“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 his eyes shifted over the uncovered patches of her ivory skin in the water. Nothing scandalous was visible, but it didn’t need to be. He had an excellent memory and could easily fill in the blanks without fail. Damp strands of red hair were plastered to her neck, a rosy flush painted across her cheeks. “What do you need?”

“There’s no towels,” she admitted with a pained wince. “I’m an idiot and I didn’t grab one before I got in. I didn’t want to drip water all over while I hunted for one. Do you know where they are?”

Towels. Yes. That he could do. “Sure thing.” He turned and opened a narrow door that hid a linen closet. He pulled out a fluffy yellow towel that had come from her apartment and carried it back over to the tub. “Here you go.”

“Thank you,” she said with a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry to scare you.”

“No problem. Let me know if you need anything else.” He turned and started walking out of the bathroom.

“Tyler?”

He stopped and turned. “Yes?”

Amelia had stood in the tub and quickly wrapped the towel around her. “Would you like to watch some television with me tonight? I was thinking we could pile up in the new bed and watch something together. I know the list I left for Janet had popcorn and chips, if you’d like some.”

Tyler was a little surprised by the invitation, but he was more surprised by the seemingly shy expression on her face while she asked. It was almost as if she was a teenager again, asking if he’d like to sit with her at lunch or something. She was his best friend. Of course he’d like to watch television with her. He hadn’t suggested something like that because...things were different now. They had shared a bed on several occasions throughout the years, but lying beside one another in bed now felt more complicated than it used to. Feelings had been unleashed between them.

The last thing he wanted was to lose the parts of their friendship he cherished the most as their physical relationship changed. Perhaps once they made the decision to cross that bridge again it wouldn’t seem like such a big deal any longer, but for now, they were in limbo. Married. Having a baby. Yet dating as though none of it had happened.

“That’s a great idea. Are you getting out of the tub already?”

“Yes. I’m not very good with sitting idle, even when it feels nice.”

“Okay, well, while you’re getting dressed, I’ll see what I can find in the kitchen for snacks.”

A smile lit up Amelia’s face, distracting him from the sight of the tiny towel wrapped around her curves. It was a contagious grin, and one spread across his own face just as easily.

Tyler left the room so she could put on some clothes and started to hunt through the kitchen. Fortunately, Janet had put everything in very sensible places. He found a box of microwave popcorn on a shelf in the pantry. Score.

About ten minutes later, he strolled cautiously back into the bedroom with two cans of soda, a roll of paper towels and a large bowl piled high with movie-theater butter-flavored popcorn.

He found Amelia dressed—thankfully—and sitting on the bed cross-legged. Her hair was still clipped up on top of her head, but she’d removed her makeup, leaving her skin clean and fresh. She was wearing her pajamas—a pair of pale blue cotton lounging pants with a matching tank top. The top had thin spaghetti straps and a lacy edge that gave the impression of modesty where there was none. There was no disguising Amelia’s assets in anything short of a turtleneck.

Tyler went around to the other side of the bed and unloaded the contents of his arms into the space between them. Currently, the only television in the house was from Amelia’s apartment. He’d opted to put it in the bedroom, since they really didn’t have much in the way of living room furniture for now.

Amelia flipped on the television, then piled the pillows up behind her. She accepted the can of soda from Tyler, resting it between her thighs since they also didn’t have nightstands yet. “Ooh,” she said, looking over at the bowl of popcorn. “That looks like the really buttery, nasty kind. I love it.”