Chapter Eighteen
Tania didn’t know howlong they spent in the hot tub, and she didn’t care.Maybe ten minutes after Andy and Delilah joined them, Dagger appeared outside.He claimed he was there to check on them but he’d brought out drinks for each of them.He must have talked to Smokey because the glass he handed her was her preferred blended margarita.
“Thanks, babe,” Andy lifted out of the water long enough to kiss him.The kiss went on long enough that it made Tania look away and shift uncomfortably.“Brr.It’s cold out here.”Andy’s voice let her know the PDA was over, and Andy was sinking back into the hot bubbling water.Dagger moved to the corner of the room, sat in one of the chairs on the patio set on the other end of the room, and pulled out his phone.Tania wondered if he was there to make sure nothing happened to them or if he was keeping an eye on her.
Delilah looked at Tania and spoke first for the first time since she and Andy had joined them.“Do you read?”
Tania’s face heated.She did read, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to share what she read with these women.She would likely spend a pretty good chunk of time with them and she was afraid they’d think what she read was ...trashy.
“I do.”She kept it short, not wanting to admit too much, for fear of what they would think.
“Oh, good.Please tell me you read romance?”Andy put in.
Tania bit her lips as she nodded, glad that the light had faded enough that they likely wouldn’t be able to see her blush.
“What’s your favorite trope?”Taylynn asked, “I’m hooked on MC romance right now.Do I even need to say why?”
“MC?”Tania asked with a frown.
“Motorcycle club,” Andy filled her in.“I’m hooked on shifters right now, and the smuttier the better.What about you?”
Tania glanced around, waiting to see if Delilah was going to share her favorite before she spoke up.
“I kind of have a thing for alpha men.Sometimes shifters, sometimes mafia.”She inwardly winced as she waited for the judgement.“I don’t think I’ve read a motorcycle club romance though.At least not yet.What are they like?”
“If you’re into alpha men and mafia, you’ll like MC.The guys tend to be similar, as in overprotective and touch her and die, but there’s typically less money, though that depends on the author.”Taylynn put in.“But what I like about them is that the women tend to be tougher.They tend to be more real, at least in my experience.I fully admit I’ve only read a few mafia romances, but they just didn’t call to me the way the motorcycle ones do.”
Tania relaxed against the seat in the hot tub again, glad her new friends weren’t as uptight about her preferred reading material as Rod, or Mom.Rod had told her it was trash and below her station as his wife.She’d resorted to using an app on her phone so he didn’t see the covers.
Mom had been more subtle, trying to steer her toward more socially acceptable topics and titles.Telling her that she should be reading the news, staying on top of world events and what was going on in the resort industry so she could be an asset to Rod when there were work events.The news was horrifying and Tania had tried to learn more about what Rod did, but when she listened closely to what was going on, she often found herself fighting to stay awake.She’d eventually given up.She could be interesting in other ways, without Rod and his co-workers always talking shop when they were out at whatever social event.
“I’d be interested in trying one.I’d offer to share but I read on my phone these days, and that’s not so easy to pass around when you’ve finished it like a paperback,” Tania said.
“That’s okay.At least we have someone to talk to about what we’re reading and maybe share recommendations,” Delilah said.“What’s the best thing you’ve read this year?Don’t think too hard about it, but tell us whatever jumps into your head as the best read.”
They continued to talk until they had all finished their drinks, then Dagger came back and took their glasses.
“Can I get another?”Andy tilted her head all the way back to rest on the edge of the hot tub as she looked up at him.
“Sorry, spark.Not while you’re in the hot tub.You want more, you’ll have to get out and come inside.”He carried the empty glasses inside.
“What do you think, ladies?”Andy asked, looking around at the rest of them.“Do we stay in here or go inside and have another drink?”
“I vote we go inside, put on warm jammies then we commandeer one corner of the common room and have ourselves a book club meeting.”Taylynn said.She looked at her hand then turned it so they could see her fingertips.“I don’t know about all of you, but I’m pruney.Plus, like Andy said.It’s cold out here and only getting colder.”
They all nodded and Delilah stood first, she was closest to the end with the stairs, and started for them.She let out a squeal before she reached the end of the tub and lowered herself back into the water.
“You’re right.It is cold out here.”She took a deep breath, as if she was bracing herself, then she stood and hurried out of the tub.She picked up the towel she’d brought and when it fell open, Tania saw it wasn’t a towel, but a terrycloth robe that went down to Delilah’s knees.Instantly she was jealous.She’d have to see about finding something like that or maybe something fuzzy.Tania didn’t really care what it looked like, only that it covered her and would be warm.One by one, they made their way out of the tub and wrapped the towels around them.Once they were all out, they headed inside, not caring that they were still dripping.The temperature had been dropping fast since the sun had set and now they just cared about getting warm.
“Go change, get warm.We’ll meet in ten minutes,” Taylynn said, looking from face-to-face for a moment before nodding, then turning and heading for the stairs, Tania right behind her.
