by K. M. Scott
Closing my eyes, I let my muscles slowly relax in the warm water. I hadn’t been entirely truthful with Tristan about that bout of flu I’d had last week. It hadn’t entirely gone away, and by the late afternoon every day this week, I felt worn out and needed a nap. Even now, I had a sense that if I didn’t keep myself awake that I’d easily slip into sleep right there in the tub.
But I didn’t want to feel that way today. Date night meant too much to me to ruin it with a little fatigue. I just hoped I wouldn’t spike a fever like I had every day for the last two weeks because then he’d certainly know I hadn’t fully recovered from whatever that was that knocked me on my back last week.
My eyes fluttered closed, but I quickly sat up and shook my head to chase the need to sleep away. “Not tonight. I have much better things to do than sleeping this evening.”
I missed spending time with Tristan. It wasn’t just about sex. We had sex all the time, like we always had. But taking time to enjoy one another had become a luxury neither one of us had paid enough attention to for far too long. Even though we hadn’t dated in any traditional sense when we first got together, we used to enjoy one another and the time we spent together. That had changed a little when the kids came along, but in the past couple years, we’d had the whole house to ourselves, and still we’d let life intrude.
That would change tonight.
Looking down my body, I saw the bubbles had all faded away, which was my cue to get out of the tub and get dressed for our night together. Standing up, I felt a little dizzy and quickly grabbed the wall. I knew better than to get up so fast since I’d always gotten lightheaded when I did.
“You definitely need to get back to yoga, Nina.”
My gaze drifted over my breasts and stomach. Not bad for my age. I ran my finger over my scar from my Caesarean with the kids. After all these years, it had faded to almost nothing.
Not that Tristan had ever paid any attention to it anyway. A few months after their birth, he didn’t seem to even notice it on my lower abdomen, despite the fact that it was the first thing I saw every time I got dressed and undressed.
I stepped out of the tub onto the soft, white bath rug and stood in front of mirror as I dried off. I’d always compared myself to how good my husband seemed to look with so little effort, and that moment was no different. I liked my body, thanks to those yoga classes I really needed to get back to after missing a few months. But now as I looked at it from every angle, I thought about maybe getting some plastic surgery. A nip here, a tuck there passed through my mind while I ran the towel over my skin.
Maybe. For now, though, this body would have to do, so I needed to get some clothes on that highlighted my best features. My legs. I didn’t know why, but while everything else on my body seemed to be subject to the forces of time, my legs still looked as great as they had when I was in my twenties.
Not that I ever had truly great legs. I didn’t have dancer’s legs or even model’s legs, but I had good looking legs. My mother had been blessed with good legs too.
I padded across the carpet in the bedroom and grabbed my bathrobe off the bed, but again, I felt dizzy. This time, though, I also had a hard time getting a full breath in. I inhaled deeply, but I couldn’t fill my lungs completely.
Had the pollen count suddenly risen today? I hadn’t checked the weather today since I’d been so preoccupied with my date night with Tristan, but my inability to get a full breath in told me it must have shot up that afternoon.
Or maybe this was an allergic reaction to the bubble bath. No, I’d used this brand a few times before.
Between the dizziness and what I suspected was a full-blown major allergy attack, I wondered what kind of date I’d end up being that night. I couldn’t let a little pollen sideline my plans, though. I had a peach cobbler to take out of the oven before it burned up to nothing but ash and a very sexy husband to seduce. I’d just take the medicine the doctor gave me for my allergies and be fine.
Where did I leave that bottle? I thought for a moment and remembered I’d put it in the kitchen pantry the last time I took some medicine. Good since I had to go downstairs and check on the cobbler.
Standing up a little slower this time, I stood next to the bed and got a full breath of air to fill my lungs. Good. I might not have to take anything.
Convinced there was nothing to worry about, I headed out to the hallway to make my way downstairs to the kitchen. Date night was happening, come hell, high water, or pollen.
I’d make sure of that.
Chapter Three
Tristan
As soon as I walked inside the house, I stopped dead. Something smelled sweet. I shut the front door and took a deep breath in, closing my eyes to figure out what that incredible scent was. Cherry? No, something else. What was it? Then it occurred to me. Peach! Nina had made her delicious peach cobbler as a surprise dessert because she knew how much I loved it.
At least I hoped it was that and not one of those candles she occasionally bought. That would be disappointing.
I made a beeline for the kitchen, dropping the dozen-and-a-half red roses onto the counter just inside the doorway. The room smelled like heaven, and I opened the oven door to see if my hunch had been correct. Hot air hit my face, sending me backward a few steps, but I leaned forward again and inhaled a full breath of peach cobbler.
Delicious.
Looking closer, I saw it bubbling and the edges already starting to overbrown, so I turned off the oven and grabbed a mitt to take the dessert out. I set it on the stove and took another breath in of the delicious dessert I’d enjoy in just a short while before I chuckled at the thought that I’d gotten home early and ruined Nina’s surprise. Unfortunately for her, the traffic on the ride home hadn’t been too congested this evening.
As I walked out into the hallway, I yelled for her. “Nina! I took the cobbler out of the oven. Sorry I spoiled the surprise, but it sort of gave itself away.”
