She stopped on the steps and glanced over her shoulder at him.
“I think you might have leaned up against something,” he said. “You’ve got something on your back.”
Her brown eyes widened, and her cheeks flushed. “It’s great.” She waved a hand, smiling brightly, but her eyes were more bright. “I should’ve changed on the plane, but I figured I’d wait until we knew what we were doing this afternoon.”
“Oh. Gotcha.” Had he embarrassed her by pointing out the stain? She hadn’t even asked what color the stain was. That meant she already knew about it. Chase had sisters at some of his foster homes, but he hadn’t grown close to any of them and learned how women ticked.
Lizzy turned away and kept walking down the steps, slower now and holding more firmly to the railing. She stepped away from the bottom step and he stopped next to her. He wanted to focus on her beautiful face, but he forced himself to look around.
His eyes widened as he realized the basement was as impressive as the main level. He’d noticed the main level was set higher off the ground than most homes and the wide front porch covered the front of this lower level. The other basement walls were glass or open, revealing the greenery beyond. Stretching from the middle of the basement and toward the east was a large swimming pool. It extended out of the basement with glass retractable walls that could enclose the entire space in thewintertime or at night. There was a large open patio area with a cold plunge pool, hot tub, a patio dining set, and various chaise lounges.
“Wow again!” Lizzy’s exuberance returned. She rushed toward the main pool, kneeled on the concrete, and put her fingers in. Then she glanced back at him with a broad smile. “It’s warm!”
He trailed her, squatting down and feeling the warm water as well. “Do you want to swim and try out the rest of this?” He gestured behind him. There was a small workout area with a cable machine and free weights, and rooms up front they could explore as well. He suspected the one with a steamed-up glass door contained a steam room. The other could be a massage room or something equally fancy.
In the main pool, there were various silver pipes and jets that would massage a person’s head, neck, back, and legs. They could do the steam room, the cold plunge, the jets in the main pool, and then the hot tub.
He was excited to try it all out, especially after being on a plane for nine hours flying from Atlanta through the night. The first-class suite meant he had a bed and more space than he’d ever had on a flight, but he had still slept intermittently. He’d arrived at the airport in Salzburg late that morning, but by the time he got through customs and picked up the vehicle Brandon had waiting for him and drove to Hallstatt, it had turned into early afternoon.
“Um … I have a weight training routine as part of my therapy, but …” she trailed off and looked away. “I don’t think I can lift weights with Mr. Ultra Buff Retired Military Hero. I’d probably do it wrong in your too-confident opinion.” She was still kneeling next to the pool, and she tucked her long dark hair behind her ear and peered up at him with those soft brown eyes. She looked uncertain and not confident at all.
He chuckled, though it wasn’t really funny. Why was she embarrassed about her therapy? Did it have something to do with being attacked a month ago? “I doubt you’d lift the weights wrong; you look very fit.”
She focused on the water.
“I meant the steam room and cold plunge, not the weights.” He wouldn’t mind a good workout after being stuck on a plane, but he could lift tonight or in the morning. “Then we could soak in the hot tub and swim and use the jets in the pool.”
He didn’t offer to give her a massage ... if that really was a massage room. The very idea made him hot all over.
Lizzy looked like she would say no, though it was hard to tell as she was still focused on the water, her long dark hair partially covering her face.
“Or we could just hot tub if you don’t like hydrotherapy.”
“I get the gist based on hydro and therapy, but in real terms, I have no idea what that means,” she admitted, glancing up at him and worrying her lip.
“Oh. I’ve done it with Brandon in Park City.”
“Okay, Mr. Fancy Pants. So how does it work?”
Chase smiled, liking her spice despite her obvious discomfort. “First you sit in the steam room until you’re covered in sweat and your face is all hot and red.”
“Wow, what a fabulous time.”
He grinned. “Then you jump in the cold plunge.”
“It’s getting even worse.” She shivered and hugged herself.
He chuckled. “It feels amazing after being so hot and sweaty. Then we can go through a series with the jets massaging each part of your tired body in the main pool. Then we could either swim for a bit or sit in the hot tub.”
She blew out a breath. “It sounds very heavy with the sweating and the freezing.” She winked, and he was grateful shewas teasing. “You didn’t sell this idea very well, but I want to be a fun adventure partner for you. I’ll give it a try.”
He grinned. “I’m happy you’re my adventure partner.”
She smiled but didn’t respond to his flirting attempt.
“Let’s hydrotherapy ourselves and relax all those tense muscles,” she said. “It was hard work flying over the ocean on a private jet with my own deluxe recliner that was more comfortable than my bed at home.”
“Exactly.” He hadn’t been in a private jet, but his flight had been nothing to complain about. “We deserve some relaxation, and there’s nothing on the schedule besides our catered dinner tonight.”
