Page 104 of Timelessly Ours
Nicole: Goodnight.
Royce: Kiss Rory for me.
Nicole: Done. Slobbery, this one.
Royce: What?
Nicole: Oh, I read that wrong. Thought you said Rover. Well, I just made out with your dog.
Royce: Lucky dog.
27
Angel graciously offers to take Rory to school for me on Monday morning. After all the girls are gone, I scurry into the master bedroom bath for a long hot shower. I can’t help myself. It’s glorious, with a big square shower head on the ceiling that makes it feel like I’m in a tropical rainforest. He's got a standalone tub in here too, but maybe some other time.
I lather the bar over my arms and think about what Royce said to me the other night. About my favorite scent. Is it weird that he’s my favorite scent? That I don’t mind using his cedar and sage soap because it makes me feel like he’s close?
I thought it might be a little weird, so didn’t say anything when he asked.
When I step out of the steamy bathroom with a towel draped around my waist, I swear, I pick up a faint aroma of coffee.
And I know, he’s home.
I slip on my underwear. The sexy kind I never bothered with before. And then…because I know how much he loves it, I pull on one of his sweatshirts, which hangs mid-thigh over my heather grey leggings.
“It’s yours.”
I turn to the sound of his voice at the door.
Grinning, he sets down two glass mugs of coffee and approaches me. Reaching under the collar, he pulls my long, wet hair out from under the sweater, then bends to kiss my cheek. “How was the rest of your weekend?”
I shrug. “Rory kept me pretty busy yesterday. Angel took her to school this morning.”
“Well, I should hope so, since I asked her to.”
“You asked her to? Why?”
“It’s your day off.”
“Will you quit it with that?” I roll my eyes and walk around him to grab one of the coffees, not bothering to ask which is mine.
He catches my waist. “I don’t have to be at the arena today. So, I want to take you out. We can leave the city. We’ll drive out to the falls.”
“Canada?”
“Well no, the traffic is insane crossing borders, we’ll never make it back in time to pick up Rory. I meant the American side of the falls.”
“Sounds dangerous.”
He smirks. “Should be right up your alley then.”
I scoff and adjust his tie, which is all disheveled from the overnight flight. “I can’t. I have a therapy session this morning.”
“Oh.” He steps back. “I’ll drive you. And then we’ll get lunch, and…go someplace…almost as cool.”
I open my mouth to apologize, but I know he won’t like that so, I accept. “Okay.”
“Pamela seemed nice,” Royce tells me on the ride to lunch. To ease my anxiety, he offered to still take us out of town for lunch where we’re unlikely to be spotted together. But then told me I’ll need to get over that soon because he doesn’t plan to drive forty-five minutes every time he plans to take me out.