Start a War (Saint View Psychos #1)(52)

“Oh holy moly,” I yelped, pushing the door open farther while taking off for the stairs. “My bath!” Without turning back, I yelled out to him. “Slight emergency, but come in!”

I thundered up the stairs and sprinted into my bathroom, catching the faucet maybe thirty seconds before it would have delivered enough water to overflow. I plunged a hand into the depths, pulling the plug, and perched on the edge while I caught my breath. “Well, that’s what I get for drooling over the very attractive man. I nearly flood the bathroom as well as my panties.”

“What are you doing?”

I jumped a mile, letting out a startled scream.

Vincent’s eyes went wide, and he held out a placating hand. “I’m sorry. You said there was an emergency. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

I shook my head, clutching a hand to my chest. Had he heard what I’d said? Oh good Lord, kill me now. “How the hell do you move so quietly?”

“Occupational necessity.”

I squinted at him, then realized what he meant. “I never thought of it like that, but the ability to tiptoe out of the babies’ room when you’ve just managed to get them all to sleep is a good talent to have. One I’ve mastered too.”

He didn’t answer. “Were you taking a bath?”

I shook my head. “Oh no. I was going to, but I need to get ready for our…” I couldn’t say the word date. Vincent wasn’t even close to in my league. He was the sort of good-looking that only dated Instagram influencers who lived in their bikinis and whose bodies were like Photoshop airbrushing come to life.

“Our date,” Vincent supplied. He shrugged out of his jacket, tossing it on the closed toilet. “You should take your bath. I don’t mind waiting.”

I shook my head. “No, no, it’s fine. I’m so sorry I’m running late. I don’t want to hold us up any more than I already have.”

He undid the button at his wrist and rolled his sleeve up. I tried not to drool at the corded ropes of muscle in his tanned forearm.

“It’s no trouble. You’re taking the bath.” He took the plug from my hand and plunged his arm into the rapidly draining water, stopping it from emptying any further. Then he turned the faucet on, replacing the water that had been lost. “Do you like it hot?”

“I do.”

He nodded, studiously upping the temperature and testing it with his fingers. “Bubbles?”

I almost laughed. This was so ridiculous. “Yes, please. There’s a bottle on the ledge over there.”

He leaned across the tub to retrieve the little purple bottle and squirted a measured amount carefully beneath the flow of water. It frothed up into soapy foam, a delicate honeysuckle scent wafting with the steam.

“No one has ever run me a bath before. Not a man, I mean. Well, I don’t know. Maybe my dad did when I was little.”

But I suspected it had always been my nanny.

“Why didn’t your fiancé do this for you?”

I opened my mouth to answer but then realized I didn’t have one. “I don’t know. I never asked…”

“You didn’t ask me either, and yet, I did it anyway.”

He was right. If I hadn’t already been swooning over Vincent in his suit, then I would have started over that simple act. Caleb had never done anything nice or sweet for me. Even when he’d bought me a dress, it wasn’t for me. It was so I’d look good on his arm.

Vincent waved his hand around in the sudsy water, then nodded, like he was satisfied with his task. He stood, retrieving his jacket. “I’ll wait in your sitting area.”

“Or you could stay,” I blurted out.

He froze.

So did I.

What the hell, Bliss? I rushed to fill the awkward silence. “I mean, once I’m in, I’ll be covered by bubbles. You won’t see anything… Or you could just…face the wall.” I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. “Or not. I’m sorry. I’ve had a couple of drinks already. Ignore me.”

Liar. I hadn’t had a sip. I was just stupidly awkward.

“Very well.” He turned and faced the wall. “Get in.”

I tried not to breathe too heavily. I’d lost my mind. Getting naked with the man just sitting right here. He could easily sneak a peek out of the corner of his eye while I was clambering like an elephant into the bath. I was tempted to leave my underwear on.

Except I already knew he wouldn’t.

So I stripped, hiding my bra and panties beneath the rest of my clothes and then climbed into the bathtub.

It was the perfect temperature, and there were so many bubbles that they provided more than enough cover. I needn’t have been worried.

It was just the fact that I was naked, while he was fully clothed. Even if he wasn’t peeking.

“Is the water okay?”

The water was heavenly. The exact perfect temperature, and it was like a welcoming hug after the week I’d had. He’d been right. I had needed this. “It’s perfect.”

He nodded. “Good. That pleases me.”

“Did we have reservations anywhere? Am I making us late?”

“Not at all.”

I sank a little deeper in the water. “Where are we going?”

“My place.”