…

“Good evening, couples. We’ve got a fun game coming up that also emphasizes the need to be present for one another. We’re going to steal the husbands for a moment.” Brandi with an “I” shuttered one false-lashed eye in a broad wink. “But we promise to give them back.”

The men filed out of the room and one of the other staff members came around to hand out blindfolds to the wives. Lindy took hers and peered around the room. Everyone had come except Nico. She wondered if he’d make an appearance. It seemed as if he was always under foot until now. Owen had had the gym to himself this morning and hadn’t seen the usually omnipresent proprietor all day. She filed that tidbit away and focused on their hostess.

“In a minute, the men will be coming out in different clothing than what they wore here tonight. The object of tonight’s game is to see if you can identify your husband based on feeling a certain body part.” She waited for the requisite laughs before responding. “Not that one, ladies. Now let’s slip on our blindfolds and a staff member will lead you to the row of husbands.”

Lindy slipped the blindfold over her eyes and realized with a start that it was pitch black. She couldn’t say she was overly fond of the sensation. A cool, dry hand closed gently over her wrist. “Hey, you,” Sarabeth whispered.

“Hey yourself,” she replied with a genuine smile. She hoped with all her heart, and not for the first time, that the young doctor wasn’t a part of whatever was going on here.

“We’re going to walk straight ahead,” she said. Lindy followed her lead until the other woman tugged her to a stop.

“Okay. Bring them in,” Sarabeth called toward someone in the adjacent room.

Steve, the stuffy banker, blustered a little, but from what she could discern most of the men sounded playful and were ready for some laughs.

“Make sure you don’t get too fresh with me, ladies.” Calvin Cedarhurst’s alto thundered through the room.

Lindy strained to make out Owen’s voice, but to no avail. She wondered how he was taking it. This was way out of his comfort zone, but it could be exactly the icebreaker they needed to get in with some of the folks that had been standoffish.

“Ladies, we’re shuffling the men around now. Men, stay quiet so that your wives don’t cheat by following your voices.”

A couple of the ladies balked good-naturedly at the accusation, but soon they were in line. “Bitsy Cedarhurst, you’re up first.”

Bitsy gave a self-conscious laugh as she was led away.

“This is the fun part,” Brandi said, on with a giggle. Lindy mentally added in the wink for her. “All the men are going to let you feel their shoulders with nothing but a tank top on. After you’ve tested all six men, you’ll go back through and stand behind the one you think is your husband. Piece of cake, right?”

Sarabeth’s smooth tone interjected now. “What we’ve found is that, even though we’ve been with someone a long time, we might not know them as well as we thought we did. When you’re with your husband…your lover, we want you to be focused on the moment. It leads to more meaningful interactions, less taking one another for granted and, frankly, better lovemaking.”

One of the men let out a shrill whistle and the room broke out into laughter. There were times, like now, that Lindy marveled at the insightful and interesting games some of the staff designed. She hoped to God that some of these couples would come out better for it in the end in spite of Nico’s intentions.

“Number one,” Brandi called out.

Presumably, Bitsy touched the husband standing first in the row. “Come on, don’t be bashful, get in there!”

More laughter until Bitsy said, “Okay, we can keep going.” They made their way through the bunch until Brandi spoke.

“That’s all of them. You think you got it?”

“I know I do,” Bitsy said with a smile in her voice.

“Okay, I’m going to lead you back the way we came and stop me when we get to your man.”

Footfalls sounded for a few paces and then ceased.

“Next up, Lindy O’Neil.”

Heat crept up her cheeks. She was going to get to touch Owen’s naked shoulders. There was no question she’d know him when she felt him. She’d scored that muscular back a thousand times in her dreams. The only question was, would she be able to stop touching him once she started?

“Number one,” Brandi said, laying Lindy’s hands on the shoulders of the first guy in the row.

With only a cursory swipe of her hands, she knew. Not him. Too short. She barely had to stretch to reach his shoulders.

“Okay, keep going.”

“Number Two.”

This guy was the right height, but he felt doughy. Nothing like the lean muscles Owen had. She dropped her arms to her side and shook her head. “Next.”

Two more quick no’s, and then Brandi announced number four. Lindy knew before she even touched him. The heat was pouring off him, the scent of his shampoo assailing her nostrils. She swayed toward him. Brandi didn’t have to lead her to touch him. Helpless to stop herself, she reached out and pressed her hands against Owen’s skin. A sigh of pleasure escaped her, and she allowed her fingers to roam freely, sliding under the thin cotton, testing the corded muscles along his upper back and shoulders. She got so sucked into the sensations, it took a tug on her dress from Brandi before she came to her senses.

“Next,” Brandi said, a smile in her voice.

Lindy went through the motions as quickly as possible, and then Brandi guided her to stand behind Owen.

As the rest of the ladies went, Lindy barely paid attention. She couldn’t get the feel of Owen’s body out of her mind. They had more than a week left of this farce, and she was already in so deep, she had no chance of emerging unscathed. Every time she thought she had a handle on things, something else happened to remind her of how good they could be together.

But that was the rub, wasn’t it? Owen didn’t want to be together. He wanted to be in her bed while they were in Colorado, and when they left, he wanted to be alone again. Sarabeth’s voice dragged her from her thoughts.

