Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
T he walk altered Warren’s mood dramatically. Reclined in the hot tub with his head resting back and his eyes closed, he looked utterly content. Anna’s breath fogged in front of her face. The contrast of the cold air on her cheeks and the warmth of the water enveloping her body was wonderful.
Darkness had descended on the garden, but the patio was gently lit around the hot tub and adjacent seating area. Gurgling water sloshed up to Anna’s chin when Warren pulled himself up to take a swig from his glass of champagne.
She kept her eyes on him as he set the glass back beside hers on the edge of the hot tub.
“You’re staring,” he said as he sank back into the water.
“When did you get your tattoos?” she asked, eyeing the black ink on his chest.
“When I was at university,” he said, lips twitching to a smile. “It was my way of rebelling.”
“Why did you feel the need to rebel?”
“Because I hated my course. Spending so much of my time doing something I wasn’t particularly interested in was stifling. Getting tattoos felt like blowing off steam. With the bonus that it pissed off my parents. Especially my dad.”
Beneath the water, Anna found his hand and raised his arm to examine the inked skin.
“They don’t mean anything much,” he said, twisting his arm for her to get a better look. “I really liked going into the shop and leafing through books and just choosing whatever I felt like at the moment.”
“There seems to be a nautical theme,” she said, her finger trailing over the old-fashioned sailing ship and then a compass and an anchor. Between them were twining vines and flowers, with a decent amount of natural skin still showing in between. “I like them.”
“Have you ever thought of getting one?”
“Yes.” Her hand fell away from his arm and sank beneath the bubbling water again.
“And?”
“And then I got one.” She fought to keep a straight face at the way his forehead wrinkled.
“Where?”
“Somewhere hidden.”
He lifted his eyebrows as he stared at her. “I don’t believe you.”
“Why not?”
“Because you don’t seem like someone who’d get a tattoo.”
“Well, maybe you don’t know me very well.”
“Show me it,” he demanded.
“No.” Her cheeks ached with the effort of containing her grin.
“You won’t show me because you don’t have one.”
She shook her head. “I won’t show you because my brother wouldn’t approve of me showing you.”
His slow blink was extremely satisfying. “Earlier you said Lewis wouldn’t care about us sharing a bed. ”
“He wouldn’t, because that could be totally innocent.”
“And seeing your tattoo couldn’t?”
“Not really, no.” Calmly, she closed her eyes and sank lower into the water.
“I know you’re only messing with me.”
For a moment, she considered standing up and shifting aside her bikini bottoms to reveal the delicate feather along her bikini line.
That was the champagne squashing her inhibitions.
“It’s at my bikini line,” she said, not quite brave enough. “I can’t show you, but I promise it’s there.”
He cleared his throat and sat up again. “Here,” he said, holding her glass out. “You better finish this.”
“You can give me as much alcohol as you want,” she said, taking it from him. “I’m still not showing you.” It wasn’t actually true. She suspected it wouldn’t take much more alcohol at all, but she was enjoying teasing him.
“That’s not the reason I think you should drink more.” He drained the contents of his own glass. “We’re having dinner with my family soon. I find it’s best not to be too sober for that.”
As she got dressed after a shower, Anna wondered what the sleeping plans were now. Warren hadn’t mentioned moving rooms again, and his stuff was still in the same room.
It wasn’t just that Anna wanted to share with him – she also wanted him to want them to share.
And it wasn’t as though she was thinking anything would happen between them. She just liked the idea of sleeping beside him, and of him being there when she fell asleep and when she woke up. As far as getting to know people went, it seemed like a fast track.
When she came out of the bathroom, he went straight in there to get changed. Sinking onto the edge of the bed, she checked her phone and found a message from Frannie asking how things were going.
Great, she typed in reply. The more time I spend with him, the more I like him.
Her stomach erupted with butterflies. She didn’t just like him, she realised. She was falling for him – fast.
After spending so long pining after Hayden, having feelings for someone new felt wonderful. Especially since they were interwoven with hope, whereas her feelings for Hayden had been twisted with desperation.
Glad you’re having a good time, Frannie replied. Keep me updated.
After dragging her fingers through her damp hair, she got her hairdryer from her bag and moved to sit at the dressing table. Five minutes later, she turned the hairdryer off and tilted her head at the sound of voices. So far, the house had been silent. Now the signs of life felt overly pronounced.
“Are you hungry?” Warren asked, rubbing a towel over his hair as he walked out of the bathroom.
“Yes.” Anna caught his eye in the mirror. “Does someone speak Spanish?”
“Yeah.” His eyes twinkled. “Tamara. She’s funny.”
“Who’s Tamara?”
“Josh’s nanny. She only speaks Spanish. Or so she claims. But she’s been his nanny for a couple of years now, so I’m sure it can’t be true that she doesn’t understand a word of English. I think she just likes being able to ignore my sister when it suits her.”
“So she only speaks Spanish with Josh?”
“Yes. Which seems to work fine.”
“It’s pretty cool, actually. Kids pick up languages easily.”
“He seems to understand her. I’m not sure how much Spanish he speaks yet, but from what I’ve seen, they communicate fine. It’s her and my sister who have issues communicating – it’s hilarious to watch.” He tipped his chin. “Are you ready?”
She ran the brush through her hair one more time. “As I’ll ever be.”