Your Room or Mine? Read Free

in her shoulders ingrained from the endless bending and stretching that came with her job slowly began to loosen its grip. It was early evening now and she had the basement pool area and steam room almost to herself as people drifted away to get ready to go out or have dinner. No rush for that. Her appetite hadn’t been up to much these last few weeks, she’d rather stay here a bit longer.
    When door opened and Oliver Forbes climbed into the steam room, she took an unintentional deep breath, filling her lungs with steam and launching a spectacular coughing fit.
    He stared at her through the hot mist, one hand on the door.
    â€˜Are you OK?’ he asked doubtfully.
    She turned away, her eyes and nose streaming, one hand plastered over her mouth, the other flapping at him.
    â€˜Fine,’ she croaked in between hacking.
    He sat down on the opposite bench and raised one foot. As she gradually got her cough under control she was grateful for the steam, which she hoped might hide her undoubtedly tomato-red face.
    She offered his concerned expression an I’m-perfectly-alright smile and he nodded and closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the tiles. Hah! The perfect opportunity to steal a proper sneaky look at him in his dark blue swim shorts. He had the most toned abs she’d ever seen. Broad shoulders, lean and fit body, legs roped with muscle. His dark hair was damply tousled from the steam and he had a light tan. She imagined him on some extreme sports holiday abroad, leaping off a cliff in the sunshine.
    He opened his eyes unexpectedly and she snapped her gaze away and examined her fingernails.
    â€˜How’s the stay going?’ he asked. ‘Making good use of the spa?’
    She knew just from his pointed tone of voice and the smile that lurked on his lips that he’d overheard at check-in.
    â€˜Trying to,’ she said. ‘It’s all such a treat, especially the whirlpool bath and steam room. I get a lot of back pain in my job.’
    She raised eyebrows at his cheeky grin.
    â€˜What now?’
    â€˜I was imagining you with a shovel.’
    â€˜What can I say, I give good garden,’ she said. ‘What about you? Are you here for the leisure complex too?’
    â€˜Not really,’ he said. ‘Not that the gym and spa aren’t a nice bonus. This is a bit of an unscheduled stay. It’s in a good location for me for work.’
    â€˜How long are you staying?’
    He shrugged.
    â€˜As long as I need to.’
    So he was clearly not on the budget break. Why was she even surprised? Everything about him oozed cash – the clothes he’d worn at check-in, the expensive leather overnight bag, the way he spoke.
    â€˜You?’ he asked.
    â€˜It’s a treat break,’ she said. ‘You know, one of those packages you can book. Dinner, bed and breakfast with use of the spa thrown in.’
    He was looking at her politely and she supposed he’d never had to look for the deal price in his life.
    â€˜So just the one night, ‘she added.
    â€˜Better make it count, then,’ he said and the way he held her eyes a moment too long made it feel like he wasn’t just talking about the spa and the gourmet restaurant. Her stomach felt suddenly melty, not helped by the fact she was hitting the edge of her heat tolerance.
    â€˜I am,’ she said. ‘I’ve tried out every facility in the spa, well, the free ones anyway, and I’ve still got dinner to go. Then tomorrow I hit the shops.’ She stood up. ‘I need to cool down. Excuse me.’
    She stood eyes closed under the aromatherapy shower, letting it cool her skin, then walked around the pool to the lounger where she’d left her bag and towel. Oliver Forbes with his perfect body was still in the steam room. Instead of lying back on the towel she picked it up and automatically wrapped it around her. Confidence in the way she looked wasn’t her strong point right