“Would you like to join me?” she asked.
“No. You go ahead. I’m just going to go over some notes from the meeting.”
“Okay.” She smiled as she kissed me.
Watching her get out of bed and walk to the bathroom completely naked was heart-stopping. Her body was pure perfection, and it was what I most desired—an unexplainable desire. Dinner was quiet. My mood had changed the minute she brought up other women, a topic that I was never going to discuss with her.
As I was flipping through my notes, I heard her softly singing in the bathtub. I couldn’t help but smile at the distraction, so I climbed out of bed and walked into the bathroom.
“You have a beautiful singing voice.” I smiled as I stood next to the tub.
“Thanks. Have you changed your mind about joining me?”
I stood there for a moment and took in the beautiful sight in front of me.
“Yeah. I have.”
She sat up and moved towards the front while I climbed in behind her. As I wrapped my arms around her, she snuggled against me.
“What does your father do for a living?” I asked.
“He’s a street performer slash club singer.”
“Huh?” I tilted my head.
“By day, he plays his guitar and sings around the city, and by night, he performs in clubs.”
“What kind of music does he play?”
“Folk mostly.”
“And your mother?”
“She’s a spiritual advisor, and she teaches yoga.”
“A what?” I asked in confusion.
“A spiritual advisor.” She turned her head and looked at me.
“Oh. Yeah. A spiritual advisor. I didn’t hear you correctly the first time.”
To me, that was odd.
“What about your parents?” she innocently asked.
I knew what was at risk when I asked her about her parents.
“My parents have been dead for many years, and I’ll be honest with you, Chloe, I don’t want to talk about them,” I spoke in an authoritative voice.
“Okay. I’m sorry.” She removed my arms from her and climbed out of the tub.
“Where are you going?”
“I really don’t feel like taking a bath anymore. I’m tired, and I think I’m just going to go to sleep. You wore me out, Mr. Bennett.”
I hurt her feelings. Climbing out of the tub, I wrapped a towel around my waist and walked into the bedroom, where Chloe was putting on her nightshirt. Walking up behind her, I wrapped my arms around her waist and pressed my lips against her shoulder.
“Hey, I’m sorry if I sounded abrupt. It’s just a sensitive subject, and it’s something I don’t like to talk about. I need you to respect that.”