I breathed out a laugh and shook my head, fighting the stinging in my eyes and the lump in my throat that had no business being there. “You’re absurd.”
“Maybe. But I’m also right.”
“About what?”
“You need this,” he said softly. Firmly. “Not just when your back’s killing you. You deserve to rest even when you’re not in excruciating pain and your bodymakesyou. Which is why I also set up weekly appointments with Luna for massage. She knows about your back and says she’s confident she can find ways to help you relax, even if it won’t alleviate your pain.”
Fuck. That did it.
A tear spilled over as I wrapped my arms around his waist, pressed my face into his chest, and breathed him in. His heartbeat was slow and steady under me, a perfect melody I hadn’t realized I’d come to depend on.
“Thank you,” I murmured.
He pressed a kiss to the top of my head, running his hand softly up and down my spine. “You can thank me by getting your sweet ass in that tub.”
I pulled back, glancing up at him. “That sounds to me like you’re trying to get me naked outside, husband.”
“You’d be right, wife.”
His touch was warm and comforting as he slid his hands under my shirt to lift it up and over my head. He was slow, methodical, as he stripped me bare, kissing his way across my exposed skin. So reverent and adoring.
When he touched me like this—looked at me like this—he made it so easy to forget about the stretch marks on my hips and the belly pooch that wouldn’t go away and the scars all over my skin. Made me forget all the ways my body had changed thanks to years of hard work and pain.
He always made me feel beautiful.
When I was naked, he helped me into the tub, one hand under mine, his other warm against my lower back, steadying me as I sank into the steaming water.
I groaned, allowing my eyes to close for a moment as I relaxed into pure heaven.
“Okay,” I admitted with a sigh. “I take it back. You’re not ridiculous. You’re a genius.”
Lincoln sat in one of the swinging egg chairs beside the tub, that familiar twinkle in his eyes. “I’m going to need that in writing when you get out.”
“I’ll make sure you get a notarized copy,” I murmured as I sank deeper into the water, an involuntary sigh leaving me as my eyelids fluttered closed again.
After a moment, I cracked open one eye to find him watching me, a satisfied smile on his face. “Seems to me you picked the largest tub you could find. Definitely room for two in here.”
“Don’t toy with me, hellcat.”
“I would never.” I raised a brow in his direction when he didn’t move. “What are you waiting for?”
Lincoln’s shirt hit the patio first, then his jeans, his movements so fast and graceless it was comical. He cursed under his breath when he nearly tripped over his pant leg, and I couldn’t stop the giggle from bursting free.
“Smooth.”
“Shut up,” he said without heat. Then he slid in behind me with a tenderness that made my throat burn. “My gorgeous-as-fuck wife is sitting here naked and asked me to join her. Do you blame me for my clumsiness?”
He wrapped his arms around my waist and tucked his chin against my shoulder, our bodies fitting together like puzzle pieces.
We sat in silence, watching as the sun dipped below the horizon, the sky streaked in shades of pink, purple, and gold. The linen curtains fluttered in the breeze as crickets chirped, water lapped against the copper basin, and the wind whispered through the trees.
“I forget how beautiful it is out here,” I murmured, resting my head against his shoulder.
“I’m telling you—Sunset Soaks could sell the shit out of this place. Private outdoor soaking tub, fresh-picked peony bouquets, and a jam board with flavors not yet available for purchase? Plus, we could do tours—give them the whole small-town farm-life experience. We’d be millionaires by May.”
I snorted, dragging my fingers up and down his bare thighs as they bracketed mine. “Millionaires is aiming a little high, husband. And where are we going to stay while strangers sleep in our bed, soak in our tub, and eat our jam?”
“The farmhouse,” he said easily. “We’ll be in it before the end of the year.”