For a moment, I listened for her response while I checked the mail on the hallway table. Nothing interesting there, so I tossed the envelopes back onto the table and yelled for her again. “Nina! Did you hear me?”
Still no answer.
Was part of her surprise playing hide and seek? I had no problem with that, especially if it included a sexy component, like when I found her she’d be waiting for me naked in bed or draped across the dining room table.
I poked my head into the living room and then the dining room, but she wasn’t in either spot. Too bad. I would have liked to see her lying on the table naked. That could have been fun.
As I opened my mouth to yell her name again, the chiming sound telling me a call was coming in interrupted me. I headed back into the living room to see Diana’s smiling face.
“Hi, Daddy. You look like you’re upset about something. Is everything okay?”
Nodding, I loosened my tie and slid it from around my neck. “Everything’s fine. I was just looking for your mother.”
“Is she lost?” my daughter asked with a silly giggle.
“No, she’s not lost. I just got home and we have a date night planned, so I’m interested in finding her so we can get our night started.”
Diana’s eyes grew wide as I explained why I was looking for Nina. “Daddy, I’m pretty sure I don’t need to know anything more about your date night. I was just calling to find out if you and Mom knew anything about what Aunt Jordan just posted online about her cookout Friday night. She tagged me in it and said Cole and I are invited, but that’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
“I’m sure your mother made plans and forgot to tell you, and what’s with you and your sister suddenly turning into prudes when I mention date night with your mother?” I asked, curious to know why both of my daughters had reacted the same way when I said anything about it.
She shrugged and gave me a little smile. “I don’t know. I guess we just don’t think of you and Mommy that way. I didn’t mean any harm, and I’m sure Tressa didn’t either. I
t’s just that you’re our father.”
As if that made me some kind of monk.
I rolled my eyes and asked, “Where do you and your sister think you and your brother came from? The stork?”
Diana’s cheeks flushed a dark pink, and then she completely ignored my questions. “Well, I’m going to go now. Tell Mom I called and that Cole and I plan to go to Aunt Jordan’s cookout on Friday, okay?”
“Sure. If I ever find her, that is. Love you, honey.”
“Love you too, Daddy.”
The screen faded to black, so I turned around and headed back down the hallway as I called out for Nina again. “Are we playing hide and seek? If so, I might need a hint because for the first time, this house seems too big for what we’re doing.”
I listened for Nina’s answer, but again, I heard nothing. Maybe she was still in the tub. I headed up the back stairs from the kitchen but didn’t find her in the bathroom either.
“Nina! Where are you?”
Then as if on cue, she stepped out of the walk-in closet and scowled at me. Standing there, she put her hands on her hips and shook her head. “We had a deal, Mr. Stone. We were to meet in the dining room at six-thirty. I swear you never listen to me anymore.”
My eyes scanned her wearing that old pink bathrobe she loved, even though I’d bought her three others over the past few years. Nina’s hair was still up in one of those plastic clips, and she had no makeup on.
Yet still she looked more beautiful than any other woman on the planet.
I stepped forward toward her and slid my arms around her waist to pull her to me. “I do listen. Honestly. But I needed to change out of my work clothes, so I came up here.”
Her eyebrows drew in toward her nose as her frown deepened. “We had a deal, Tristan. There are three other bathrooms in this house. You couldn’t have taken a shower in one of them?”
Dipping my head, I nuzzled her neck just below her ear and smelled the perfume she always used. Even now, after years of being married to her, I still couldn’t exactly place what scent drove me nuts in it.
Maybe Nina was right. Maybe I didn’t pay attention like I should.
“I didn’t mean to ruin everything,” I moaned against her skin. “I just missed you.”
But instead of placating her, my semi-apology only made things worse. She pushed me away and pouted. Now I knew I was in trouble. The famous Nina pout had come out.
“Six-thirty, sir. I’m not ready now. I still have to make sure your surprise is ready, and then I have to put a face on and do my hair before I get dressed.”
“Oh, I took care of the cobbler already,” I said proudly, sure that would please her. “It was starting to get pretty brown around the edges, so I took it out of the oven before it burned.”
Nina’s entire body seemed to deflate at my news. Her shoulders sagged, and she hung her head. “You found it? Is there some kind of conspiracy against us tonight? Where was all the traffic you usually run into on your way home from the city?”
I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and pulled her to me again. “It’s fine. So the peach cobbler isn’t a surprise. It’s still pretty fantastic that you made that knowing it’s my favorite.”
She hugged me close to her and nodded as I worked to cheer her up. I slid my finger under her chin and tilted her head up to see her still pouting. “Date night isn’t ruined at all. I’ll grab my clothes for tonight and take a shower in the downstairs bathroom, and then I’ll meet you just as we planned at six-thirty, sharp. Okay?”
Punctuating my sentence with a kiss, I smiled as she sighed. “It’s going to be great, Nina. Don’t let this upset you.”
Still pouting, she nodded. “I just wanted this to be perfect.”
“It will be. I know the peach cobbler is already. I can’t wait to have some.”
