“Did you seriously just?—”
“Consider it your souvenir,” he says, and when I catch up to him, he’s already strapping the hat to my basket, his hands lingering on mine.
“It's so extra,” I complain, crinkling my nose. “I’ll never wear it.”
“But you’ll remember it every time you see it in the closet,” he leans in and presses a kiss to my forehead. “And that’s what matters. Now,” he turns to the guys as they join us. “We need to start the rest of our afternoon.”
I tilt my head at him. “There’s more?”
He grins—and this time I’m certain it’s mischievous. “Oh, honey, this was just the introduction.”
I laugh, my heart skipping a few beats, as I give in to the craziness. “Well, okay then. Onward, we go.”
He kisses me once more. “That’s my good girl.”
The stone archway flanked by torches is massive. The name on the metal entryway sign reads Solace.
I squint, trying to read the bottom few words, but miss it as the Tahoe whips around the circular drive.
Emmett whistles. “Brody, you baller. You would pick the nicest fucking place ever.”
Brody rolls his eyes and then grins at me. “C’mon, Georgie.”
My jaw drops as we make our way inside. I take in the high arched ceilings, fountains with rippling water, and air scented with eucalyptus and orange blossoms. We’re greeted by a stunning woman in a spa uniform. She ushers us into a lounge complete with swimsuits and robes so plush I want to steal one and take it home.
“Please, follow me,” says the woman, who introduces herself as Jade.
As we walk down the hall, the spa seems to be completely empty except for us. I whisper to Emmett, “Did Brody buy out the entire spa?”
Emmett leans in. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”
I roll my eyes, but the moment we pass through the frosted doors, all my sass disappears when I see the gorgeous room.
There is a string of therapy pools, each set up to either calm or shock your nervous system. The first is a shallow, sky-blue infinity pool with warm salt water. Steam rises in waves, and the light off the water is so bright I have to squint.
Jade gestures to the benches that line the pool. “Your first plunge, please. Relax for ten minutes.”
Miles strips down to his navy swim trunks in two seconds flat. He glances at me and grins, totally unbothered by the fact that we’re basically in a very freaking expensive spa ad right now.
Emmett and Brody are right behind, revealing their broad, perfectly-muscled chests. I slip out of my robe and slide into the pool, “Damn, it’s hot—” but my body adjusts quickly, flooding my limbs with endorphins.
Brody sits next to me on the submerged bench, arm draped casually along the edge. “I figured we could all use a little decompression before heading north again.”
Miles sinks into my other side, stretching out his long legs. “This is so decadent,” he sighs, eyelids closing.
Emmett doesn’t even sit—he just floats, star-fished, eyes closed, like he’s in a sensory deprivation tank.
I finally allow myself to close my own eyes and let myself melt. All the tension of the past week, the family drama, the ugly confrontations, the old memories—it all just drains out, replaced by a lovely, floaty sense of being exactly where I’m supposed to be.
After ten minutes, Jade reappears. “Your next pool awaits. Please follow the blue tiles.”
The tiles wind us around to a second pool, this one much smaller, and ringed by a ledge of river stones. The steam is gone. Instead, a swirling mist of cold hovers over the surface.
Emmett bounces on the balls of his feet. “Is this one cold?”
Jade’s replies. “It is precisely forty-nine degrees Fahrenheit.”
Miles goes white. “That’s fucking hypothermia.”
