“Then go do your thing. I’ll find something to keep me occupied today.”
“You could come, too,” she offered, feeling a spark of hope light within her.
“Next time maybe, okay?”
Olivia bit back her disappointment. She knew it would probably be too much for Xander to be out most of the afternoon and evening, but she was reluctant to break the bubble of this new closeness they shared. She quickly dried herself then blow-dried her hair. Xander finished in the shower and then dried and dressed right next to her. Olivia tried to think back to the last time they’d been in the bathroom together like this. It was such a normal everyday part of life, and she’d missed it more than she realized as she teased him about hogging the mirror.
“You’re taking your beard off?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said, lathering up with shaving foam. “I’m ready to be me again.”
Olivia’s brush tangled in her hair, making her wince. Ready to be him again? What exactly did he mean by that? She disentangled the bristles from her hair and put the brush and dryer on the bathroom vanity before sliding her arms around Xander’s naked waist.
“I kind of like the person you are now,” she said, pressing a kiss between his shoulders.
“You didn’t like the old me?” he asked, halting midstroke with his razor, his eyes meeting hers in the mirror.
“I loved the old you, too, Xander. But we’ve both changed. I like the person I am now better, too. Maybe that was part of the problem before. I was always trying to be something or someone else. Maybe I need to take a leaf out of your book and just be me again.”
She pulled away from him and finished her hair—the noise of the hair-dryer making further conversation difficult. The stress and worries of the day before still lingered too close to the surface for her. If she didn’t have to be away from the house today, she most definitely wouldn’t be. But she’d been telling the truth when she’d said that her career and her reputation rested on this show. The gallery was one of the most prestigious in Auckland, and she considered herself fortunate to receive an invitation to exhibit there. Of course the cut the gallery would get on any sale was substantial, she reflected, but the exposure her work would receive was worth more than money.
Later, after they’d had fluffy omelets with chopped fresh chives and bacon, hot coffee and toast, Xander helped her carry the last of her canvases out to her car.
“Thanks,” Olivia said as she closed the back on her station wagon. “I’m not sure what time I’ll be home, but I’ll probably be late, after dinner anyway.”
“I can look after myself.”
“And you promise that if you get a headache, you’ll take your pills and rest?”
“You don’t need to babysit me, remember?”
“I know.” She pressed her hand against his cheek. “But I worry about you.”
“I’ll take care, I promise,” he said solemnly before turning his head to kiss the inside of her palm.
Across the street Olivia caught a glimpse of one of their neighbors putting Christmas lights up in the eaves of their house. It reminded her again that the holiday was less than four weeks away. It gave her an idea.
“Maybe when I get home—or if I’m too late, maybe tomorrow—we can put up the Christmas tree. I didn’t bother when...” Her voice trailed off for a moment before she took a deep breath. She had to get over her reluctance to talk about the past. “When we were separated. It brought back too many memories of the fun we used to have. Anyway, I’ll go up to the attic and get the stuff down for us when I get back, okay?”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Xander agreed. “I’d like that. Now, you’d better get going. I thought you didn’t want to be late?”
Olivia glanced at her wristwatch and exclaimed in shock. “Oh, is that the time already? You’re such a distraction!”
He laughed and swooped in for another kiss, this time a lingering caress full of promise. “Hurry back—I’ll be waiting.”
Olivia drove away with a last glance in the rearview mirror. Xander stood in the driveway, hands resting on his hips, watching her go. He made it so hard to leave him behind, for more reasons than she cared to examine. The shadow of a passing cloud suddenly obscured the sun, darkening the road before her and making her push her sunglasses up onto her head. A shiver traveled down her spine. Olivia shook off the sensation, not wanting to examine the sudden sense of unease that gripped her.
It was just because she was leaving Xander for several hours on his own, she rationalized. Since he’d been home again, the longest she’d left him was a couple of hours while she ran errands or went shopping. It was natural to feel uneasy, but there was no cause for alarm. Nothing would go wrong.