helping me down from the SUV in an instant.
“I so totally would not have thought spa day,” I admitted.
“I know,” Rhys replied. We started towards the building, and Rhys linked our arms. “But they do a pregnancy massage I thought would be perfect for you.”
I moaned. “That sounds wonderful. Between your nephews using my bladder as a trampoline and pushing my organs higher than they should be, a rub-down sounds wonderful.”
He hip-checked me. “I thought only Gabe rubbed you down.”
“Hardy har har! You’re so very funny.”
“Thank you,” Rhys replied dryly.
He supported me up the stairs, and when we entered the spa, I sighed. It was so welcoming with the light coming in from the back. The layout of the lobby was open, and there was something so welcoming about the space. Light and airy, modern but not cold. Asheville kept surprising and impressing me. This was something I expected in Aspen or Vail, not in a small town in Colorado with under two thousand residents.
