“Hungry?”
“No.There was food at the meeting.I just want a bath and bed.”
“That can be arranged.Come.”We turn toward the stairs.“How about a foot massage?”
I stop to stare up at him as if he’s a god.Reverent and grateful.Inky curls hang over his forehead, no longer perfectly brushed back in place like they usually are.He looks younger.Boyish, yet still sexy.
“Is that even a question?”
“I believe it is.Let’s get you into a bath and I’ll rub your feet.”
My fingers curl into the fabric of his crisp shirt; I am weak-kneed and ready to weep.“Oh my God, I love you.”
My head snaps up to look at him.Fear flashes in his steely blue eyes and we both stiffen.“I mean, c’mon, rub my feet.That’s one way to have me at your mercy.”I’m animated, eyes bright and forcing the shine into my voice to hide the regret of my reckless slip of the tongue.“Yes, please.”
He shakes his head, an artful smile tiptoeing on his full lips as his features soften.We make it to the bedroom in silence where he draws a bath, adding lavender-scented bubbles, and I sink into the hot tub.
Kneeling, he dips his hands into the water, searching and finding one foot and then the other.Grabbing my ankles, he places both my feet on the edge of the tub and his strong, magical fingers massage away the ache.“Now tell me, how was the meeting?”
I moan, dipping a little farther into the tub.“I don’t know what I’m doing or what your grandmother was thinking in asking me to do this.”
“That bad, huh?”
“No.”I release a fatigued sigh, fluttering my eyes open.
He stares at me, heavy-lidded, roaming my calves, most of my body hidden by white foam, and then his heated gaze lands on the swell of my breasts before languidly moving up to my face.I smirk, pursing my lips, and close my eyes again.
“Everything was fine.Everyone was lovely.They approved the budget and the charity.”
“So what’s the problem?”He shifts, an elbow grazing my exposed knee.
“It feels like they’re being nice to me because they like me, not because I know what I’m doing.”Voicing my fears, especially to Zach, is both liberating and disturbing.
As if needling at my truth or vulnerability, his thumb digs deep into a particularly tender spot on the arch of my left foot and my eyes spring open on a whimper.
“Paige, liking you has nothing to do with it.Believe me, if they thought you were incompetent, it would be a feeding frenzy.They’d attack and leave you to die.”My spine straightens and a foot slips back into the tub.Unwaveringly serious, he says, “They’re a ruthless bunch.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”I sit upright and fold my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them.“Because if so, you need to work on that.You’ve done the opposite.”Resting my chin on my knees, I stare up at him gloomily.
“Hey, how so?You said they approved your proposal.It doesn’t get better than that.”He pushes a damp, dangling lock behind my ear.
“I guess so.I just feel out of my depth.Anyway, are you still going to Singapore tomorrow?”
Zach told me of his travel plans only a day ago and the idea of him being so far away is hard to fathom.We haven’t been apart for more than twelve hours at a time for weeks now and while he works a lot and so do I, we’re close.
“My flight is at six a.m.I’ll be gone before you wake up.”
A shiver skates through me as the hollowness of his departure sinks in.He asked me to go with him, but I can’t.Between my job and the gala—it’s only three weeks away—there’s no way I can leave.But I wish I could.
“And how long will you be gone?”
“A week tops.Maybe less.It depends on how negotiations go.Why?You going to miss me?”He snags his lush lower lip between his teeth and quirks a dark brow.
I laugh, splashing him and shaking my head.“You wish.”
Firmly pinching my chin to hold me in place, he dips his face and brings our mouths together for a kiss.His lips linger on mine and he says, etching the words into my skin, “I’ll miss you.”
I almost can’t breathe.Soft words with no truth undo me.Truth or lie or wishful thinking, I have to remind myself of what we are.I won’t lie to myself any longer.But even knowing all that, I want him, and with a racing heart and aching sex, I step out of the tub drenched, and water pools at our feet as I undress him.
