Forever With The CEO: A marriage of convenience romance (The Whitley Brothers)

The rest of the week went by easier, as I had an evening at The Relaxation Oasis to look forward to. And Derek had been very understanding, though the way he’d phrased his email made me think that this was going to count against me at some point.

Allison, of course I understand that your circumstances have changed. I’ll find another solution.

But honestly, I didn’t really care.

On Thursday, I arrived at The Relaxation Oasis right at six o’clock. It was in an inconspicuous redbrick building. Considering the location, it probably used to be a warehouse.

“Punctual as usual,” a voice said to my right.

I startled. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t hear you.”

Nick was wearing jeans and a polo shirt, and he looked far too sexy.

Oh, heavens. I was already on edge, and he hadn’t even taken his clothes off yet.

“Ready to go in?” he asked, running a hand through his hair.

I liked that he wore it slightly longer so it fell into his eyes depending on how he rearranged it with his fingers.

“Yep. Have you been here before?”

“No, never.”

“How did you find it?” I inquired as he opened the door for me. The vibes were relaxing from the entrance, with soothing music, jasmine incense, and dim lights. Decorative votives lit up the edges of the floor.

“I remembered that you like warm baths and asked Frances to find me something like this.”

I whipped my head toward him, my mouth open in shock. “You actually asked someone to do research about this?”

“Yes. Why are you so surprised?”

“Because you’re a very spur-of-the-moment kind of person.”

He winked at me. “Doesn’t mean I don’t like to do my research. Well, I sort of delegated the research, but…”

“Po-tay-to, po-tah-to,” I finished for him.

“Exactly,” he laughed as we reached the reception desk, where a young brunette was smiling at us.

“Mr. Whitley, welcome. And you must be…”

“I’m Allison.” I liked the service. They already knew we were coming.

“Your time slot begins right now, and it will end in two hours.”

Nick narrowed his eyes. “I’d like to extend it for the whole evening.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible.”

“Two hours is more than enough,” I answered, wondering what she meant about our “slot.”

“I’d give you keys to the changing rooms, but since it’ll be just the two of you for the entire duration, that’s not necessary.”

I blinked several times. “Just the two of us?”

“Yes. Mr. Whitley booked the whole place.”

My mouth fell open as I turned to look at him. That grin. Oh, it was smug and so damn sexy. I was already overheating, and we hadn’t even reached the sauna yet.

The woman led us from the main area, then pointed to the left and said, “Men’s changing room is upstairs, and the women’s is on the other side. You can also change in the same space. It doesn’t matter in this case.” She smiled at Nick as if he’d hung the moon—and, well, he kind of did.

“Anything else you need, we’re right here at your service.” She turned to me with a brilliant smile. “Your fiancé is a very generous man.”

I was too stunned to reply, so I just smiled and nodded.

Once she was gone, I looked at Nick. His grin was smugger than before, if that was even possible.

“Cat got your tongue?” he asked playfully.

“No, you did.” I only realized how that sounded after the words were out, of course. Oh goodness. This evening was off to an interesting start. “Nick, I can’t believe… This is too much.”

“One thing you have to learn, Allison, is that things with me are always on a grand scale. Life is too short to do any less.”

Wasn’t that the truth?

“Thanks. This is more than I could have ever imagined.”

“I figured you’d relax even more if there were no people around.”

“You’re right. I’m going to change. Oh, I didn’t even ask. Their steam and bath sauna, are they clothed ones? Can I use it with a bikini, or do I have to be…?” I couldn’t bring myself to say the word naked, which was just downright silly. We were thirtysomething-year-old adults, not teenagers.

“Clothing,” Nick said, and his voice didn’t sound so nonchalant either anymore.

“Great. See you soon!”

It was an eerie feeling to be completely alone in a changing room. I didn’t bother going into any of the cubicles, just dropped my clothes on the large counter in front of the mirror and put on my bikini. It didn’t cover much, but I was proud of my body even though lately I wasn’t able to work out as much as in the past. The twins kept me busy and moving, though, and that helped a lot.

The guilt of being away from them gnawed at my insides again, and I chastised myself.

Allison, you’re with them every night. Just relax tonight.

Yeah, but you booked Doreen again for Friday and for Saturday.

Stop it, Allison. Just enjoy it.

So I did. I pulled my hair up, tying it with an elastic band, then headed out of the changing room—and nearly swallowed my tongue.

Nick looked absolutely delicious in swim trunks. My God, those abs. How were they even possible? When I was at the gym, I’d seen a lot of men training, but Nick looked sculpted. That eight-pack and the V lines disappearing into his trunks… holy shit. Not to mention his arms. They were strong, almost to the point of bulky, but they worked on him because he was so damn tall and big.

“Are you listening?” His tone implied that he’d asked me something before and was waiting for my reply. But ogling Nick Whitley was a full-body effort. My ears hadn’t been functioning at all.

“Hmm?” I asked.

He grinned. “What do you want to do first?”

“Let’s go in one of those small tubs. No, wait, the steam room.” I laughed. “I can’t decide. Do you have any preference?”

“The tub sounds good.”

I nodded. “I never quite like going into a tub after I’ve been in a steam room or a sauna. I feel that no matter how much I shower, I can’t get the sweat off myself.” I spoke very quickly, which only happened when I was nervous, but I hoped he wouldn’t pick up on it.