“All right! Everyone has made their choices. Guys, turn around and face your women. Ladies, take off the blindfolds!”

Lindy yanked the strip of cloth from her eyes and stared at a flush-faced Owen and the two other women who stood before him.

“Margie, Bitsy, Jordan and Lindy, you all picked your guys! Congratulations. Jana and Estelle, you both selected incorrectly. Estelle, tell us, what made you pick Owen?”

The silver-haired retiree eyeballed her husband, Lester, and said in a deadpan voice, “Wishful thinking?”

Lester frowned at first and took a long look at Owen. Then, with a grudging shrug, he nodded. “Yep. Guess I can’t blame you there, doll.”

Lindy didn’t blame her either.

…

“Are you sure this is going to help? I gotta tell you, it seems like a terrible idea,” Lindy said, eying the outdoor hot tub dubiously.

“Don’t knock it until you try it. It’s only bad for as long as it takes to get from here to there and slip into the water. Less than a minute, unless you’re being a poke about it.”

She took a deep breath, swung open the patio door and scuttled across the porch. A second later, she’d stripped off the fluffy white robe. He took in the white bikini and his brain short-circuited. Two triangles of fabric cupped her breasts, whose tips had firmed to tight little points in the below-freezing temperature. Before he could explore further, she turned and stuck a foot in the tub. He winced, catching sight of her back. As deliciously distracting as her curvy ass was, the giant bruise mottling the outside of her hip and around one side of her lower back took center stage.

He closed the patio door behind him and crossed the porch to stand beside her. “That looks so painful, Lindy. Christ, I didn’t realize it was that bad.”

She chuckled self-consciously, and craned her neck over her shoulder to get a look. “I saw it in the mirror earlier. Believe me, it looks way worse than it feels. It’s ugly, but it only hurts if I bump it or press on it. Standing out here in the freezing cold is more excruciating. Last one in is a rotten egg!”

With that, she went around to the other side of the tub, kicked off her slippers, and stepped in. “Yes,” she groaned, her eyes drifting closed, her face lighting with pleasure. She took the steps one at a time, making a new, decadent noise with each, until she was submerged to her shoulders. Her breath came in frosty puffs, and she sent him a wide grin. “This is amazing. It’s freezing cold out, but the air feels invigorating because the rest of me is encased in all this delicious heat.”

He looked away, willing himself to remember why they were there. The hot water would do wonders for her stiff muscles. Any sensual moans or remarks about being encased in delicious heat were entirely coincidental and meant nothing. He sent his c**k a mental “Down boy!” He’d been cranked up to eleven since she’d taken her sweet time fondling him in the great room earlier during the Find Your Spouse game. He wondered what it said about him that, even if they hadn’t announced who was touching him, he would’ve known instantly. He’d sensed her before she ever laid a hand on him, their chemistry all but tangible.

“I told you you’d enjoy it. It’s on really hot, so we can’t stay in too long. Fifteen minutes or so. Longer and we’ll start to feel woozy.”

“I don’t see myself leaving this spot voluntarily, sorry. Hey, before you get in, can you turn the porch light off? I want to see the stars in the dark.”

He did as she asked and returned to the hot tub. For a long moment, he just watched her. The tiny lights embedded around the tub were still lit, and they bathed her in a silvery light. She sat on one of the seats with her head tipped all the way back so she could stargaze. What struck him most was how damned happy she looked. He loved that about her. She looked for pleasure in everything. He’d wondered at first if it was the novelty of her surroundings, but realized very quickly that wasn’t the case. The simplest things, from a fine, flaky pastry to the smell of a great cup of coffee or an especially bright sunset would transfix her. The best part was that she let it. There was no feigned disinterest or attempts to restrain her reactions. If something was funny, she laughed. Hard. In his current circles, people tended to school their reactions, and enthusiasm was often deemed unsophisticated. Those people had it all wrong.

“You getting in or what?” She’d shifted her gaze from the stars to him. “You’re going to catch pneumonia out there.”

He slipped off his shoes and robe and climbed down into the frothy water, gasping at the contrast of heat seeping into his chilled flesh, warming him through. Moving to the opposite side of the tub, he sat facing Lindy.

“When the real estate market comes back, I’m getting myself one of these bad boys,” she proclaimed, patting the side of the tub with an open hand.

“Good investment,” he said with a nod.

Her face grew serious. She moved from the stool to the center of the tub, and slipped deeper under the water, until only her head was sticking out. “So you ready for tomorrow?” she whispered, glancing around furtively.

“I am. I signed up this morning. Did you come up with a good reason for my change of heart on the yoga thing yet? Because I’ve got squat. Maybe I could say after your fall I wanted to do something I thought would cheer you up?”

“I was thinking, what if you said you only like doing things you’re good at? From what I’ve seen, that’s mostly true and if you say it in that cocky way you have, it’ll be totally plausible.” Before he could grill her about his “cocky” ways, she rushed on. “Explain that I was already really good at it when we first met and you didn’t want to make a fool of yourself in front of me. Now, since I’m not in the class, you figured you’d give it a go to see if you could do it, and if you have the knack, you’ll be coming more often.”