Page 53 of Desperate Vows

“Come on,” I said and kissed the side of her face. “I’m going to run you a bath and you’re going to soak for a bit. While you’re doing that, I’m going to order us some food and then put you to bed.”

She quickly leaned back, and her eyes were wide. “A bath?”

“Do you trust me?”

It felt like an eternity that she just stared at me. “Yes.”

“That took a minute.” I smiled, teasing her. “You sure?”

“Sometimes my thoughts are chaotic. It started with me answering your question and then went to my husband is hot.”

I laughed. “Yeah, babe, that was a winding road, but I like where it went.”

Together, we stood, and I stretched out my back. Thirty-three sounds pretty young until you spend a few hours sitting on a hard floor. I should have moved us somewhere more comfortable, but I couldn’t. I wanted her to be in the same place when she woke up as she was when she went to sleep.

Tangling my fingers in hers, I led her to the bathroom and began running the water while she found pajamas to wear when she got out. The tub was almost full when she returned and set her clothes on the counter. I suspected she had taken a little longer than she needed, but that was okay. She could take however long was necessary.

She crossed the room and looked over my shoulder. “You put bubble bath in it?”

“I thought you might like that.”

Her arms circled me from behind. “I do.”

I twisted to look at her and found a huge smile on those perfectly kissable lips, and the reward for the bubbles was a kiss that rivaled the steam coming off the water.

“I’m going to get you a towel. That should be enough bubbles to give you coverage. Okay?”

She nodded.

I lingered in the closet until the water cut off and returned with towels and a washcloth. I placed them on the bench near the tub and sat on the edge, dipping the cloth in the water.

Cupping the back of her head, I held her still while I wiped her face.

“That feels really nice.” Her eyes slid closed as she sighed. “So does the water. Thank you for running it.”

When I finished washing her face, I hung the cloth on the side of the tub and stood. “I’m going to order dinner. Is there anything that sounds good to you?”

There was that stare, and now that I knew how windy her mind was, I wondered where she was traveling. “I’m okay with whatever you choose. Nothing French.”

“I will make it so,” I said and winked.

In the living room, I finally turned on my phone, waited for all the notifications to ring through, and then took care of the food before I made a call to Ari. He knew I was following Claire, and I was sure he was furious with me for not calling before now.

He answered on the first ring. “Where the hell have you been?” He was nearly screaming at me.

“Hey, who are you talking to?”

“My big fat-headed brother, that’s who. I was worried something had happened to you. I didn’t know if Claire was leading you into an ambush?—”

“Never say that again. Ever. She’s not working with Franklin. She’s innocent. We had a long talk. That’s all you need to know, and we’re married. She’s my wife, and you will respect her.”

There was a long pause. “Okay. So, what was the lawyer about?”

“The trust. She signed it over to me.” I quickly looked at my phone. I had missed a call from a bank, and I assumed that was where the trust was. “The whole thing. Apparently, it was hers the moment she said I do. I’m certain Franklin was going to double-cross me. I mean, we knew that, just not how quickly.”

“Wait. She what?”

“She signed it all over to me. She called it restitution for what Franklin did. She even threw some Aunt Helen’s way for her soup kitchen.”

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