her tone flat. “Unfortunately, the circus is necessary for a beautiful, smoothly run wedding day. We’ve got it down to a science.”
Amelia picked up her tablet and pulled up her task list for the afternoon. At the top of the list was prepping a hundred servings each of filet mignon, chicken breast and salmon to marinate overnight. She pulled out a large plastic tote and started mixing up the steak marinade.
She kept expecting Tyler to make noises about leaving, but he continued to hover a few feet away. Whereas she normally didn’t mind company, he was a distraction. A glance at his smile, a whiff of his cologne, and she’d likely slice off her thumb. Dumping in the last ingredient in the marinade, she turned to him. “Tyler, honey, you don’t need to stand around and look at me. I’m sure you have something more important to do today.”
Tyler leaned against the counter beside her and shook his head. “No, I don’t. I’m here to help you. I’m no chef, but I’m another set of hands. Tell me what you need done.”
That was the sexiest thing she’d ever heard. She resisted the urge to throw her arms around his neck and let him take her against the industrial refrigerator. Fridays were a day for work, not play. Instead she took a deep breath and decided where they should start first.
“If you insist.” She pointed to a sink on the opposite side of the kitchen. “Scrub up in the sink and grab an apron off the shelf. When you’re ready, glove up and grab the beef tenderloins from the refrigerator so we can get them broken down into portions.”
If he was going to be a sexy distraction, he could at least be a useful one.
“If I never see another potato, it will be too soon.” Tyler opened the front door of their new home and held it for Amelia to step through ahead of him.
“You were a trouper. Thank you for all your help today.” She looked down at her watch. “Home by eight. I think that might be a Friday-night record.”
He followed her into the kitchen, where she dropped her purse on the breakfast bar and slipped out of her coat. She hopped on one foot, then the other, pulling off her shoes with a happy sigh.
“All your things are in the master suite,” he said. Tyler had had to make a command decision when the movers arrived, so he’d given her the nicest room on the main floor and hoped that at some point they would share it.
Amelia followed him, shoes in hand, down the hallway to the master suite. The new bed dominated the formerly empty space, with a green-and-gold embroidered comforter in place. They continued into the master bathroom, where a door led to the walk-in closet.
“All your clothes are in here,” he said. “Everything that was in your dressers is in the built-in armoire here. All your shoes are in the cubbies there.”
Amelia slipped her sneakers into an empty slot in the shoe display and nodded. “Thank you for taking care of all of this. Since it’s all handled, I think I might take a bath in the big whirlpool tub. It might help me relax after a long day. Just not too hot, right?”
He remembered his sister saying something about that because she’d found out she was pregnant with his niece right before her fifth-anniversary cruise. No drinks, no hot tubs! What a vacation, she’d lamented. “I think so. I know hot tubs are bad, but they keep the temperature up. The bathwater, especially with the jets running, will cool over time.”
“I’m more interested in the jets than the heat anyway. I’ll go online on my phone and check first. I’ve got quite a list of things to talk about with my doctor when I go to my first appointment.”
Tyler paused. “When is your first appointment?”
“Tuesday afternoon.”
“May I come?” he asked, hesitantly. He was teetering on the edge of wanting to be involved in the process and not wanting too many of the less-appetizing details.
Amelia nodded. “I don’t think the first one will be very interesting, but you’re welcome to join me and ask questions. We’re both new at this.”
“Great. Thanks. I’ll, uh...” he took a few steps toward the hallway “...let you take your bath now.”
Tyler slipped from the room and went back out into the kitchen. He had set up his temporary office in the keeping room off the kitchen. Turning on his laptop, he settled into the new office chair. He was exhausted. He really couldn’t understand how Amelia worked that hard week after week. As a steady stream of emails downloaded into his inbox, he realized he wasn’t in the mood to deal with any of it. Instead he closed his email program and started playing a game.
Even that was hard to focus on. He could hear the water running in the master bath. It seemed to take an eternity to fill the tub, but eventually the water stopped and the soft hum of the jets started. He lost multiple rounds of solitaire, his mind more interested in imagining Amelia stripping out of her clothes. Dropping them to the floor. Clipping her hair up so it didn’t get wet. Lowering her body into the warm, churning water, inch by inch. Rubbing her body with a slick bar of fragrant soap until bubbles formed across her skin.
A prickling sensation traveled down his spine, every muscle tightening with anticipation for something it wouldn’t have. He suddenly felt constricted by the clinging cotton T-shirt and jeans he’d worn today. Especially the jeans. Tyler swallowed hard and squeezed his eyes shut, but it wasn’t enough to block out his imagination. Nothing could drive the image of her wet skin and steam-flushed cheeks from his thoughts.
Their date had brought his need for her to the forefront of his mind. Their wedding night had been weeks ago, and although he would never forget that experience, his hands could no longer feel her skin, and his tongue could no longer taste her. The kiss on her porch had refreshed everything, making it hard for him to focus on anything else. Not even long hours working in the kitchen had helped with her so nearby.
About fifteen minutes into her bath, Tyler leaped up from his chair and marched toward the staircase. Maybe a little distance would help. He might take a shower of his own. Or bury his head under a pillow and smother the fantasy.
He was halfway up when he heard Amelia’s voice. “Tyler?” she shouted. “Tyler, help!”
His heart jumped into his throat. He spun on his heel and sprinted back downstairs, not stopping at the closed door of the suite. Instead he charged in, fearful he would find she’d slipped and hurt herself, or worse. She was still in the bathroom. He headed that way, his loafers skidding across the tile to a stop.
Looking around the bathroom, he couldn’t spot an immediate problem. No blood, nothing broken. The air was heavy with steam and a tropical scent she must’ve added to the water. Amelia was in the tub with the jets turned off. She was watching him with large, surprised eyes, her hands protectively attempting to cover her nakedness in the clear water of the bath.
“Yes?” he asked, breathless. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
Amelia bit her bottom lip. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to send you into a panic. Nothing is wrong, at least nothing serious. I’m fine.”
Tyler took a deep breath of relief, feeling his fight-or-flight response dwindle away. It was replaced with a different kind of tension as
