Page 10 of Summer Affair

She glanced up at him and silently warned him not to laugh or make a sound.

The man mumbled something that sounded like an apology, to which Andrea replied that it was all perfectly natural. Then she pointed to a canister of scented spray, and he did his best to spray around the room without tipping off the client.

When the man left, he handed Andrea and him each a crisp fifty dollar bill.

“The stinkier they are, the better they tip.” She chuckled and tucked her money into her pocket.

“Wow, fifty bucks just for one client?” He shook his head as he slipped the bill into his shorts.

“After lunch is always the best. I’ll need to wash my hair after that one,” she joked as she waved her hand in front of her nose. “Now, let’s air the room out before our next client.”

He laughed as she opened the window while he walked around with the spray can a few more times.

By the time they finished their last client of the day, he was exhausted. He and Andrea cleaned up the room, putting away the oils and lotions and tidying the massage table. They threw the last load of laundry into the dryer and made sure there were clean towels and sheets in each room for the next day.

“You did great today. You are well on your way to becoming a fantastic therapist. You’re lucky, things have changed since I started. I had to go to school to get my license. You’ll just have to rack up your hours with an approved therapist teacher, like me, and pass the state test before you can start working on your own,” she pointed out.

“Thanks, I couldn’t have done it without you suggesting this,” he said, feeling slightly stupid.

She waved off the compliment with a smile. “You’ve got the talent; I’m just here to help you find it.”

As they headed out of the spa, Dean glanced at her. “So, I’ve moved my schedule around. I have the next few days available. Same time tomorrow?”

Andrea smiled. “No early-morning yoga tomorrow. We can meet in the dining hall around eight. Who knows? Maybe after a few more days of this, you’ll be the one teaching me a few tricks.”

He laughed. “We’ll see about that. I’m really looking forward to the next few days.” His eyes met hers and, for a moment, he thought she understood what he was saying.

But just then, Kara knocked on the door and the spell was broken.

Since the surprise party for the Costa men was happening in less than an hour, he left the pool house and headed into the dining room to see if Brent, his boss, needed any extra help prepping for the party.

Any party the Wildflowers threw was great. Those that were personally for them were even more special.

The three brothers were in no way tricked and obviously knew about the surprise. He hung around for a few hours, enjoying seeing his bosses and their spouses cut loose, and then decided to head out. It had been a very long day.

The moon was high in the sky as he walked the well-lit pathways, the cool night air a welcome contrast to the heat of the day.

He walked briskly, his mind focused on his next destination: his mother’s house. He hadn’t seen his sister Sophia in a few days, and he was eager to check up on her.

Sophia had been through so much in the past six months. A few years after marrying her high school sweetheart, Luke, she had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the tender age of twenty-four.

They had found the cancer when she had gone in to talk to her doctor about starting a family.

In the few months after that, she had endured several surgeries and months of grueling chemotherapy. His sister’s once-vibrant hair was now gone, and her body was weakened, but her spirit remained strong. However, the emotional toll had been immense, especially after Luke abandoned her shortly after her first surgery.

Dean’s jaw clenched at the thought of what he’d like to do to the man who had hurt his sister. He had never really liked the guy, and his actions during Sophia’s hardest times had only solidified Dean’s disdain for him. As he pulled his truck into his mother’s driveway, he took a deep breath, trying to push his anger aside.

He knocked gently on the door to the classic beach house that he’d grown up in, and a moment later his mother opened it, her face lighting up with a tired but genuine smile. “Hey, sweetie.” She lifted on her toes and hugged him.

“How is she?” he asked quietly.

“Today was a hard one,” she replied just as quietly. “She’s resting on the sofa.” She nudged his arm. “Come on in. Hungry?”

Dean shook his head as he stepped inside, the familiar scent of home wrapping around him. “I’ll just sit with her for a bit, if that’s okay.”

His mother smiled and reached up to touch his cheek. “Of course. I’m sure she’d love to see you.”

Dean walked quietly into the living room. His sister had a scarf wrapped around her head and was wearing a pair of his old sweatpants and a camp T-shirt he’d given her. She was lying on the sofa, her eyes closed, but she opened them as he entered.