I walked in front of him because that made ogling him more difficult. I was certain that if I kept doing it, he’d catch on eventually.

We both used the showers next to the pool. The water was pleasantly warm, which instantly relaxed me. I hated when the shower next to even a heated pool was freezing cold. What was the point of it? To give me hypothermia?

Afterward, I walked down the pool steps carefully. The water was perfect. The bottom of the pool was dark blue with iridescent lights to look like the sky, and the overhead lights throughout the area were dimmed. I had to give it to Nick—it was peaceful to know that there were no other people here. No conversations going on, no one else moving through the water or flipping magazines while lying on the sunbeds.

There was a huge moonlit window in the ceiling, and I leaned back to admire the view.

“This is amazing,” I said.

“Yeah, it really is.”

I looked at Nick. He was looking at me, not at the pool.

I swallowed hard. Had tonight been a mistake? No. I was simply on edge. Nick was doing a very nice thing. That was all.

“Thanks for this.”

“My pleasure. And just so you know, there’s more to come.”

“Oh?” I said as he walked closer to me.

Oh, no, no. He couldn’t just flash his perfectly sculpted torso in front of my eyes. Did he want to make me weak in the knees? Was that his endgame? Because I could see myself heading straight to Puddleville.

“Nothing,” Nick said. “I’ve already said too much.”

I lowered myself into the water, swimming backward to give myself something to do. But the tub was small, so there wasn’t much swimming. I wondered why they’d put so many sunbeds around it. There was no way that you could fit more than ten people in here, and even then you’d be crammed next to one another like sardines.

“Are you relaxing?” he asked.

“Yes,” I replied truthfully, then glanced at him again. He’d joined me in the water. That was good, safe. I mean, his eyes were also very, very ogle worthy, but I’d at least gotten used to them. But those muscles? Hell no.

“You’ve had a rough week,” he concluded.

“I’ve had rougher, but it’s been intense. I keep wondering if I decided the right thing in one aspect.”

“Want to share it with me?”

I was surprised. I’d never actually had someone to talk about work with. Whenever I’d gone on dates, and even when I’d had boyfriends, we rarely chatted about each other’s jobs.

“My boss asked if I wanted to take on an extra project, an M&A.”

Nick frowned. “An M&A? Merger and acquisition, right? That’s a whole lot of work.”

“Yes, I know. In the past I’ve always volunteered for projects like that. But now with the twins… “

“Allison,” Nick said. “I’ll be around from now on, so if that’s something you want to do, then you should do it.”

Oh my goodness. Had the water suddenly gotten even hotter? Because I was hyperventilating.

Nope. I was actually melting.

“I can’t believe you just said that.”

“I’m serious.”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure what to say.”

“We’re a team, Allison. Never forget that.”

“Oh.”

Nick frowned, coming closer to me. Which made the advantage of not seeing his abs completely disappear. I was right back on edge.

“Why are you surprised?” he asked.

“Because until now, I’d never thought about it.”

“Me marrying you didn’t give you the hint?” He curled up a corner of his mouth.

“You’re right. I just… I don’t know. I figured that you’d like to help, but not as a team. I’ve never been a team with anyone.”

“Neither have I. I hope I’m not going to blow this. But we’ll figure it out somehow. I’m very confident in our chances.”

“That’s because you’re always confident.” I playfully swatted his shoulder—except I somehow ended up with my palm on his chest. It was even harder than I’d imagined. I was downright desperate to check if his abs were the same way too.

I heard a very low groan and immediately moved my hand.

“That’s true.” He cleared his throat. I took a step back in the water but didn’t make it far because we were at the edge. “So, hit me. What’s the issue with the project?”

“For the first time ever, I asked how much more I’d get paid. Usually, I just say yes and hope they throw a bonus my way. The money the company’s offering is simply not enough for the number of hours I’d have to put in, so I turned it down. And I feel surprisingly good about it.”

Nick grinned. “That’s good. You should know your worth and ask to be paid for it.”

I nodded. “I think so too.”

“For future reference, if you want to take on a project, we’ll work out a system.”

“But you’ve got a lot on your plate too. You want to open new branches.”

“I’ll manage.”

For the first time, I realized that his confidence made me relax. I didn’t have to be on edge all the time, thinking about all the things that could go wrong.

“What do you say about swimming for a bit?” I suggested.

“You go ahead. This thing is so small, I’d reach the end in three strokes.”

I rolled my eyes as I floated backward. “I didn’t mean actual swimming, just moving around a bit.”

“That’s fine. I like watching you.”

We both fell silent as I kept moving backward. The only sound was that of water moving. I then turned back, swimming in the other direction. Like this, I couldn’t see him at all. Phew, that’s better.

I relaxed until I hit a solid wall of muscle and immediately straightened up. I accidentally brushed him with my forearm as I turned around, then with my palm. Those abs truly felt amazing.

“Damn, Allison.”

I jumped back. “I’m so sorry, Nick. I didn’t realize you were here.”

“I moved. I should have given you a heads-up.” His voice was a bit rougher than before.

He smiled lazily as I took a few more steps back, putting one arm at the edge of the pool and then the other one, as if he was trying to show off his biceps.

Wait a second. His smile had turned into a smirk. He was doing it on purpose.

Oh shit! That meant he’d realized the effect he had on me.

I was in deep.