Total pages in book: 176
Estimated words: 164533 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 823(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164533 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 823(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
“No need. I’ll drive you back.”
He stood and ran a hand through his hair. It suddenly made the room feel smaller, and I stepped back on instinct to give him space. Being close to Rhys, especially when we were alone, had me fighting the urge to run my hands over his short hair. Or reach out and squeeze his bicep just to see how large it might feel in my hand.
I realised I was staring at his body when I lifted my gaze and found him arching an eyebrow. A deep flush swept over me as he stared back, his attention going to my glasses before he plucked them off my head. “I like these on you,” he murmured.
My eyebrows rose. “Oh?”
Rhys cleared his throat and nodded, still looking at the glasses before he handed them back to me, some kind of heat in his expression.
“I’ll just wait downstairs,” I said, oddly breathless from the short interaction. Maybe it was his tone or the way he looked at me that made me nervous and confused. Sometimes it really felt like he was flirting with me, but I could never be certain.
“Okay,” he replied, a husky curiosity in his one-word response.
I hurried down the stairs and gathered my things, still trying to untangle what I felt. Rhys appeared soon after, car keys in hand, and wow, why did he have to be so handsome. It was distracting. “You ready?”
I nodded, still out of sorts from his compliment about my glasses. Not to mention the physical reaction and intense daydreams he seemed to draw from me without even trying. Rhys opened the front door, and I stepped out before gently touching his hand. His eyes immediately found mine, and a whoosh of breath escaped me.
“I just wanted to say … thank you for today. For doing all this,” I motioned to the “For Sale” sign just to our right. “It’s pretty nerve-wracking for me, and your support and help means so much.” Without thinking too deeply on it, I went up on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his check, his skin warm and his stubble prickly. My heart pounded all the while, and the blue of Rhys’ eyes burned bright. Something flickered across his expression before he smiled gently.
“Anytime, Charli.” His low, gravelly tone scattered tingles across the back of my neck and all the way down to the base of my spine.
***
On Sunday, Nuala, Aunt Jo, and I spent the morning at the health spa at the coastal Balfe Hotel. I hadn’t been back since working in the kitchen with Rhys all those years ago, and the place had hardly changed a bit. There were some small updates to the interior, but it was generally just as I remembered it.
Nuala arranged private, full-body massages for each of us, something I hadn’t had in a really long time. I wasn’t sure I was ready. The idea of laying on a massage table and allowing a stranger to touch me felt stressful. Aside from a few hugs from family, it had literally been years since I’d been touched. I felt like a coiled spring so tight with tension I feared I might have a bad reaction. But Nuala went to the trouble of arranging everything, and I’d feel awful to refuse—not to mention a part of me didn’t want to give in to my fears. Facing them always felt better in the end.
And that was how I found myself being ushered into a private room by a petite red head named Kelly.
Removing the thick hotel robe, I wore only a swimsuit as she spoke in a quiet, soothing voice and instructed me to lie face down on the table. My hands shook as I lowered my body down, heart racing and muscles tense while Kelly laid hot towels over my body.
She hadn’t even touched me yet, and I was already internally freaking out.
“I’ll begin now,” she said and folded back the towels until my lower legs were exposed up to the backs of my knees.
“O-okay,” I managed, hoping she couldn’t hear the hitch in my voice.
Then her soft, gentle hands met my ankles, and I started to ball up. By the time she reached my calf, there were tears streaming down my face and an audible weeping sound came out. She paused, and I felt her move away from the table. What on earth was wrong with me? Why was I crying?
“Is everything all right?” she asked gently.
“Yes, I’m so sorry,” I told her, sniffling. “It’s just that I haven’t …” I couldn’t find the right words to explain to this stranger that it had been a long time since I’d been so exposed with another human being. That her hands being so gentle and careful on my body were pulling something raw and cathartic out of my very soul.