Page 21 of The Moment We Know

David was shocked at how much he didn’t like hearing her say that, and his fingers stilled.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound like an asshole there,” she said quietly.

“No, it’s okay. And you’re right.” He kept his voice as even as he could, forcing the words out as he switched feet. “So, what happens when your job someday does interfere with ‘real life’?”

Paige didn’t even hesitate. “I’ll choose my life. And I’ll tell Linda to fuck off twice and quit.”

“Twice? Once isn’t enough?”

“Not for Jules. She made me promise that when the time comes, I have to tell Linda to fuck off, then fuck off again, before telling her I quit. Oh, and I need to have Jules on speaker phone when I do it, so she can hear it go down.”

With the mood a little lighter, David shook his head in amusement. “Does Jules know about our … arrangement?”

“Yes. In fact, she was on board from the beginning and pushed pretty hard for me to do it.”

“Really?” He found that a little surprising. “Well, Jules is very wise.”

Paige rolled her eyes at that. “She also said your plan was ‘brilliant’ and made ‘a lot of sense’. I wasn’t supposed to tell you that, though.”

That was even more surprising, given how the last time he’d seen Jules a few months ago, she’d called him a ‘cock-sucking wanker’. The encounter outside Paige’s hospital room had been heated, to say the least, and Jules had made it clear she wasn’t his biggest fan. Having her whole-hearted approval now was a bit of a shock; he’d figured Jules would’ve been against Paige having any involvement with him.

“It can be our secret,” he promised.

“Thanks.”

He could tell she was starting to fade a little, and since David didn’t want her to completely crash, yet, he brought her foot rub to an end. “You look like you’re ready for that bath.”

“Oh, God, so ready,” she immediately agreed.

“Good.” He gently put her feet down and told her, “Give me fifteen minutes to get everything ready.”

“Wait, what?”

“Fifteen minutes,” he repeated, before standing up and retrieving the small, unmarked bag from the counter, then heading out of the kitchen and disappearing down the hall.

Paige sat there, slightly confused. Was he going to get her bath started for her? Almost immediately the faint sound of running water in her bathroom answered that question. She’d basically thought David was going to feed her and leave, but apparently not.

With a little time to kill while he got ‘everything ready’, she started cleaning up their dinner debris. As she was finishing, he reappeared in the kitchen.

“Come with me,” he said.

He seemed oddly excited, like a little boy, which Paige found rather endearing. Without a word she followed David to the bathroom, where he stopped in front of the closed door and demanded, “Close your eyes.”

“Oh, my God, that’s so childish.”

“I know. Do it anyway.”

With amusement—along with a long, drawn-out sigh for dramatic purposes—she obliged him. Only then did he open the door and lead her inside, positioning her where he wanted her before closing the door behind them.

“Okay. You can open your eyes,” he said.

When she did, she had to blink a few times because the lights were off. The only illumination came from several white candles of varying sizes scattered about, which also filled the small space with the rich scent of vanilla. The tub was filled with suds that smelled like lavender, mingling nicely with the candles and as she breathed it in, she could feel herself relaxing.

It felt sort of like a spa and since the candles and the bubble bath weren’t hers, David had obviously brought them. Which meant he’d put effort into this for her.

“This is great,” Paige said, her appreciation sincere. “I usually just get some suds going and that’s about it.”

“The bubble bath has ‘soothing properties’ and the Epsom salts I used will ‘ease’ your aches.”

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