Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Kari slept better than she had the night before.
The perfect feeling of Gavin’s arms around her had followed her into her dreams. Yet he’d stepped away, and she hadn’t been brave enough to kiss him.
She stank as the heroine. Her heroines wouldn’t have buried their faces in the amazing spot made for them in the crook of his neck, inhaled Tom Ford, and simply savored the hero’s muscular body surrounding them.
Gavin was definitely muscular, she’d figured that much out, but she’d missed her opportunity because she was so thrilled and content to be hugging him that she hadn’t taken it to the next level. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
She woke the next morning and went down to the hotel gym; she loved to run but tried to do a weight-lifting circuit in her condo or at a park at least once a week.
This gym was nice, with some fun equipment like cable machines and Bosu balls that she didn’t usually get to use.
As she did her weight training, her thoughts worked through the next few days.
She hated that it was already Friday. She was only here until Monday, making this a long weekend trip.
If anything, this trip had convinced her that she needed to get out more.
Her mom would be proud. Maybe Gavin and Austin and Angel Falls Retreat weren’t really that special; it was simply her lack of exposure to the real world.
Yet as she finished her workout and strode through the second floor and then up the stairs to her fifth-floor suite, she knew she was deluding herself.
Everything about this place was special, most importantly the owner and his son.
Dang. Why did she keep thinking of Austin as Gavin’s son?
She needed to reprogram that in her brain.
Kari entered her room and headed for the shower, but she paused when she noticed that a light was blinking on the phone.
It was probably the front desk checking in.
They’d taken very good care of her, and she loved the little touches like the bed being turned down at night with a different animal made out of towels and chocolates on her pillow.
She picked up the phone, pushed the button, and it rang.
A woman’s voice answered. “Angel Falls Retreat Spa.”
The spa? She perked up. Gavin had said he’d make her appointments for this morning, but she didn’t really expect him to. He was a busy guy. “Hi, this is Kari Love in room 506.”
“Kari,” the woman said, greeting her warmly. “Mr. Strong informed us you’ll be our guest this morning. Everything is on the house of course. Are there any treatments you prefer, or would you like me to schedule the pampering package for you?”
“Um … pampering package sounds great.” A spa day. What an incredible gift from Gavin. How thoughtful. Did she dare read anything into it? “I just need to shower quick.”
“Perfect. You might just want to rinse off, because you’ll probably get your hair wet in the therapy pools after the treatments.”
“All right. That sounds great. How soon should I come?”
“We’ll be waiting for you, Miss Love. I’ve got therapists ready whenever you get here.”
“Thank you.”
Kari hung up, hurried to shower, threw on some comfortable sweats, grabbed her swimsuit, and then rushed to the spa. She was eager to try out the treatments, and she could hardly wait to thank Gavin.
Gavin was tired the next morning. He’d given in to his weakness and downloaded Kari’s latest novel. He’d read until after midnight, having to drag himself out of bed when his alarm sounded at five a.m.
She was a great writer. The story was intriguing and fast-paced.
The romance made him a bit uncomfortable, but he liked that the hero was a tough Navy SEAL, a real man’s man and not a gushy type.
The feisty heroine had the guy eating out of her hand by the end of the book.
The Navy SEAL made him think of Nick. Kari really would be intrigued by his military hero brother; what woman wouldn’t?
Gavin pushed it out of his mind and focused on work.
He had a busy morning, for which he was grateful.
The thought of Kari over at his spa getting a massage, pedicure, manicure, and facial were enough to drive him to distraction.
He’d battled with himself about whether he was going to go over there.
He shouldn’t do it. Ice skating this afternoon with her and Austin was more interaction than he could probably handle.
His phone rang, and he picked up the call. “Hello?”
“Mr. Strong? This is Shanna from the spa.”
“Hi, Shanna.” His pulse quickened, imagining Kari at his spa and anticipating news about her.
“Miss Love will be finished with her facial in the next twenty minutes and heading to the therapy pools and relaxation room. You asked that I inform you.”
