“If it’s any consolation, RJ’s still happily single.” Bringing up the oldest Gold sibling was sure to invoke a bit of levity into a conversation that had taken a weirdly serious tone.
Maurice’s soft smile only made him sexier. “RJ’s going to die single. Do you know, one day he said he’d rather lie naked over hot coals than even consider getting seriously involved with another woman again.”
She chuckled. “Yeah, I think I was there when he said it.”
“Right.” He was nodding and grinning now, too. “Come to think of it, you’ve been around a lot.”
“I work for your family’s company.” As if that needed to be said.
“No. I mean, you’ve been around in my personal life a lot. Linking up with you on that app has to be some kind of strange coincidence.”
“Fate. That’s what my grandmother would call it. She doesn’t believe in coincidences.” And Desta no longer believed in things happening for a reason. If that were the case, what the hell was the point in all she’d gone through with Gordon?
“You miss her. I can hear it in your voice. I heard it this morning when you mentioned her, too. But you don’t want to go back to Chicago and visit her. That’s odd.”
Not liking where this conversation was going, Desta reached over and snagged one of the loofah sponges from a gold-wire basket on the back edge of the tub. “Not as odd as the two of us sitting in this tub.”
He shrugged again. “I don’t know, I’m kinda liking the two of us sitting here together.”
“You would,” she said with a roll of her eyes. The water was growing warm, so she grabbed the bottle of liquid soap and was about to pour it on the sponge, when he moved.
“Let me do that for you.” He didn’t wait for a response but took the bottle and loofah from her hands.
Scooting closer and causing water to slosh over the rim of the tub, he chuckled. When the sponge was lathered up, he reached for her.
“This is crazy. You know that, don’t you?” It was crazy good, she could admit that to herself the moment he touched the sponge to her chest.
“Yeah, I know. And no, I don’t know how it’s going to turn out, but right now I’m gonna wash you up and put you to bed. Is that okay with you?” Asking a question while he dragged a soapy loofah ever so seductively over her nipples was a trap if ever she’d heard of one.
Still, all Desta could do was smile. “Yeah, that’s okay with me.”
“This is gonna feel so good.” There wasn’t much that didn’t feel good where Des was concerned.
“I take it you’re used to getting massages.” She was sitting on the bench beside him, her body covered by the plush white robe they’d each been handed five minutes after walking into the spa area. It was midafternoon on Sunday, and they’d signed up for the Relax and Relate session.
There were two other couples sitting in chairs across the room. The guy carrying a clipboard who seemed to be in charge of the schedule had just left the waiting area with another couple.
“I used to have a monthly in-home appointment.” Maurice paused a moment recalling Hannah, the masseuse who’d turned into a date that went disastrously wrong. The memory made him frown. “But it’s been a while.”
“Did she quit or did you fire her for the new flavor of the month?” Normally, coming from Des, that question would’ve been presented as a joking jab or just a flippant remark, but the way her face paled before she glanced away implied she was feeling something different today.
Which made sense, because he wasn’t feeling his normal nonchalance, either. Instead, he was sure his cheeks had heated at her words in what he could only describe as embarrassment. Did Des really see him as a callous philanderer? It appeared that way, considering her question. The thought made him feel like crap. That wasn’t the impression he wanted her to have, and he wasn’t ready to explore why the hell it mattered at all.
“Oh hey, y’all!” Looking toward the door he saw Kelli walk in, Travis right behind her. “You guys sure do sneak out of a room fast. We couldn’t find you at all last night after the movie. We wanted to have nightcaps and discuss the show. But I guess you two had better things to do.” She giggled.
Yes, giggled like a teenager before looking over her shoulder at Travis, who did not giggle. Thankfully. The guy did, however, look at Maurice with a nod and partial smile for a greeting.
“So you decided to do the Relax and Relate, too.” Des’s voice was less than enthusiastic, and he knew why.
After sleeping in this morning—his idea, not hers—they’d decided to once again go off script of the retreat’s agenda. They’d opted for breakfast in her room and had then headed out to visit some of the souvenir shops in the quaint little ski town. Considering all the other Dear Lover workshops and exercises, they’d assumed the couples’ massage session might be the least attended one. In any case, it didn’t seem like something the gregarious Kelli and Travis would consider doing.
“Of course,” Kelli said, happily taking a seat on Des’s other side. That made Des move over, closer to him.
He didn’t mind, but since Travis was also going to try and squeeze onto the bench with them, Maurice scooted down until one side of him was at the edge and the other was pressed against Des. Her hair smelled like vanilla ice cream. It was the oil he’d watched her squeeze out of a small bottle and rub into the center of her palms before smoothing over her thick bouncy curls this morning.
“We’re trying to take advantage of everything we can this weekend and figured we’d squeeze in the massage,
