A couple of minutes pass, and I’m still not sure what to do. I should probably just chalk it all up to exhaustion and go to bed. But just as I’m stretching and about to stand up, I hear his footsteps on the stairs again.
I turn to watch as he comes into view, expecting to see an irritated look or maybe even a cold shoulder. Instead, he simply motions for me to join him.
“Come with me.”
“What?” Now I’m more confused than ever. “Where?”
“Just trust me. Come on.”
I do trust him, and I’m too tired to put up any resistance. He leads me upstairs to the guest bathroom—not my en suite, but the larger one down the hall.
When he pushes open the door, the first thing I notice is the floral scent wafting out into the hallway. It’s like roses and jasmine and… honey? Honeysuckle?
Whatever it is, it’s amazing, and my feet are already carrying me forward in impatient anticipation.
The enormous sunken bathtub is filled to the rim with bubbles, and there are even a few candles lit throughout the bathroom.
“Oh my goodness.” I can’t keep my mouth from falling open as I look around and take it all in. “Grant, this is wonderful. You did all of this?”
“For you.” He shrugs and offers that hesitant grin again. “I just thought it might help with your shoulders.”
I’m totally speechless for the second time tonight. Nobody has drawn a bath, let alone a bubble bath, for me since I was a little girl. And again, it’s the simplest thing in the world, but it’salso one of the most thoughtful gestures anyone has done for me in a really long time.
My stomach does that fluttery thing that I’ve been feeling more and more lately as I turn to look back at the bathtub. It’s beautiful. Like something straight out of a movie.
It’s impossible to hold back a contented sigh when I meet his gaze again. “I don’t know what to say except thank you. You’ve done so much, and I don’t have a clue how I’m going to repay all your kindness.”
“There’s nothing to repay.” His brow wrinkles for a second like he wants to say more, but then his features smooth out again as he takes a step back toward the door. “I’ll leave you to it. And I’ll be down the hall in my room, so just yell for me if you need anything.”
Once he’s gone, I undress and sink into the hot water, only belatedly biting down on a moan as the tension in my neck and shoulders starts to fade.
Just as I’m closing my eyes and tilting my head back so the water eases up to my earlobes, my phone alarm goes off.
It’s the reminder I set for myself about tomorrow’s schedule, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
The noise is loud and jarring in the otherwise peaceful, serene bathroom, and I scramble to reach for my discarded clothes but can’t come close to reaching them without tracking water all over the bathroom floor.
Shit.
I don’t want to call out for help, but I also don’t want that alarm to keep going off until it wakes April.
Shit, shit, shit.
“Grant?” I wince, feeling like a complete idiot for letting this happen.
He did tell me to yell for him if I needed anything. Hopefully that wasn’t just one of those nice things people say but don’t mean.
Within seconds, he’s outside the bathroom door. “Is everything okay in there?”
And now I feel even worse because he sounds genuinely concerned.
“Sorry, yeah, it’s my phone alarm. Can you, um, come in and turn it off for me? Please?”
Lord, this is embarrassing. My cheeks are flushed with heat even before the door slowly opens and I see the amused smirk on his face.
“Should I avert my eyes, or are you good?”
Yeah, this is absolutely mortifying.