Nina tilted her head and stared up at me. “Did you stick your finger in it like you always do?”
While I did have a habit of doing that whenever she made my favorite dessert, I hadn’t this time. I shook my head and smiled since I knew my answer would make her happy.
“No, I didn’t.”
She narrowed her eyes like she needed to study my expression a little longer to discern whether or not I was telling the truth, so I lifted my right hand and added, “I swear. No finger in the cobbler tonight.”
“Okay. Well, I guess everything isn’t ruined.”
I cradled her beautiful face and leaned down to kiss her softly on the lips. She felt so good there in my arms that I had to stop myself from suggesting we forget all the preliminaries and just jump to the sexy parts of date night.
But I knew how much the date part of tonight meant to my wife.
“You should know that you are the most beautiful woman in the world, even without makeup and your hair done. That said, I can’t wait to see you at six-thirty. I love you.”
For the first time since she popped out of the closet, Nina smiled. “I love you too. Thanks for playing along with all of this. I know you probably don’t care about any of it and would be just as happy jumping into bed right now, but I think this will be fun.”
I pretended to be shocked by her suggestion, opening my eyes wide in surprise. “Seriously? It’s like you don’t know me at all. I’ll see you downstairs in a little while. I might even wear the cologne you love. You know, in the spirit of things.”
Her smile grew bigger, and she bit her lower lip in that sexy way I loved. “Oh, God. That might derail my whole plan for date night because that cologne has a way of driving me wild. I might end up crawling on top of you before we even get to dinner.”
After I kissed her again, I turned to leave. “I like the way that sounds. Hell, I think I might bathe in the stuff,” I said as I closed the bedroom door behind me and headed toward the downstairs bathroom.
At six-thirty sharp, I stood in our dining room dressed in my tux waiting for Nina. She hadn’t said it was a black tie affair, but I knew how much she loved me in a tux, so why not? I planned to be out of it in an hour anyway, and it made her happy.
“I’m here and on time,” I said loudly. “I also have a surprise for you.”
She peeked her head around the corner between the living room and dining room, and I watched her eyes grow big. With a big smile, she said, “Tristan, you wore your tux!”
Looking down my body, I nodded. “I know how much you love it when I do.”
“But I didn’t wear anything as nice,” she said as she stepped into the room and took my breath away.
My wife had a way of making even that old bathrobe she wore look incredible, and as she stood in front of me in a white sundress that reminded me of something she wore all those years ago when we first met, I couldn’t believe how beautiful she could be.
My gaze drifted down her body to her tanned feet that stood bare. I smiled and shook my head at how cute she could be.
“I was going to wear shoes, but I was running late since it took me a while to do my hair…”
Her sentence drifted off, and I lifted my head to see her shyly smiling at me. She didn’t need to make excuses for not wearing shoes. This was her home.
“You look beautiful, Nina.”
She walked across the room and stopped in front of me. Reaching out, she smoothed the front of my tux jacket. “And you look like you did all those years ago when I fell in love with you. I swear to God, Tristan, no man wears a tux like you do. Even now, just seeing you in this makes me crazy.”
“That’s exactly why I wore it,” I said with a grin.
Looking up at me, Nina rolled her eyes. “We have to get through dinner, though.”
“Well, give me a minute and I’ll bring it out from the kitchen.”
I turned to walk away to get the food, but Nina stopped me, her eyes closed as she made a moaning noise. Opening her eyes, she shook her head. “I told you what would happen if you wore that cologne, and then you added the tux. Dinner will have to wait.”
Chuckling, I silen
tly congratulated myself on a well-conceived plan while I let her pull me by the arm to the living room. I’d hoped the tux would do the trick, but I hadn’t expected it to overrule everything she’d had planned.
Nina pointed toward the couch, so I sat down and eagerly waited for what would come next. Already hard, I was up for anything she wanted.
Wearing that adorable pout that never failed to make me smile, she stepped between my legs. “I had this whole night planned, and you had to break out that cologne and the tux. You know those are like my kryptonite, Tristan.”
“I do, but if you really want to have dinner first, I’m okay with that,” I lied as I leaned forward to stand up.
Before I could get to my feet, Nina straddled my legs and sat down on my lap. “Dinner can wait.”
As she kissed me, memories of the first time we sat together in that room flooded my brain. Three children and a few decades meant the couch was different, along with the carpet and the paint color on the walls, but I remembered how incredible she felt sitting in front of me between my legs as I reached over her shoulders and taught her how to tie a Windsor knot.
“You seem a million miles away, Mr. Stone. Is something wrong?”
I focused my attention on Nina right there on my lap and shook my head. “No. I was just thinking back to that first night we were together in this room when I tried to teach you how to tie a tie. Do you remember that?”
For a second, she looked at me oddly, but then a shy smile formed on her lips. “All I remember about that was I couldn’t think straight the whole time you were telling me how to tie it. You were so close and I felt like all the air was being sucked out of the room with every second that passed.”
I slid my hands over her back and leaned forward to kiss her. “I never told you, but I could barely think straight enough to recite the steps on how to tie a Windsor knot with you sitting between my legs. You had that kind of effect on me. Always have.”
