Mila nudged my hip with hers. “You can breathe, you know.”
“I am breathing.”
“Through clenched teeth.”
I hadn’t realized. I forced my jaw to loosen.
“Yeah, no,” Theo called from behind us. “We’re not doing tense and broody tonight. Hot tubs—now.”
“Finally, a good idea.” Tori giggled.
“I’m always full of good ideas.” Theo pulled her with him.
Jax shook his head but followed with Avery. Chase muttered something under his breath before grabbing his date, Chloe, as everyone headed that way.
Theo treated the hot tubs as if they were structural necessities. His parents had installed them years ago, tucked into the far corners of the multi-level decks, partially shielded by trees and stone.
Steam rose into the night air.
The temperature dropped once the sun slipped behind the mountains. The music softened to a background pulse while Jax declared he was done cooking and Chase announced that if anyone burned the second batch, they were on dish duty.
Towels were already stacked by the door. Avery kicked off her shoes and tugged her sweater over her head, revealing a black bikini underneath. Tori followed suit, cheeks pink from the cold air as she shed layers.
Theo didn’t bother with subtlety. He stripped down to his trunks and jumped into the first hot tub with a dramatic splash that soaked a good portion of the deck. Avery shrieked and shoved him under. Tori followed more cautiously, her laugh lighter than I’d ever heard it.
I caught Mila’s wrist before she could climb in with them. “Other one.”
Her brow arched. “Why?”
“Because I don’t want to share you.”
She grinned and let me guide her to the second tub.
We sank in at opposite ends at first. The heat wrapped around me, easing muscles I hadn’t realized were tight. My shoulders dropped an inch. Then another.
Mila watched it happen. “You’re different up here,” she murmured.
“Different how?”
“Less… guarded.”
The water lapped gently against the sides of the hot tub when she shifted closer.
“I don’t have to be closed off here.”
Her eyes held mine, searching for something underneath that. “And down there?”
Down there. Blackwood. The rink. My house. My father’s study. “I don’t get the luxury.”
She didn’t argue. Didn’t try to soften it. She moved until her knee brushed mine under the water. The contact wasn’t sexual. It was grounding.
Steam curled around her hair, dampening the wispy strands that had escaped her top knot. Her lashes clung together slightly from the heat. No armor in her posture either. No tension between her shoulders.
I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed that. Her without walls.
“You ever think about after?” she asked quietly.
“After what?”
