Bonus Book 3 : MAGIC FINGERS
Chapter 1
ALY
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In rose gold colored sandstone, the words Spa Unico - Patrons Only curved across the sign to the private access entrance of the world-renowned health spa. By the time the valet had taken the keys to my car, I let out an exhausted breath, hoping that this place was as good as everyone said it was. A miracle was pretty much the only thing that would get me to leave feeling refreshed and relaxed at this point.
"Hello and welcome to Spa Unico," a pleasant older woman greeted me at the lavishly decorated front desk as I walked up. "May I have your name, miss?"
I smoothed back the wavy mess of blonde highlights that kept falling in my face despite my sunglasses being propped up on my head and smiled back at her. "Aly Waterhouse."
She glanced at her computer screen, double-checked over a few sheets of paper, and looked back up, nodding. "Miss Waterhouse, if you'll just take a seat in our lobby, your massage therapist will be out shortly." Leaning over, the shorter woman produced a small silver tray and proceeded to pour a glass of one of my favorite champagnes. Gesturing to the flute bubbling with the golden liquid, she gave me another pleasant smile. "Please help yourself to our complimentary champagne, or any of our other refreshments in the lobby area. We also suggest drinking a full glass of our lemon water after any massage, as it will help flush the toxins out."
Tilting the flute toward her, I thanked her and carefully threw my huge purse back over my shoulder, my heels click-clacking over the dappled marble floor as I headed in the direction that the woman had pointed.
Amid a handful of tastefully upholstered armchairs and chaise lounges, I snatched up one of the Women's Fitness magazines from the glass table and took a quick sip of my drink before sitting down on one of the smaller peach colored sofas.
The lobby smelled clean and fresh, sort of like a mix between my favorite fabric softener and a good martini. There were a few other people waiting around nearby, chatting about the newly renovated sauna. I quirked my brow as I flipped through to the next page. Hmm. I might just have to check that out.
It didn’t take long until I was the last person left in the lobby. As they tended to do when I wasn’t otherwise occupied, my thoughts unfortunately went back to Josh. Back to the way he kept smoothing over his slicked back hair, unable to accept the truth.
I rolled my eyes at myself and took another deep sip of the champagne, trying to push the big fight out of my mind for now. The last thing I needed to worry about while I was getting a massage was my ex-fiancé.
My watch glittered under the lobby’s chandelier, and I raised a delicate eyebrow as I noticed the time. For such an upscale, high-faluting place, they sure do take forever to finally get to you.
Just as I was about to check back in with the front desk lady—my impatience getting the best of me, since all I wanted to do was just relax already—one of the doors to the left of the lobby swung open. It was a good thing I’d set the flute back down on the side table, because when I looked up, I swear to God I was struck speechless and nearly slid out of my seat right there.
In Napa Valley, you come across plenty of wealthy men, especially when your mother is one of the most well-known sommeliers around. Plenty of older men would waggle their bushy eyebrows at me or even my younger sister, Sage, when we'd enter a room. And sure, there were some good-looking ones out of the bunch, but they tended to be so boring and so predictable that I tuned them out just as quickly as I could.
The man who had just walked through the door, however, was something I would have never predicted. From the golden-kissed tan of his skin pulled taut over the huge, bulging biceps barely hidden under the tight white polo he was wearing, to the thick, dirty blonde hair that hung around his chiseled face, framing his icy blue eyes… this man was pure sex on a stick.
Unable to move, I tried desperately to look anywhere else but directly at him, like he was the sun and I was protecting my eyes from being burned right out of my sockets. With my face blushing hard, I chewed on my lip and took another sip as casually as I could.
But the man was determined to catch my eye, and he walked over to me, his clean white tennis shoes squeaking along. Eye-level with his crotch, I had no choice but to quickly look up at his face, half embarrassed that I'd just been staring right at his obviously well-endowed nether regions.
If he noticed, he pretended not to. "Hello. Miss Waterhouse?" The deep thrum of his voice struck me in places I didn't even know I had.
I swallowed hard. "Um, yes, hi."
His gorgeous, crooked smile nearly blinded me with his movie-star white teeth, and the cute dimple on the left side of his mouth. "I'm Liam, your massage therapist for this session. Would you care to follow me?"
Anywhere. Just take me with you.
Even though it was clearly my turn to speak, my mouth was incapable of functioning, so I settled for a quick nod and snapped up my purse, barely paying attention to the way the remnants of my champagne came dangerously close to spilling out over the top as I did.
Liam led me back through the door and down a wide hallway with several doors spaced out along it on either side, each with a golden plaque emblazoned with the room's number.
Standing be
hind him was probably a mistake, because now all I could focus on was how tight and round my massage therapist's ass looked in the Dockers he was wearing. The man had to work out on the daily. There was no doubt in my mind that his thighs were probably just as toned as those arms…
When we got to room number twelve, he gently knocked on the door, pausing for a beat before turning the handle. My heart was racing as I realized this was really happening. I was really about to get completely naked and let this gorgeous specimen of a man put his hands all over my body. Lust panged between my legs at the very thought and I squeezed my thighs together for a moment before following him inside the room. Hopefully he didn't notice the way I shimmied along the wall like a deranged cat in heat.
I inhaled deeply, the cozy room's light scent of lavender invading my senses. The lighting in the room was perfectly dim, and with the soft taupe color of the walls easy on my eyes, I could already feel my body relaxing, even though my mind was going at about a hundred miles an hour.
Liam turned to face me expectantly. "Once you're fully undressed, you can place your clothing in the basket over here. Your other belongings can go in the armoire. We ask that you turn off your phone. When you’re ready, you'll lie down. I'll give you a few minutes to undress," he explained, handing me a soft, fluffy white towel with the spa's logo embroidered on the front.
With my pulse throbbing in so many places across my body, I tried to calm myself down. "Okay, thank you."
Once the door was safely shut behind me, I raced around, shedding my jeans and V-neck sweater, cursing to myself as my sunglasses got tangled in both my hair and my sweater as I yanked them off. Red-faced and utterly embarrassed, I tried to quietly lie down on the massage table, reminding myself that this wasn't my first rodeo. I simply needed to close my eyes and really let myself relax.
There was a knock at the door. "Come in," I called out, hoping the rest of me wasn't as flushed as my face.
I heard the door open and close, and saw the edge of Liam's white tennis shoes as he walked around the room to the shelves on the wall next to me. "So, Miss Waterhouse. I was just looking over your chart, and it says that you are dealing with some anxiety. And your hamstrings are sore mainly from running?"
I cleared my throat. "Eight miles."
"Eight miles!" he repeated.
"Anxiety," I muttered, hoping I didn't sound like a crazy person. "I just took my bar exam and um, broke off the engagement with my fiancé before that. So right now I'm trying to lay low with my mother and sister and wait for the results. This pretty much turned into a sad excuse for a vacation for me. Between the exam and being cooped up with my family… honestly, I'm sort of terrified." Words started trickling out of my mouth before I had a chance to think them. "I'm sorry, I'm not usually this personal and out there with people. I guess I maybe had a bit too much of the champagne."
Stop, stop, stop! I gritted my teeth, trying to breathe normally.
“It sounds like you have a full plate. No one can blame you for getting a little worried. At least you took it out in a productive and healthy way. No judgment here.”