Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64966 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
I grinned at him. “I might have mentioned that I didn’t want the servers to take a financial hit when we decided to use the restaurant for the wedding.”
“You’re a legend. My name’s Paul, by the way. If you need anything at all, let me know.”
When he went to assist another table, Malcolm slid closer and told me, “You really are a legend, you know.”
“Hardly. I just didn’t want to see people get screwed, because I came up with the idea of taking over their workplace. They probably make most of their income on Friday and Saturday nights, especially now, in the off-season.”
“I could take a lesson from you.”
My phone buzzed again. This time it was Joy, who’d started contacting me directly, instead of filtering the messages through her brother. I read the message and sent a reply before saying, “Joy wants us to look into the gift baskets for the guests’ rooms, and the party favors. Apparently a bunch of stuff was sent directly to the hotel, and the wedding planner was going to oversee having it all assembled.” I wrote myself a reminder in the little notebook I’d started carrying in my pocket before muttering, “I wonder how demanding you’d have to be to get a professional wedding planner to quit a week before the wedding.”
“Please don’t hate her. She’s been feeling the pressure to pull off the perfect event because she’s so intimidated by her fiancé’s family, and she’s not herself right now.”
“I don’t hate her at all. I just wish she wouldn’t let her future mother-in-law get to her.” Mal took his phone from his pocket and started to tap the screen, and I said, “I already let her know we’re on it with the gift baskets.”
“I’m not replying to Joy.” After he sent a message, he told me, “I just booked us a couples package at the spa for this evening. The next two days are going to be complete pandemonium, so I want to do something nice for you while we still have a minute to ourselves.”
“That’s really sweet. Thank you.”
When my phone buzzed again, I glanced at the screen, and Mal asked, “Joy?”
“Yeah, she sent photos of what the assembled baskets are supposed to look like.”
He took my phone from me and put it on silent. Then he sent a text and silenced his phone, too. “I told my sister we’ll be unavailable for the next three hours, and after that we’re all hers. I also told her she can send us texts if she thinks of something she needs to tell us, and we’ll go through them tonight. Mentally prepare yourself for six hundred messages after the spa. Although if we’re lucky, maybe she’ll go to bed. It’s late there, and she has a big day tomorrow.”
“My money’s on the six hundred texts. Now let’s dig in and enjoy this appetizer. You know how much I love huge, hot balls.” I flashed him a smile, and he rolled his eyes and grinned.
The spa felt like stepping into a different world. It was gorgeous and tranquil with lots of potted plants, river rock and cedar accents, and luxurious products that subtly scented the air.
We changed into fluffy white robes and started with a skin treatment before moving on to mani-pedis. After that, we enjoyed side-by-side massages that turned us to jelly.
Finally, we moved on to a soak in a mineral bath. Malcolm’s eyes were closed, and he looked totally relaxed as he leaned back in the tub. When I slid my hand up his thigh, his lips curled into a smile. I climbed onto his lap and kissed him, and he slid his hands down my back and cupped my ass.
I’d missed this. Not that we hadn’t been intimate over the last few days—it had just taken a very different form. Caring for someone was a type of intimacy, and it had definitely strengthened our bond.
But what it hadn’t been was sexual, and it felt so good to be back to this point. I’d missed his hands on my body, the taste of his mouth, and the tantalizing anticipation as we built toward the moment when he was inside me again.
Of course, we could only go so far at the spa. After a few minutes, we climbed out of the tub, dried off, and got dressed. Then a staff member drove us back to our cabin. Along the way, I glanced at my phone, and Malcolm asked, “Are there a million messages from Joy?”
“Only half a million. She took an Ambien and went to bed about an hour ago.”
We’d promised we’d be there for her, and we meant it. But I was so glad we’d have a little time for the two of us, before the wedding completely took over our lives for the next few days.