She lifted an eyelid, peeking at him. “Then what do you mean?”
“In general,” Will clarified. “Are you happy?”Have I won your heart?Taking the next step in their relationship didn’t mean he had succeeded. So long as he was on the right course.
“I am not unhappy,” she said slowly. “Though I could be happier.”
“Tell me.” Will wasn’t against dropping to his knees and begging for her to tell him all the ways he could make her happy. He’d been serious earlier. He would never stop wooing his wife, even if she were the happiest woman on earth. He would pluck out the stars from the sky to keep it that way if that’s what it took. “What can I do for you to be happier?”
“You could join me in the tub.”
“Anything but that.”
She burst into laughter.
“What else?” Will said gruffly.
“A spot of gin would be nice.”
Truly remarkable. “Is that all it takes to make you happy? Gin and a naked man?”
She flicked droplets of water his way. “You forget about flowers and notes.”
“Of all the things you could demand, you choose the simplest things.”
“I have come to understand that happiness is not something to be pursued, but something to claim.” She splashed water over her neck and shoulders before lifting her gaze to him. “And you can claim it in the simplest things.”
“Like gin and naked men.”
“And flowers and notes.” She cast him a curious look. “What about you?”
Him? “I’m a simple man.”
“Let me guess the things you require.” She gave a thoughtful tap on her chin before teasing, “Well it can’t be bathing witha naked woman because there is one before you. So perhaps boxing and nightcaps with your wife?”
“And kisses, and touches, and wooing said wife.”
“But still not bathing with a naked woman?”
“Like I said, I’m a simple man. Bathing with the naked woman before me is a complication she will regret in the morning, which meansmorecomplications for me.”
“I have to tell you that is in direct contrast to the wants and needs of the woman in the tub. She wants you in the tub, she needs your chest pressed up against her back.”
Will groaned.
Was this how his wife felt every time he said something that made her blush?
“I am not an unreasonable man.” He aimed a hot look her way. “There are other things I can do to satisfy you.”
“But would I want them?” She tapped at the water with a finger.
He shouldn’t ask. Her answer would probably kill him. But he couldn’t help himself. “What do you want, love?”
“Tell me three of your life’s dreams.”
Dreams? Three? Will studied her from the bed, pondering. “What will you give me in return if I do?”
“What doyouwant?”
Your heart.“A kiss.”
