Page 56 of While You're There
“Hey,” she whispered, wrapping an oversized pool towel around her body as she stepped into his space. “You doing okay?” she asked, leaning in to run her hand through his hair. She had the height advantage for once as she stood next to where he was seated on a barstool. He savored the way her nails scraped his scalp, how her hand came to rest on his jaw. He turned slightly to plant a kiss in the center of her palm before nodding.
“Hang on,” he mouthed back, reaching for his phone and hitting “mute” but leaving the call on speakerphone in case he needed to jump back in.
“Now we can talk. How’s the pool?”
“Lonely.”
“Sorry, beautiful.” He sighed. “I had no idea this was all going to unfold today. Or that I’d have to be on the phone all damn day to work through it.”
“Do you want a raincheck for our date tonight? I’m fine staying in and just hanging out if you need to be by your computer.” She ran her hand up through his hair again, this time running her fingertips back and forth over the side of his skull. It was like she knew he had a tension headache forming right in that spot. He was so tempted to just slam his laptop shut and let her run her hands all over his body for the rest of the night.
“No way. I promised you a date, and we’d have to make dinner if we stayed in anyways. I’m taking my wife out tonight. All this should be wrapped up by then.”
“Okay. I’m going to head back to my house to shower and get ready. I’ll see if my dad’s home from work and maybe take Penny on a walk. Want to pick me up just like old times?”
Rhett smirked, thinking about all the times he’d insisted on picking her up in his Prelude at her house rather than letting her walk between their backyards through the broken part of the fence that connected their backyards.
“I don’t know, V… think your dad’s going to come to the door and scowl at me as we drive off just like old times?”
“Nah. He knows I’m an old married lady now. He’ll behave,” she promised. She wrapped her hand around his head and pulled him into her slightly wet chest. She held him like that, with her hand on the side of his temple, pressing the side of his face into her body, while she rested her chin on the top of his head. He closed his eyes and savored the way she just knew he needed her touch. She rubbed her chin back and forth a few times, then kissed the top of his head. “Make sure to drink some water so you don’t get a headache, ’kay?”
He nodded as she walked toward the sunroom door. “I’ll pick you up at 6:45, beautiful.”
“Love you,” she replied as she slipped on her flipflops and let the door slam behind her.
Chapter twenty-three
Rhett
Heeasedhisdad’sS-Class Coupe into the turnaround in front of The Grille. It had been their go-to date spot for years, so it was fitting that they were celebrating their first date as husband and wife at the Hampton establishment.
If only Rhett could will his phone to stop going off in his pocket. He placed a closed fist around the vibrating device as he rose out of the car, key fob in his other hand. He made his way around the front of the bumper for Tori before a valet could reach her.
He opened her door and extended his hand to help her out of the car. “You look beautiful,” he said once she was standing at full height. She really did. She had let her dark blonde hair dry naturally, so it looked all soft and wavy around her face. Her eyes were a bright emerald shade of green, set off by the strapless coral dress she was wearing. She had worn that same dress on their honeymoon a few weeks ago, and Rhett had vivid memories of how easily it fell to the floor as the zipper was undone.
“Tori!” a voice called from a few feet away, catching both their attention.
“Hey, Anwar,” she replied breezily.Shit. Rhett had forgotten about the motley crew of fuckboys who worked valet at The Grille and some of the nicer restaurants in town when he made this reservation. He begrudgingly wondered who else was working tonight.
“Wow, you guys look good all dressed up. Nice wheels, Wheeler.” Anwar smirked at his own lame joke before accepting the key fob for the car. “Fielding’s working tonight, too. He’s just out back,” Anwar explained. Not that anyone asked him.
“Tell him I said hi,” Tori replied as she took Rhett’s hand. “I saw him this morning, but he didn’t mention he was working tonight.”
“He’ll be right back if you want to…”
“Thanks, Anwar,” Rhett interrupted. He’d already reached his Haas tolerance quota for the day.
“Oh, yeah, sure thing,” the other man replied without missing a beat. “Enjoy your dinner!”
They were seated immediately in a quiet booth toward the back of the restaurant. They had sat in this same spot a few times before, but he couldn’t remember the occasion. Maybe for a high school dance or for one of their graduations? Rhett blew out a long breath as his phone buzzed against his thigh.
He wanted to ignore it. He wanted to be here, to be fully present with his wife, instead of worrying about the latest updates from his team. He wanted to enjoy this weekend. And he wanted to take Tori’s mind off the appointment coming up on Monday, the first in a series of appointments over the next two weeks.
There was so much he wanted. None of it was for the taking tonight.
“I’m gonna duck into the bathroom,” he stated as casually as possible as he rose out of his side of the booth. “Order me whatever they’ve got on tap from Great Lakes if the server stops by before I get back.” He knocked his knuckles twice on the table before bending down to kiss his wife.
Rhett had his phone out of his pants pocket before the bathroom door had even closed behind him. He leaned against the sink and let out a long breath. He started scrolling, first opening up the texts to see the most recent messages from his assistant.
