Chapter 189

It smelled like the ocean everywhere in the tiny beach town where Nolan and I had traveled for a meeting later at their little town hall.

It was a beautiful place, teeming with nature and absolutely lovely to behold. Everything was glowing green with fluffy moss that grew in tufts around the base of every tree and filled the seams between every brick and stone in sight.

But it was crazy windy and extremely cold.

And in the couple seconds it took to get from the train into the back of the car that was waiting for us at the station, and then out from the car and into the hotel lobby, we got wetter than should have been possible for two people standing upright on dry land.

The rain was not just coming straight down from the sky. It came at you from all angles here, riding around the town on swirling wind currents of salt scented, freezing cold sea breeze.

Nolan had been holding an umbrella over our heads and crouching to keep me covered during those two quick trips to and from the car. But that crazy multidimensional rain that ruled this town was no match for umbrellas.

Fortunately, the people of the town must have been well aware of a traveler’s need for warmth and comfort. Because our big suite on the top floor of the town’s largest (still modest) hotel was half bedroom, half bathroom.

In other words, the bathroom was ginormous. In the center of it, pretending to be a bathtub, was a giant indoor hot tub with built-in bench seats and jets around the sides and ambient lighting at the bottom. And there was also a giant walk-in shower with a glass door, rugged stone walls and floor, and several overhead and side-angled showerheads.

“Oh, we are so taking a shower right now,” I said when I spotted it.

Nolan started a slow and patient battle with his tie, working hard to loosen the wet silk knot. “I’ll join you in a minute,” he said, watching me strip.

The hot water was hot right away. I knew Nolan would love that. I kept it high and adjusted all four of the showerheads to customize the pressure to my liking. Finally my handsome husband came and joined me in my new favorite place in the world, making it even better, and we played around in there as long as we possibly could.

The town hall meeting was, I hate to say, horrifically boring.

Our other media activities had been so exciting, my adrenaline had kept me alert the whole time. But this was a very different type of event. There were no camera crews. Just a few local reporters, one of whom recorded the meeting audio on a little digital device.

There were less than a hundred people in the room. The mayor and his staff, the couple quiet journalists, the town sheriff and his two deputies, and a few dozen civilians.

And every person in attendance was dressed to keep warm and dry. This gathering was most definitely not a fashion show, which made me feel better about my decision to wear not my fancier first-choice outfit but instead the back-up one Rafaela had made me pack at the last minute. It was a slightly more casual dress, long-sleeved and rather warm, and definitely the better choice in this environment.

Nolan gave the speech he’d been rehearsing when prompted by the mayor. She was a raven-haired woman in her sixties with thin eyes and a kind smile. Then the two of them had some back-and-forth question and answer time. Questions from a drowsy audience followed after that. A few of those were addressed to me; I almost had to shake myself awake to answer.

And by the time we were back in the hotel lobby, I was rain-drenched again. Nolan and I agreed to head right upstairs. We absolutely had to get dry. We also decided to order room service for dinner, so we wouldn’t have to get dressed for public yet another time today.

I spied two gold gift boxes that were waiting for me on the bed when we got up into our suite. A flat one I immediately knew contained night clothes of some kind. And a small, square one on top of it, about the size of a jewelry store gift box.

“Ooh. Sneaky.”

Nolan replied with a closed-mouth smile, trying not to look too pleased with himself.

I shivered, starting to peel all the wet layers of my clothing off. I wasn’t yet in shape to go open my presents. I was chilled to the bone, and though Nolan wasn’t trembling like I was, I was sure he felt some kind of cold as well.

We warmed up in the shower again. The hot tub would definitely feel pleasant, but its surfaces looked slippery. The rough stone walls in the shower were better for holding onto. It was bigger, too, so we didn’t have to wait for a tub to fill up with water.

We started our business in the shower with soap and shampoo. And extra conditioner, because my hair was not loving getting wet so often.

Once we were warmed up and squeaky clean again, we covered each other’s bodies with our mouths and hands, teasing each other in the hot steam with our fingers and lips and tongues till we were both gasping in satisfaction.

I’d forgotten all about the gifts. I was surprised all over again when we came out from the bathroom together and I saw them for a second time.

I was wrapped up in a fluffy white robe, my hair damp after only being towel-dried. Nolan was naked. Even the larger hotel bathrobes were hilariously too small for him.

I curled up on the bed while he went over and rifled through his suitcase, from which he retrieved a pair of black satin lounge pants. I watched the silky pants go up the long length of his legs, then his fingers as they tied a slipknot in the drawstring. And waited for him to join me before I started opening.

The small box contained a smaller box. A jewelry box, as I’d suspected.

It was ancient. Forest green velvet with sparkling gold hinges. I opened it and found a pair of diamond earrings inside. The shine on them was absolutely blinding.

“Wow. These are unbelievable.”

“They’re a family heirloom,” Nolan said proudly. “They’ve been passed down for many generations.”

“Did your mother ever wear them?”

“She used to. When she was younger. She gave them to me last night, told me she wanted you to have them now.”

“They’re gorgeous. Thank you, I love them.”

“Now, before you open this one,” Nolan said, slipping the larger box behind his back playfully, “can you and I talk about something?”

“Of course. What’s up?” I shifted my body around on the bed, suddenly uncomfortable.

I didn’t really need to ask him that question. I knew exactly what was coming.

“There’s something you and I haven’t talked about in a while. Not since we got back together. I only want to hear your thoughts on the subject.”

“You want to start a family,” I said quietly. “Right?”

Nolan was quiet and still. “That’s right,” he said after a thoughtful pause. “You said before that you weren’t ready… But how do you feel about it now?”

I fidgeted with the earring box, looking down at my hands.

The honest answer was that I had no idea how I felt.