I raised a brow, pretending to think about it, then stepped close enough that her crossed arms brushed my chest. “We already washed Brownie,” I murmured, fingers sliding around her waist. “Gotta save water.”
Her lips twitched, trying not to smile. “The water’s been running for like… twenty minutes, Joshua.”
I looked toward the still-running shower, steam fogging the mirror, and chuckled under my breath. “Guess we’re not very eco-friendly then.”
Aurora giggled, the sound quiet and breathy, and I swear that alone made the whole world feel warmer.
I brushed a strand of damp hair away from her face, my thumb grazing her jaw. “C’mon, Princess,” I said, nodding toward the bathroom. “Let’s actually get clean before those two little monsters claim the bed for the night.”
She laughed again, light, airy and finally took my hand, fingers fitting between mine.
The sound of the shower filled the silence between us as we stepped inside together, steam curling around her hair and the faint smell of rain still clinging to our skin.
Aurora stood in front of me, head tilted slightly as she drew little doodles in the steam with her finger. Hearts, smiley faces, random squiggles that looked more like clouds than anything else.
Her hair was full of bubbles, my fingers buried in it as I worked the shampoo through gently.
“Feels nice?” I murmured.
She hummed, nodding lazily. “Mm-hmm.”
Her voice was soft, almost sleepy from the warmth. She tilted her head back a little more, looking up at me with those brown eyes, droplets of water sticking to her lashes.
“Joshua?” she said suddenly, soft, almost drowned out by the water.
“Yeah, Princess?”
“Do you swim?”
I blinked, caught off guard by the question. “Sometimes,” I said slowly. “I’ve got an indoor pool, but I don’t really use it much.”
She nodded, looking back down at the glass in front of her, “Aly said swimmers have nice bodies.”
I paused.
She said it so innocently, as if she were reciting a fun fact. But the tips of her ears were red.
A laugh slipped out of me before I could stop it, low and rough in my throat. “Did she now?”
Aurora nodded, looking straight ahead as if it were the most serious topic in the world. “Mm-hmm. She said that’s why she likes watching the Olympics.”
I grinned, the corners of my mouth twitching. “You asking if I’m a swimmer or just wanted to tell me that I had a nice body?”
Her shoulders tensed, and she stammered, “I just—Aly said—”
I laughed again, wrapping my arms around her waist, pulling her back against me. “Relax, baby. No need to be shy, I’ll take it as a compliment.”
She huffed, still flustered, staring at the water running over her hands. “Then what do you do if you don’t swim?”
“I’ve got a gym at home,” I said. “Weights, treadmill, the usual. I don’t swim much, but I work out a lot.”
She nodded slowly, still pretending she wasn’t blushing. “Makes sense.”
“Yeah?” I teased softly. “Why’s that?”
She hesitated, then mumbled, “Because you look like you do.”
I couldn’t help but smile, not cocky, just soft. Because she always said things like that without realising how much they hit.