“Yes, thank you. How … has she liked it?”
“She’s adorable.” He could hear the smile in Shanna’s voice. “So grateful and excited about everything. I think she’s loved it, sir.”
Gavin bit back his own smile. He could imagine Kari loved everything. She shone with an inner light and enjoyed everything about life. “Will you please give each of the therapists who worked with her, and yourself for coordinating it all, an extra forty-dollar tip from me?”
“Of course, sir. Thank you.”
“Thank you.” He hung up, stood, and started pacing his office.
He had swim trunks in his drawer in the bathroom.
Sometimes he used the lodge’s pool for laps in the winter when his own backyard pool was frozen over, and sometimes he’d used the therapy pools with his family for a fun diversion to the cold weather.
He paced and he debated. Would she want him to show up?
Would she be all cute and grateful for the spa treatments and throw her arms around him like she had last night?
Could he resist kissing her? Why did he want to resist?
Oh yeah, he reminded himself sarcastically: she was leaving him in three days, and he didn’t do vacation flings.
He smiled grimly to himself. He didn’t do any kind of flings.
He was pathetic, and this was ridiculous.
He was twenty-nine years old and hadn’t held a woman close in eleven years, not before last night.
Kari seemed interested in him. He was definitely interested in her.
What was wrong with exploring that interest?
As long as he kept putting Austin first. Hang the rest of his stupid worries.
Storming into his bathroom, he grabbed the navy swimsuit out of the drawer and hurried back out before he could question himself.
He was crazy to chase after a whimsical romance writer.
He adored his son and had spent the past eleven years being a good, responsible dad while masquerading as a brother and denying himself interest in any woman.
Yet maybe it was time for a change, for both of them.
Maybe it was time to finally tell Austin he was his dad and explore options of finding him the right mom.
If the way he’d felt last night holding Kari was any indication of exactly what he’d missed the past eleven years … maybe it was about time he tried crazy.
Kari felt relaxed and happy and oh so grateful.
Everything from the massage to the mani-pedi to the facial had been incredible.
The women who’d done the treatments had been fun to chat with.
Kari had asked far too many questions, but she’d gotten everything from insight into their careers to some pretty incredible personal stories.
She never used people’s stories—the characters in her head gave her plenty of ideas—but hearing stories always spurred new ideas and direction.
Her last stop was what they called the relaxation room.
It was dimly lit, but Kari could count seven different small pools, or maybe large hot tubs, including the lie-down bubble bed.
There was also a steam room, drinks and snacks in another lounging area, and some heated tile beds, which Shanna had promised were incredible.
Shanna gave her the quick tour, chatting with her while she ate some of the delicious fruit, then handed her a tub of lavender body scrub.
“Take this in the steam room, scrub it into your skin, and stay in there as long as you can stand. Then rinse off in the shower outside the door.” She pointed. “Then jump in the cold plunge.”
Kari pulled a face. Despite that she loved everything about this resort and valley, she still wasn’t a fan of cold. “Cold plunge?”
“I promise it’ll feel good after sweating it out in the steam room.
Then use all the different hot pools you want, relax on the bubble bed.
When you’re ready, you can rinse off in the shower again, and then—” Shanna gestured to a small table.
“—there’s a tub of the most delicious-smelling lotion and a clean robe.
After you’re done, you can relax on the tile bed or eat snacks and get drinks in the refreshment room.
There are also all kinds of sample makeup and hair and body products in the locker room for you to try out.
We’d love for you to stay as long as you’d like.
” She handed over a water bottle. “You’ll probably want this too after the steam room.
” With a smile and warm squeeze of Kari’s arm, she left.
“Thank you,” Kari called.
She smiled to herself and took off the robe she’d used in between treatments.
She was wearing a comfortable blue floral suit.
As she walked into the steam room with her scrub in hand, she was blasted with hot, moist air.
The door swung shut behind her, and she panted for air, hardly able to take a full breath.
She closed her eyes, groped for a seat, and hurried to open the scrub and rub it into her arms and legs.