“Thank you.” She tasted the green shake—oh, chocolate mint. “How about you get rid of those clothes and join me?”
“Well, since it’s the doctor’s orders and all.”
“You want to play doctor?”
Barefoot, he shoved away from the doorjamb and lumbered toward her, shucking his shirt. “Among other things.”
He popped the top button free on his jeans to reveal his washboard stomach and her mouth dried right up. She brought her drink back to her lips and his pupils widened, his brown eyes darkening to cloudy skies.
Kicking his pants and boxers aside, Rick shook his head slowly. “Lady, your mouth is pure sin.”
She set her drink aside and held her arms open for him to join her. He lowered his body into the tub behind her, his thighs brushing her legs with tantalizing effect.
Nola settled back against his chest, sloshing bubbles over the side onto the rag-tie bath mat. “I did plan a more personal surprise for you later this afternoon.”
“Does it involve us staying naked?” He nipped her shoulder, his arms looping around her stomach.
“No, but that certainly would make the event all the more memorable.” She swallowed back a laugh at the thought of the two of them, naked, while… She couldn’t even finish the thought. It would be too funny. Too much of a fantasy.
She brought the milk shake to her mouth again and sucked, the creamy drink flooding her senses—and apparently her savoring driving Rick more than a little crazy because the next thing she knew he’d snatched her glass from her.
“If we’re not gonna stay naked,” he said. “Take back the gift.”
“Seriously now. You’ll really like this.” She hoped he would. God, what if she’d made a colossal error in judgment and hurt him with this? “Although since I made the reservation with my credit card which is officially frozen thanks to the creep, you’ll have to pay for your own Thanksgiving gift.”
“Will it bankrupt me?” He leaned back and snagged the vanilla shake for himself while his other hand disappeared under the water between her legs and…
Oh.
Her eyes fluttered closed for a second before she wrapped her hand around his so she could finish talking. “I make less than you do, pal, even with whatever your child support payments must be, so I seriously doubt this will throw you in the poorhouse. And no worries. When we untangle my finances, I fully intend to pay you back.”
His hand slid from the water and he flicked the water free. “You don’t have to. I owe you rent…”
“You’re helping out with the protection factor, remember?”
“We’ll discuss it later.” He flipped his hand to link fingers with hers. “Will it freak you out if I call my ex? Something wasn’t right with Lauren’s call yesterday.”
“That parent radar?”
“I don’t know if I can claim that. I’m not around her enough to call myself perceptive. Even a moron would know she’s upset.”
“I’m sorry.” And she was. It would be petty to mind him calling his ex, she just wished she didn’t have to listen in. Jealousy made her look petty and she hated such small emotions—not to mention what it said about how tangled her feelings for Rick had become in a short time.
Okay, they were sleeping together again, not in a one-night-stand capacity.
Determined to enjoy this Thanksgiving afternoon with Rick, Nola slid deeper into the bubbles, savoring his stroking touch between her legs. Not to mention the firm press of his erection against her, reassuring her that he wanted her every bit as much as she wanted him. As if she didn’t have enough to make her jittery hoping she hadn’t goofed with her surprise present.
Life would be far simpler if she could just fish out her earplugs and pretend she didn’t care about his phone call to his ex-wife.
Behind the wheel of the new SUV rental he’d put on his credit card when Nola’s bottomed out, Rick drove while he thumbed numbers on his cell phone. Calling his ex-wife never ranked high on his list of favorites, but they had a child to bring up. They may have sucked as a couple, but they loved their kid and Lindsay was a good mom.
This new guy entering the picture, however, he didn’t know jack about. Why hadn’t Lindsay phoned to let him know?
Nola sat beside him in the passenger side, periodically piping up with a “turn left” or “turn right,” but otherwise silent. He wondered about her surprise because he couldn’t plan protection from the stalker when he didn’t have a sense of where they would be. Stubborn woman refused to pony up the info. He grinned—
The cell phone stopped ringing and his wife answered. His smile faded.
“Lindsay, Rick here. I got a call from Lauren.” Might as well skip the niceties and cut right to the chase. Besides, Nola had said her surprise wasn’t much farther down the dusty county road. “She said you’re getting remarried.”