She’s spent far too much time isolated and alone and the last five years have only exacerbated that.
So, I turn the knob, open the door, and step inside, shutting it behind me.
My gaze searches the room, but it’s like I already know where she’s going to be.
Because my body is turning toward the corner?—
And there she is, curled up beneath the blanket.
“Baby,” I murmur, moving over to stand next to her.
I don’t touch her this time, even though my greeting makes her go stiff. And quiet—for a long, long time.
“I’m fine,” she says from beneath the blanket. “Go back to your friends. I’ll be out in a minute.”
Despite the worry gnawing at my bones, speaking to her like this—her voice slightly muffled by the blanket—makes my lips twitch.
“I know you’re fine.”
But I don’t move, just settle on the carpet and lean back against the wall.
She goes quiet again.
I wait.
“If you know I’m fine, then why are you still here?”
“Ouch,” I say lightly, though my amusement just continues to grow.
More still. More quiet.
The blanket lowers enough for me to see those gorgeous blue eyes, the strands of her moonlight hair scattered over her face. “I didn’t mean?—”
“I know.” I slowly reach forward, brush away a lock that’s clinging to her lashes. “Remember that charity event at the house?”
She freezes.
Then her mouth curves and it’s fucking beautiful, that smile. “We really shouldn’t have skipped out on the party.”
“But we had fun.”
“Yeah,” she whispers, eyes drifting from mine and I know her brain is conjuring up the same memories as I am—stealing a bottle of champagne and a couple of trays of hors d’oeuvres and sneaking up into our room.
That had been the first time I’d joined her in that big soaking tub.
But it certainly hadn’t been the last.
And by the time the party had broken up, I’d made sure every part of her body was thoroughly clean.
And she’d done the same for me.
“I thought someone would have missed us.”
“Nah, they were all wrapped up in their own conversations.” I wink. “Plus, Dolores was discreet—she probably shuffled everyone out the door the moment you started screaming my name.”
“I did not!”
“Only because I muffled your moans with my hand.”
